Resistance bands and cords are excellent products for use in the rehabilitation of sports injury. An array of home exercises using resistance bands and cords can be prescribed by the chartered physiotherapist to speed up the recovery from a sports injury. Resistance bands such as Ci band, theraband, cliniband are elastic bands that provide resistance for use in muscle strengthening.
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The advantages of resistance bands over free weights and pulley systems include the fact that resistance bands are lightweight and portable, which means that they can be used anywhere. Also resistance bands react to the strength of the patient which means they'll only resist as much as you do. Resistance bands also have the advantage of being able to be used in functional, sports specific patterns which means that patients can strengthen using sports related movement patterns.
FAQ:
What colour resistance band is what weight?
Resistance bands are colour coded, where each colour corresponds to a different strength of resistance. The lightest weight is yellow, which is a great place to start with rehabilitation after injury or surgery. As strength is built up, Red and Green bands offer the next stage of Medium resistance, then blue and finally Black bands offer the most resistance. The different grades of resistance allow a great way to progress strengthening regimes and gradually build up tolerance to the increasing load.
What do resistance bands do?
Resistance bands are pieces of elastic tubing that can be cut to suitable lengths and used to strengthen different parts of the body. Resistance bands are often preferred to weights following specific injuries or surgery as they are extremely versatile and can offer resistance in multi-planar directions to effectively strengthen muscles and tendons.
Rotator cuff injuries of the shoulder are an example of an injury that can greatly benefit form resistance band rehabilitation. The shoulder moves in many directions, so to only strengthen the joint forward and backwards or side to side would not offer the best protection against re-injury. Resistance bands allow many different degrees of rotation to be added into rehabilitation, which is important as it more accurately replicates movements used during normal function. After using a resistance band, muscles and tendons therefore gain strength in all directions, which is particularly important in protecting against dislocations and impact injuries.
Can you lose weight with resistance bands?
Resistance bands are better used for toning and strengthening muscles, especially those that contribute to rotational movements as it can be tricky with rigid weight machines or dumbbells to target these muscles effectively.
To lose weight aerobic exercise is the best method, where the heart rate is elevated for a time period of 20 minutes or more. Resistance bands are unlikely to sustain this as well as activities like running, cycling or swimming so would not offer the best option for losing weight.
Can you use resistance bands every day?
Like with any strengthening regime, it is good to give yourself a couple of days off to allow the muscles to adapt. An example could be exercising with the resistance band for two days then having a rest day before completing another two days. If the same muscles are worked day in, day out they do not have time to adapt and get stronger. The day off is where the strength changes will occur.
