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Leading an active life is important for your health.

While there is no better time to start living an active lifestyle than now, you must not just hastily take on a sport or any physical activity especially if you haven't been moving for a long time already.

To provide you guidance, GMANetwork.com does an exclusive interview with Sports Physical Therapist Maria Angela Borras to discuss the safe way of transitioning from a sedentary to an active lifestyle.

Angela, a sports injury specialist certified by the National Exercise and Sports Trainer Association, gives emphasis on venturing into sports injury-free.

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She says, “Usually 'yung transition happens when somebody motivates them.

"Ang problem lang, syempre kung 'yung friends mo active tapos makukuha ka nila to get into an active lifestyle, 'yung start nila mas mataas na, 'yung level of performance. 'Yung readiness nila to perform tasks mas mataas na compared to someone who would just start kaya again, usually 'yung nagsta-start from totally zero going all out, may risk talaga for injury.”

READ: What to remember when you're down with a sports-related injury

What Angela recommends is to get an overall assessment from a sports physical therapist before getting started.

She explains, “We have [assessment of] your static posture. So ibig sabihin, anatomically how are you now? Pwede namang iba 'yung anatomical composition mo before nung active ka or iba 'yung anatomical composition mo dati nung iba 'yung demands ng work mo.

“After that, we do functional testing. Sa functional test, nakikita namin 'yung usual mga movement like walking, running. May compensation ka ba pag ginagawa mo 'yun? And after that, doon kami kumukuha ng movement patterns,” she continues.

Assessing one's static posture and movement patterns is important not only to avoid injuries but also to be able to recognize and communicate your physical state before you subject your body to new and harder tasks. Undergoing an assessment also encourages one to enter into the activity at his or her own level of fitness.

Angela states, “'Yung movement pattern assessment namin, related sa mga kailangan mong movement pattern for that sport. Para meron kaming idea of what are the possible injuries that you might encounter and how we can advise you. Paano ba ang magiging training program mo? Hindi pwedeng train ka lang nang train. Dapat may strengthening ka rin, may conditioning ka rin."

She further illustrates, “Hindi siya na-assess, gusto niya mag-start ng activity. Pag start niya ng activity, hindi pala siya ready, nagka-pain siya. So all throughout, umalis na siya sa activity. Parang ang naging generalization niya, 'I'm not meant to be active' which is not true because we are meant to move. Everybody is meant to move.”

Aside from doing assessments, physical therapists who deal with athletes can complement the training program of newbies as well as help them achieve realistic goals.

READ: How to ace your first obstacle course race

Angela relates, “'Yung iba kasi gusto lang ma-try, so halimbawa one race and okay, one competition then okay. 'Yung iba naman they want to embody na 'yung active lifestyle, then we tell them, 'These are the things we could do para ma-prevent natin 'yung injury mo. Would you want to have regular PT sessions along with your training?' Hand in hand siya.

“Pag gusto niya talagang mag-compete, technical coach 'yung for the training program. Halimbawa, kung basketball 'yun, may training coach ka talaga for dribbling, for turning, for shooting.

"'Yung physiotherapy, more of the performance enhancement kami. Ibig sabihin, to make sure na once you get to the sports-specific you can perform it at the optimal. Hindi 'yung kinakabahan ka baka matapilok ka, ma-injure ka or pag tumalon ka hindi ka maka-land ng tama, ma-injure 'yung tuhod mo,” she adds.

Angela also encourages people interested to lead an active lifestyle to do their own research on the activity they want to be involved in.

“Try to learn hindi lang 'yung sports rule. Kasi 'yung majority 'yun lang ang inaaral eh, 'yung rule doon, paano gumagana 'yun. Read up on the biomechanics related to the sports para hindi ka rin mafu-frustrate, para malaman mo rin kung saan ba 'yung starting point mo," she concludes.