This section will discuss steps you can take to avoid injuries. Unfortunately, injuries may occur with exercise. I am sure you have heard horror stories about people who sustained major injuries from seemingly harmless activities. The truth is, most of the injuries people suffer can be avoided by making intelligent decisions when it comes to exercise and fitness.
There are two schools of thought when it comes to dealing with injuries. One is to treat injuries after they occur. This is called rehabilitation. The other school of thought is to prevent injuries before they occur. This is called prehabilitation or preventative management. I strongly believe you should take every possible step to prevent injuries.
Whenever you start a fitness program, or have taken an extended period of time off, you need to give your body time to adjust to the new stresses and demands it will face. This means slowly easing into your new program. You should spend the first few weeks working out at an easy to moderate intensity. This will allow your body to gradually adapt to the demands you will be placing on it. If you do too much, too soon, at too high of an intensity, your body will not be able to effectively adapt. Your tendons and ligaments take longer to adapt and get stronger than your muscles. If you rush into high-intensity, long-duration workouts, your muscles may develop before your tendons and ligaments. This can lead to problems, such as tendonitis. Tendonitis is an inflammation of your tendons: the tough, fibrous structures that connect your muscles to your bones.
Once you have given your body time to adjust, you still need to be careful not to greatly overload your body, by increasing the intensity or duration of activity by too much. This means that you should always use gradual increases in duration and intensity of activity as you continue your fitness program. For aerobic activities, you do not want to increase the duration by more than 10% every 2 weeks. Again, this will allow your body to gradually adjust to the new workload it will face. For resistance training, you should not increase the weight you are lifting by too great of an amount. This will depend on the exercise and how much you are lifting. A good rule to follow is to not increase your weights by more than 10% each week. If you increase your weights too aggressively, you may put yourself at an increased risk for injury. Additionally, if you increase your weights too aggressively, you may experience soreness in the exercised muscles, commonly referred to as delayed onset of muscle soreness (DOMS). DOMS is the soreness you feel in the days after a workout.
People often exercise too much without giving themselves enough rest in between workouts. This can lead to an overuse or overtraining injury. This is where the body does not have enough time to recover from one workout before it is subjected to another workout. This may lead to serious injuries if it is not detected early. Signs of overtraining are a lack of sleep, constantly being tired and sore, mood disturbances, change in appetite, and decreased performance during workouts. An easy way to avoid this problem is to give your body adequate rest between workouts. You should have at least 1 to 2 days a week of rest or at least have an easy day in between 2 harder workouts. Never lift the same body parts 2 days in a row. If time permits, alternate a day of aerobic activity with a day of resistance training. If you are pressed for time, however, you may perform both types of activities on the same day. Also, proper nutrition and hydration are important to avoid this type of injury.
Many injuries are caused by a lack of flexibility in the exercising muscles. If you have a poor range of motion (ROM) in certain muscles or joints, you may be at an increased risk of injury if you try to do an activity that causes you to stretch your muscles more than they are used to. An easy solution to reduce the chance of this type of injury is to perform flexibility training. Regular stretching will increase your ROM and help you avoid injuries due to poor flexibility.
If you do experience some pain or discomfort while performing an activity, you need to stop doing that activity. The step is to check your technique. Often injuries are due to improper technique. This is especially true with weightlifting machines and exercises. Ask a certified strength and conditioning specialist or a certified personal trainer to help you make sure you have proper technique. Proper technique is important for even simple activities such as walking. If you have improper technique, you may be at risk for developing a repetitive motion injury. This is where improper form may produce minor strain on a muscle or tendon or ligament. This is not a serious problem. However, when this activity is repeated many times, the trauma to the area increases and can lead to more serious problems, such as including tendonitis or shin splints.
Once you have proper technique, you should no longer experience any pain or discomfort. Some discomfort is common with a fitness program as your body adjusts to new workloads and activities. However, if the pain persists or becomes worse, you need to take steps to prevent it from progressing. Using another machine or doing another weightlifting exercise or aerobic activity is a good solution. If the pain becomes intolerable, you need to see your doctor.
A simple treatment for minor pains or soreness is to use ice. Applying ice to the sore area for 15-20 minutes after a workout will help reduce inflammation. When the ice is removed, blood will rush to the area, helping to heal any damage. Be sure to wrap the ice in a towel, so it is not in direct contact with your skin, which may be harmful.
The bottom line is to make smart decisions when it comes to your fitness program. The proper fitness program is different for everyone. This is based on your goals and past physical habits. Do not get caught up in the macho attitude that pervades most workout facilities. Do not try to lift the most, work at the hardest intensity or for the longest duration. You need to do your own thing. People get hurt when they try to do someone else’s workout, because usually it is not the appropriate workout for them. Do not worry about what anyone else is doing, only concentrate on yourself. Know that you are doing what is best for you. The best fitness program is individually tailored for you. You are smart and properly educated on how to achieve your goals while avoiding injury.
While you may experience some injuries from your fitness program, you now know how to take the proper steps to avoid them. Armed with this knowledge, you should be able to minimize any injuries and avoid any prolonged absences from working out due to an injury.
Do not get frustrated by an injury. This is your bodies way of telling you it needs a break or a change of scenery. Injuries are just minor setbacks. Stay strong, be patient, and follow the proper treatments and you will quickly be back at full strength.
No comments:
Post a Comment