If you participate in a fitness activity, (and even if you don't), chances are you will injure yourself at some point in your life. It takes but a split second to twist your foot on an uneven surface or slip and hurt your back. You may have been too enthusiastic on the weight machines, pushed too hard or too soon, may have been careless or over confident. Tired and therefore ill-equipped for sudden stress on the muscle/joint; whatever the reason, those of us who exercise do expose ourselves to a certain level of risk.
How do you prevent and treat injury? How do you get back to exercising after injury? What precautions do you take to prevent further damage? For an exercise enthusiast, these are crucial questions.
Preventing and treating minor injuries
Exercise caution. If new to exercise, watch and learn. The gym itself could be a dangerous place. The weight machines, dumbbells, medicine balls etc make it a potential minefield for the reckless or over-enthusiastic exerciser.
The “form” of the exercise is more important than trying to prove how much weight you can lift. Learn how to protect your back while lifting weights. Strengthening your core muscles will not only protect the back but also prevent injury by improving posture and balance.
Poor posture, which is an indication of muscle imbalance, invites injury as a result of improper spinal alignment and undue stress on the back, shoulders and knees.
A common mistake is attempting to work beyond the capability of one's body. In your (or your trainer's) enthusiasm, you may, for instance, start running even before you have learnt the proper technique of walking. (Yes, sometimes even an adult has to be trained to walk correctly). You may incorporate high impact activities into your routine when your leg muscles are not yet strong enough to withstand the body weight.
A warm up before and cool down and stretch after the exercise routine is mandatory not only to reduce Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness or DOMS, but also to prevent injury. DOMS is different from injury in that it appears after about 24 hours of completing the exercise routine and not during the workout. It is also a dull generalised soreness of the entire muscle.
If the pain does not seem to be getting any better with time, is worsening or is associated with any neurological symptoms of numbness or tingling, get medical help before attempting anything heroic.
Back on the saddle
After a proper diagnosis, work around the problem. If, for instance, you have a strained or bruised shoulder muscle, you could still walk on the treadmill (without flaying the arms around), or use the spin bike, but you wouldn't want to attempt shoulder, chest or upper back exercises. Or, if you have a sprained back muscle, you avoid any high impact activity but you could still use a recumbent bike for instance, do stretches and supported exercises.
Of course we are talking of minor injuries here, not broken bones, slipped discs or ligament tears. All but the most severe workout injuries should heal in about ten days. Wait for a pain-free period of a week to address the injured body part again.
Rest, stretch and strengthen. Currently these are the three principles behind successful recovery. Rest the injured part from performing the same movement that caused the injury in the first place. Stretch and strengthen the muscles involved. Recurrent injury of the same body part occurs when you get back to working out too early, or without strengthening the injured muscle.
Consistency is key. A sporadic exerciser is more prone to injury. Get back on the saddle slowly but steadily.
Being fit pays
The more out of shape you are, the greater your chances of injury due to weak, unbalanced muscles. For the fit person accustomed to exercise, over-use injuries are more common.
A keen body awareness should develop with regular exercise. However, I am afraid I do know of some unfortunate people who never seem to be able to appreciate or tune in to their bodies. Those who can instinctively learn how to protect the injured part. In fact they even circumvent what may have been a more severe injury.
It has been found that those individuals who are fitter with an already high muscle mass seem to recover faster. They also tend not to gain as much weight. It may be a combination of greater confidence of the body's capabilities or the fact that they have a higher basal metabolic rate to begin with.
Preventing weight gain
A major disadvantage to the enforced rest is the accumulation of fat. Muscle atrophy is another real problem. You may need to cut back on calories in the interim rest period and exercise the uninjured parts of the body to keep the metabolism elevated and prevent piling on the pounds. To add insult to injury, lack of exercise in itself could cause depression and the tendency to turn to food as solace, further leading to the body coming unhinged.
Finally, a positive mental attitude is vital in fitness as anywhere else. A confident, optimistic and fit individual has a better chance of healing faster as compared to an anxious, self-deprecating and unfit one.
Quick tips
Exercise caution and work within your capacity
Form of exercise is of prime importance
Improve posture and strengthen the core
Warm up, cool down and stretch
Following injury, Rest, strengthen and stretch
Get back on the saddle slowly, but stay consistent.
Prevent weight gain in the interim period
Being fit in the first place puts you at an advantage to healing faster.
A positive mental attitude goes a long way with the healing process
