Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Fitness Tip - Working Out With Injuries

Working out with injuries can be challenging and frustrating. Here are some things to think about if you get an injury and how to avoid them in the future.

Types of Injuries

There are 2 types of injuries that occur “acute” or “chronic.”

Acute injuries, such as a sprained ankle or strained muscle may occur suddenly during activity.

Chronic injuries usually result from overusing one area of the body while playing a sport, exercising over a long period, or a repetitive motion. Examples of this may include carpel tunnel syndrome from daily computer use or a knee injury from marathon training.

What Should I Do If I Suffer An Injury?

Whether an injury is acute or chronic, there is never a good reason to try and "work through" the pain of an injury. When you have pain from a particular movement or activity, STOP! Continuing the activity only causes further harm. It’s best to lay off exercise from the upper body if there is a shoulder injury, but instead focus on the lower body to keep your fitness levels up while you are recovering.

If the inflammation subsides, doing non-weight baring range of motion exercises will bring blood flow to injured area. This helps with repair and breaks up the scar tissue which creates stiffness in the joint.

Injury Prevention

Due to the fragile design of our joints, there are 3 TOP Common Injuries:

Rotator cuff - Strengthening the tiny muscles that support the shoulder joint is key to reducing shoulder injuries

Lower back - Core strength and hamstring flexibility is so important for lower back pain.

Knee injuries - Along with wearing good shoes, strengthening all the muscles around the knee joint will help with the proper tracking and stabilization of the knee joint

Doing exercise with the proper form always reduces your risk of injury. Stretching and strengthening your muscles will help support the body to repair and prevent injury. Make sure you drink plenty of water so your body is hydrated. If you don’t drink enough water, your body will take moisture out of the tissues which leave your body prone to injury. And lastly, utilize a personal trainer to keep that well trained eye on your technique.

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