Reducing Injury During Exercise
Here are a few tips to help you reduce the
risk of injuries while exercising.
Injuries from Muscle or Joint Strain
The most common cause of injury from exercise
is sudden stress or overload on a muscle, tendon, joint or ligament, leading
to muscle-strain or muscle-tear. Luckily, most pulled muscles and other
similar strains are preventable.
Injuries from Repeated Stress on Parts of
the Body
Over-use of certain muscles and joints can
cause injury (eg. tennis elbow). Crosstraining
workouts can help prevent this type of fitness injury.
Importance of Warm-Up Exercises
The Number one rule to prevent exercise injuries
is warm up before you start exercising! A warm-up
routine is essential to prepare muscles, tendons and joints for more
vigorous activity, whether your intended workout involves cardio-aerobic
or strength-training exercises.
Guide to a Mini-Warm-Up Routine
A good warming up program should involve
at least 15 minutes of continuous activity using the large muscles (thighs,
lats, pecs etc.). A warm-up plan should include stretching
and gentle rhythmical movements involving (eg) upper/lower thighs, groin,
calves, chest, shoulders and back. This helps to re-distribute blood flow
to a variety of muscle-groups and individual muscles. Point is, after
being warmed-up and lightly exercised, muscles, tendons and joints are
more flexible and function more efficiently. Bottom line advice: a combination
of gentle stretching and moving of the main muscle groups improves performance
and reduces the risk of injury.
Importance of Cool-Down Exercises
In order to reduce muscle soreness after
vigorous activity, and also to reduce the risk of injury, it's advisable
to perform a few cooling-down exercises after your workout. A cool-down
routine should involve similar stretching and gentle aerobic activity
for 5-10 minutes after you finish your fitness program or sports activity.
Improve General Fitness to Reduce Risk of
Injury
Your overall fitness level, meaning cardiovascular
fitness (to improve breathing and general muscular fitness) and resistance-training
fitness to maintain muscle-strength, bone-strength, body balance and posture
is also related to reduced risk of exercise injuries. The better your
total body fitness and condition, (respiratory function, muscles, ligaments,
tendons, joints and bones) the more able you are to exercise and increase
your performance without suffering injury.
Sources include:
- President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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