Keeping yourself safe during your workout
Keeping yourself safe during your workout

From Staff Reports Comments 0
Published: August 3, 2008

As the number of Americans actively participating in athletic endeavors continues to increase, so does a statistic that causes many medical experts to speak out for caution.

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Common injuries

There are several injuries that can cause discomfort ranging from a nagging soreness to a serious situation. Here's how to know what they are and how to deal with them.

•Sore shoulders are often a problem for swimmers, tennis players, weight-lifters and others who repeatedly lift their arms above their heads. The best way to prevent a problem here is to strengthen the muscles in the rotator cuff. You can do this by simply doing a shoulder shrug, lifting both shoulders as high as you can and squeezing them together.

•Hamstring pulls can be extremely painful. Strengthen your hamstrings by lying on your stomach, pulling in your abdominals to protect your lower back, engaging your thigh muscles and slowly lifting one leg, then the other.

•Strained Achilles tendon: It takes a pounding during aerobics and running exercises, especially if you have weak calves. To strengthen the calves, stand up straight, raise onto the balls of your fee, then lower.

•Ankle sprains make it tough to walk. Obvious signs are swelling, tenderness and possibly bruising. The more significant the bruising, the more significant the tear. Walking with good shoes is an appropriate way to help avoid this injury.

•Lower back pain: An estimated 80 percent of the population will have some form of lower back pain at some point in their lives. It usually is divided into two categories: mechanical low back pain; or compressive or neurogenic low back pain. Inflammation causes mechanical, through strain, overuse or trauma. Compressive is caused by pinching of the nerve root. If you are subject to back pain, consult your doctor.

•Runner's knee: Common terminology for Iliotibial Band Syndrone. The ITB is on the outside of the knee and is attached to a muscle in the hip. It is an important stabilizer when you are standing on one leg. When running, there is a moment when only one leg is on the ground. The ITB stabilizes the body at that time. It can suffer excessive friction, however, and swell and inflame. Take time off and be ready to adjust your training schedule.

•Anterior cruciate ligament injury: The ACL is one of the four important ligaments that stabilizes the knee joint. The ACL is the primary restraint to the forward movement of the shin bone on the thigh bone. It also controls knee extension and inward rotation of the shin bone on the thigh bone. Injury often comes in football, skiing, soccer or snowboarding. It can be slight or severe. The first move is to reduce the swilling and inflammation, as well as easing the pain. Then, professional diagnosis and treatment is required.

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Government studies show that, in one year, an estimated 17 million Americans will sustain an injury related to their fitness participation.

A recent report from Continuing Medical Education Courses said: "Although safety precautions are indispensable, there's more to staying injury-free than cushioning your falls, avoiding flying projectiles, and keeping your muscles limber. Athletes often overlook measures than can protect them from problems like sore knees and sprained ankles.”

The report says that though "there is no sure way to take the ouch out” of participation, there are ways to "stay in the game.”

Among the most common injuries are those caused by overuse. Participatiory sports, such as football, hockey, lacrosse, or any other where contact is part of the game, often have injuries that involve suddenly snapped bones, torn tendons, or cuts.

But the majority of injuries that come from the non-contact events, whether it be sport or fitness center, or your own equipment at home, are due to stress. This means they come on over a period of time, possibly weeks or months.

These often are along the lines of: stress fractures, shin splints, pulled muscles, tenderness in the Achilles tendon, or burning in the heel.

What contributes to them? Location and equipment often are the culprits. Worn shoes, uneven running surfaces, unbalanced equipment often cause big problems, and you don't even have to work out for a long time, or be of a certain age, to suffer them.

Know how to avoid the problems

Here are some tips to avoid some of these injuries and other problems:

•If it hurts, stop. Don't try to push through the pain. Real discomfort is a sign that something is wrong.

•Alternate hard training with easy days.

•Make sure your equipment — including your shoes — is not worn out.

•Make sure you warm up, particularly with stretches. Stretches are good for cooling down periods, too.

•If you're running, run on soft, flat surfaces.

•Don't overdo it in the heat. Replenish your water and cool down.

•On indoor equipment, know how it works.

•Follow the directions. If there aren't any, consult someone who knows, such as a dealer's store.

•If you have a recurring problem, such as ankle sprains, see a doctor.