Weight-bearing exercise such as jogging, running, or even brisk walking can place a lot of stress on joints and muscles. If you are overweight, you may be at greater risk for discomfort, pain, or injury from weight-bearing exercise early in your fitness program or when increasing your level of intensity or duration. Overuse injuries affect most men who exercise from time to time. There are a number of things you can do to prevent common exercise-related injuries such as sprains, strains, inflammation, and pain. Minor injuries usually can be treated with simple first-aid measures. However, if you have a more serious injury, such as a broken bone, go directly to a hospital emergency department. Rubbing or irritation inside your shoe can cause a blister to appear on your foot. Good-fitting athletic shoes can help prevent blisters. However, if a blister develops while you are walking or jogging, wipe the blister and a needle with alcohol to kill any bacteria that are present. Then carefully prick the blister with the needle to let the fluid out. Do not remove the overlying layer of skin; it will help protect the underlying skin. Cover the blister with a bandage. The blister will heal on its own in a few days. Pain is your body’s way of telling you that something is wrong. When pain occurs during or after exercise, it usually signals the overuse of a muscle, tendon, or joint. Most overuse injuries respond well to the RICE routine, a first-aid treatment you can perform at home. Here are descriptions of some common preventable exercise- and sports related injuries and tips on how to prevent them:
Tendinitis
Tendons are fibrous tissues that attach your muscles to your bones. Tendons can become inflamed from overuse, causing pain and swelling in the affected area. For example, running can cause inflammation in your Achilles tendon, which stretches from the back of the calf to the heel. This inflammation is known as Achilles tendinitis. The tendons in your forearm that attach to your elbow can become inflamed while playing tennis, causing a condition known as tennis elbow. The tendons in your forearm also can become inflamed by other activities, such as bowling or playing softball. Swimming can irritate the tendons in your shoulder, producing an overuse injury known as swimmer’s shoulder. Adequate stretching before and after exercise helps prevent all forms of tendinitis. Exercises that strengthen your forearms, such as push-ups and lifting weights, can help prevent tennis elbow. Raising and lowering your heels and standing on your toes can strengthen your calves and prevent Achilles tendinitis. Strength-conditioning exercises can prevent the development of swimmer’s shoulder.
Shin Splints
Pain felt along the front or the back of your shin that occurs during or after exercise such as jogging or running is called shin splints. This type of injury occurs when you exercise too much without taking enough rest periods. The best treatment for shin splints is rest. Stretching your legs before and after you exercise is
the best way to prevent shin splints.
Plantar Fasciitis
This term refers to the pain and inflammation felt in the arch and heel of your foot when the plantar fascia (the band of tough connective tissue that runs along the bottom of your foot from your heel to your toes) becomes partially detached from the heel. This condition often occurs in runners. The pain is usually strongest in the morning and gradually diminishes throughout the day. After using the RICE routine, or to prevent this type of injury, try strengthening the muscles in your feet by using your toes to pick up objects off the floor.
Strains and Sprains
Overstretching or tearing of a muscle or a tendon is known as a strain. The hamstring muscle in the back of your thigh is a common site for a type of strain called a hamstring pull. Inadequate stretching before sprinting or distance running contributes to the development of this condition. A sprain occurs when a ligament (a fibrous band of tissue that attaches one bone to another) is pulled or torn. Sprained ankles can occur when you are walking or running, especially if you step into a broken area of a sidewalk or trip over something in your path and your ankle is forced into an abnormal position. You may hear a snapping sound at the time of injury. Pain and swelling follow. Use the RICE routine and see your doctor. For the first 24 hours after a sprain or a strain, avoid applying heat to the affected area—for example, from a heating pad or a hot shower—because heat will increase the swelling.
Stress Fractures
Stress fractures are hairline cracks that occur in bones when the muscles, tendons, or ligaments that surround them become weakened by overuse during exercise and can no longer protect the bones. Stress fractures can occur in these bones, especially in your feet, after the repetitive impact of jogging or running. Stress fractures usually heal on their own, but if you experience severe pain, stop exercising and see your doctor as soon as possible. In general, the best way to prevent exercise-related injury is to start exercising slowly and increase your intensity gradually. Being overly zealous in your workouts, especially in the beginning, will quickly result in an injury that will put you
on the sidelines.
The RICE Routine for Athletic Injuries
The RICE Routine for Athletic Injuries
The standard first-aid routine for most strains, sprains, and pulls caused by overuse during exercise is RICE, which stands for rest, ice, compression, and elevation. If you think your injury may be serious, or if it does not heal after using the RICE routine for several days, see your doctor. Rest: Stop exercising immediately. Don’t put any weight on the affected area for 24 hours. Ice: Apply an ice pack to the affected area to reduce swelling. (Place the ice in a sealable plastic bag and wrap it in a towel.) Reapply ice for 20 minutes every hour during the first 24 to 48 hours while you’re awake. Compression: Wrap an elastic bandage around the area, being careful not to wrap it so tightly as to interfere with blood flow. Compression also helps control swelling. Elevation: Raise the affected joint or limb higher than your heart so that gravity can
help prevent blood and other body fluids from collecting at the injury site. You can take an over-the-counter painkiller such as aspirin, acetaminophen, or ibuprofen. Aspirin and ibuprofen also help reduce inflammation. After 1 or 2 days of RICE, begin gently stretching the affected area. Don’t stretch to the point at which it becomes painful, or you could damage the muscle again. Your doctor or a physical therapist can recommend simple exercises tailored to the specific injury to help you regain strength.
Heat Injury
When the weather is very hot and humid, it is a good idea to avoid exercising in order to prevent heat injury. In optimal weather conditions, sweating cools your body. But if high humidity prevents sweat from evaporating, your body cannot cool itself properly. Continuing to exercise produces more and more sweat, and Heat injury occurs in stages. In the first stage, called heat exhaustion, you experience muscle cramps, dizziness, weakness, and profuse sweating. At this stage you need to lie down in an air-conditioned room and sip cool water to recover. The next stage, called heat stroke, includes symptoms such as cool and
pale or hot and red skin, no sweating, headache, nausea and vomiting, an unusually high or low blood pressure, and a temperature of 105 degrees Fahrenheit or higher. Loss of consciousness and coma can soon follow. Warning: Heat stroke is a medical emergency. Call 911 or your local emergency number and request
an ambulance. While you wait for medical help to arrive, lie down in a cool place and have someone place cool, wet cloths on your skin or ice packs under your armpits and at the wrists and the groin area. Remember to drink plenty of fluids whenever you exercise, but especially in hot, humid weather. Try to work out indoors when the heat or the humidity rises, or skip your exercise routine until the weather turns cooler.
When to Stop Exercising
Exercise provides many health benefits, but it is important to know when to stop exercising. If you feel any unusual symptoms, such as difficulty breathing, joint pain, dizziness, chest pain, or an irregular heartbeat, stop exercising immediately. Although regular exercise can reduce your risk of heart attack and early death from heart disease, overexercising can also bring on a heart attack, especially in sedentary men who have one
or more risk factors for heart disease (see page 204). Become familiar with the warning signs of a heart attack so you recognize them if they ever occur—in yourself or in someone else. The most common warning signs of a heart attack include:
• a feeling of pressure or fullness, a squeezing sensation, or crushing pain in the center of the chest that lasts more than just a few minutes and is not relieved by rest
• chest pain that spreads to the shoulders, neck, jaw, or arms
• chest discomfort accompanied by light-headedness, fainting, sweating, nausea or vomiting, cold or clammy skin, or shortness of breath A heart attack is a medical emergency. If you have any of these symptoms, stop exercising immediately and call 911 or your local emergency number, or go directly to the nearest hospital emergency department.
