Weight training means adding resistance to the body's natural movements in order to make those movements more difficult, and encourage the muscles to become stronger.
Weight training increases fitness by:
Weight training can be an important component of your fitness program, regardless of your age or gender.
Weight training programs can be done with free weights or with weight machines. Free weights are less expensive than weight machines and are more easily adapted to smaller and larger body types. Machines are safer than most free weights because the weight is more controlled.
For all lifting, use a weight belt. Some people feel that weight gloves give them better grip strength, but they are not necessary. Good athletic shoes that provide firm floor traction are a must.
First, you should establish the goals for your program. Decide if you want to exercise to obtain good muscular tone and cardiovascular endurance, to build muscle strength in a particular muscle group to improve sports performance or to rehabilitate an injured muscle.
If you want to improve muscle tone and cardiovascular performance, design your program along the lines of a circuit program. In such a program, exercises are done at least four times a week for approximately 20 to 30 minutes a session, and very short rest periods (30 seconds or less) are allowed between exercises. This program would generally consist of 15 to 20 repetitions of an exercise for each major muscle group.
If you want to build strength, you should exercise the muscle group you are strengthening to fatigue. This program incorporates fewer repetitions than circuit training. For example, you would do three sets of repetitions, but only 8 to 10 repetitions per set, with a longer rest period of 60 to 90 seconds between each exercise. This may be done every other day, but not as frequently as a circuit program because the fatigued muscles need longer to recover.
If you want to rehabilitate an injured muscle, your program would be similar to the circuit training program of higher repetitions and lower weights. However, a rehabilitation program, unlike a circuit training program, focuses on working the injured muscle group.
An exercise professional, like a certified athletic trainer, a sports physical therapist, an exercise physiologist or a strength and conditioning coach, can help you design a program that's suitable for your needs.
It is extremely important to check with your doctor before beginning a weight training program, particularly if you are over 30 or have any physical limitations. If you have musculoskeletal problems, check with a Sports Medicine Specialist to make sure that the program will not aggravate those problems.
To avoid injury when weight training, you should
Any one who watches sports knows that a "pulled hamstring" is a troublesome and sometimes painful condition for athletes. The hamstrings are the muscles at the back of your thigh. These muscles help to straighten (extend) the leg at the hip and bend (flex) the leg at the knee. A "pulled" hamstring is a strain or tear in the muscles or tendons.
Anyone can experience hamstring strain, but most people at risk for this injury are:
Hamstring injuries are easier to prevent than cure. But to understand what causes a hamstring injury, you first have to know how muscles work.
All muscles work in pairs to perform a task. One set of muscles shortens (contracts) to exert force, while the other set of muscles relaxes. The hamstring muscles, located at the back of the thigh, work with the quadriceps muscles in the front of the thigh. When you bend your leg, the hamstring muscles contract and the quadriceps muscles relax. Conversely, when you straighten your leg, the quadriceps muscles contract and the hamstring muscles relax.
When one muscle group is much stronger than its opposing muscle group, the imbalance can lead to a strain. This frequently happens with the hamstring muscles. The quadriceps muscles are usually much more powerful, so the hamstring may become fatigued faster than the quadriceps. A fatigued muscle cannot relax as easily when its opposing muscle contracts, leading to strains.
Muscle strains are overuse injuries that result when the muscle is stretched without being properly warmed up. It's like pulling a rubber band too long. Eventually, the rubber band will either lose its shape or tear apart. The same thing happens with muscles.
Hamstring strain in young people often occurs because bones and muscles do not grow at the same rate. During a growth spurt, the bones may grow faster than the muscles. The growing bone pulls the muscle tight, and a sudden jump, stretch, or impact can tear the muscle away from its connection to the bone.
Sometimes, a muscle that tears away from a bone will pull a piece of bone with it. This is called an avulsion injury. If the hamstring tears near the hip, where it attaches to the pelvis, it may pull a piece of hip bone (ischium) away. This is a serious injury that may require surgery to reattach the muscle.
Hamstring injuries are usually readily apparent.
Hamstring injuries are grouped into three categories.
Grade one injuries are muscle pulls that do not result in much damage to the structure of the tissues. Grade two injuries are partial tears. Grade three injuries are complete tears.
It is very important to treat and rehabilitate your hamstring injury correctly. Incomplete or improper healing makes reinjury much more likely.
For the first three to five days after the injury, the main goal of treatment is to control the swelling, pain, and hemorrhage (bleeding). Hamstring injuries are initially treated using the RICE method. RICE stands for rest, ice, compression, and elevation.
Rest is critical. You may require a short period (up to one week) of immobilization. Severe tears may require a longer period of rest. This may mean you spend most of your time lying down. You may need to use crutches to get around. If you put too much weight on your hamstring after an injury, more damage may occur and more scar tissue may form.
Ice applied to the injured hamstring controls swelling and pain but doesn't stop it completely. This is important because your body's inflammatory response actually helps your muscles heal. Cold treatments slow the metabolism and blood flow in the area. Cold also reduces your sensations of pain by numbing the nerves. And experiencing less pain helps you relax, reducing muscle spasms.
A plastic bag full of ice cubes or crushed ice, held on with an elastic bandage, is the most effective type of cold treatment. The ice should be kept on the injury for 20 to 30 minutes. You can also use cold gel packs, chipped ice, or cold sprays. Cold treatments should be repeated at least four times a day for the first two to three days. They can be done as often as every two hours if needed.
Compression can help reduce the bleeding in your muscle to limit swelling and scarring. To apply compression, you wrap your hamstring firmly in an elastic bandage.
Elevation can help reduce swelling. It also keeps your leg immobilized. The key to elevation is to raise and support the injured body part above the level of the heart. In the case of a hamstring injury, this requires lying down and supporting the leg up on pillows.
You will be prescribed a short course of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), such as ibuprofen, to help relieve the swelling and pain. For muscle injuries, pain relief may be the major benefit of NSAIDs. They do not always treat the swelling of muscle injuries very effectively.
Surgery is rarely needed for hamstring injuries. However, it may be needed for an avulsion to reattach the torn hamstring tendon to the pelvis. If surgery is delayed after an avulsion, the tendon may begin to retract further down the leg, and scar tissue may form around the torn end of the tendon. Both of these factors make it more difficult to do the surgery.
Surgery may also be needed to repair a complete tear of a hamstring muscle. An incision is made over the back of the thigh where the hamstring muscle is torn. The muscle repair involves reattaching the two torn ends and sewing them together.
A physical therapist will oversee your rehabilitation program. For minor muscle pulls, you may need two to four weeks to safely get back to your activities. For more severe muscle tears, you may need rehabilitation for two to three months, with complete healing occurring by four to six months.
At first, your therapist will use the RICE method. After three days, treatments may include contrast applications where heat and ice are alternated over 20 to 30 minutes. Ultrasound treatments may also be applied to improve blood flow and healing in the injured tissues.
As your hamstrings begin to heal, it is critical that you follow an exercise program to regain your strength and mobility. Specially designed exercises encourage your body to rebuild muscle instead of scar tissue. The exercises also help prevent reinjury. Rehabilitation can be slow, so you will need to be patient and not push yourself too hard or too fast.
Early in your rehabilitation, exercises may be done on a stationary bike set to low resistance. These exercises allow you to take your hamstrings through a range of motion without having to hold up your weight. When you can walk without a limp and feel very little tenderness, you can start a walking program. Eventually you can work up to jogging.
Stretching will be a key feature of your rehabilitation program. You will be shown how to stretch. Plan to continue these stretches even after you heal, because a reinjury of the same hamstring is common. Increasing your flexibility may help you avoid another hamstring injury in the future. It is important that you maintain good flexibility to keep your hamstrings healthy.
Strengthening exercises usually begin with isometric exercises. These exercises involve contracting the muscles withoutmoving your leg joints. As your hamstrings get stronger, light weights are used. It is important that you feel no pain during these exercises.
You should maintain your general level of fitness throughout your rehabilitation. Your therapist will suggest workouts that don't stress your hamstrings.
Most hamstring injuries get better with treatment and rehabilitation. Even world-class athletes with severe hamstring injuries are usually able to return to competition. By keeping the hamstrings flexible and giving the body time to heal, you should be able to return to the activities you enjoy.
The best way to prevent a hamstring injury is to stretch before and after an activity. Weak or tight hamstrings can contribute to low back pain, so doing exercises to strengthen and stretch the hamstrings may also reduce your risk of low back pain.
Sit down and straighten your left leg. The sole of your right foot should rest next to the inside of your straightened leg. Lean slightly forward and touch your foot with your fingers. Keep your left foot upright with the ankle and toes relaxed. Hold for 30 seconds. Repeat with right leg.
Unfortunately , injury is inevitable for some of those who participate in sporting activity . Injuries may occur as a result of an acute episode of trauma . Overuse injuries are caused by repeated episodes of microtrauma that individually are insufficient to give rise to macroscopic injury .
The injuries suffered by athletes do not differ greatly from those occurring in any other group of people . However , every sport has its own group of injuries that are , to a greater or lesser extent , specific to that sport itself . This is important in preventing the injury in the first instance .
Following , I have outlined some tips to prevent injury while participating in sporting activities.
Preparation is the key word when considering prevention of sporting injury .
A previous minor injury may lead to clumsy timing or poor committment in a tackle . So after sustaining a sporting injury , one must be thoroughly examined by a Sports Medicine Specialist and prevent too early return to sport .
Correct use of safety equipment is essential in avoiding injury such as helmets , thigh pads , taping , strapping and bracing of knee and ankle . Poor quality shoes and shoes badly deformed from overuse must be avoided . 50% of shock absorbancy of shoes is lost after only 500 km of running which is about a month’s training for a marathon runner .
The demands of training make overuse injury endemic in modern sport . Sports training and competition have intensified with the trend towards professionalism . Some tips
In today’s sport , the winner is no longer the best athlete , but the one who succeeds in reaching the start.
Bungee Jumping is not a new practice. Indians in the South Pacific island of Pentecost used to have a kind of a competition or rite which the males jumped from banyan trees tied to vines. Since this practice was shown in 1955 by a National Geographic documentary , bungee jumping has gained world wide popularity. It was recognized as a sport in 1979.
The literature about injuries and deaths about this sports is not enough to take full conclusions about the theme. Over two 2 million people have jumped since 1987 . In 1992 it was reported 5 deaths and 4 critical injuries. There is a lack of data about how many accidents, and in which circumstances, had occurred until today.
A bungee jump can be separated on three different stages: Free fall, Body deceleration, and Upward movement.
First Stage - Free fall . During this stage, all jump stress hormones, like beta-endorphin, growth hormone, prolactin, testosterone,and adrenalin , are supposed to be released. Several evidences obtained from monitoring jumps, show that it really occurs and it could explain the feelings of exhilaration and well being that often occurs and last for some days after a single jump. The theory that prolonged rises in brain neurotransmitter concentration can occur is being studied.
Second Stage - Body deceleration. A sudden body deceleration occurs because the elastic property of the cord ( Hook’s law- F=KX) . The intensity of deceleration depends on the kind of cord used and the altitude of the jump. The more intense decelaration the more is the risk of injuries. At this stage an increasing head ward fluid shift take place , consequently the hydrostatic pressure in the blood vessels of eye becomes dangerously high. Because the head-down position a sudden rise in intrathoracic pressure also occurs and it is one of the major damage event.
Third Stage- Upward movement. It is characterized by an upward movement in a head-down position. It is responsible for a further increasing in intrathoracic and head blood vessels pressures. According to some aviation studies, forces exceeding -3g (it is frequently reached during a bungee jump) are able to cause hemorrhages. Furthermore, an extreme bradycardia can occurs leading to syncope. The mechanism is supposed to be mediated for baroreceptors when a sudden and substantial headward shift of blood volume occurs .
The increased popularity of this sport has raised questions about safety and risk of jumping ; as well as the risk that people who jump are exposed to injuries.
The major bungee jumping injuries have been impact related. Minor injuries include contusions, pinched fingers , and cord burns to the body. Intraocular hemorrhages, peroneal nerve injuries, near hanging , and quadriplegia are more serious injuries that are being reported. However, there are not reviews that compiled the wide range of injuries, identifying the risks (immediate and potential) of bungee jumping which would allow a better understanding of the risks.
The injuries are divided in three major groups : head, trunk, and lower extremities injuries.
Head - The head injuries have resulted in extensive damage to the eyes involving the retina and others structures such as fovea, macula, and internal limiting membrane , as well as the vitreous body and conjunctiva. In the most of cases, a temporary visual impairment is the result of these injuries. Reported injuries include nasal and temporal bilateral subconjunctival hemorrhages, subconjunctival chemosis (infection), and bilateral multiple parafoveal dot and blot hemorrhages .
Numerous spots in the eye are frequent to occur after a jump in the macular area. It is , probably, due to microinfarction resulting from blood vessel obstruction of the retinal nerve fibre layer. Other injuries less reported are blind spot, subinternal limiting membrane hemorrhaged of the macular region, and ruptures of the internal limiting membrane.
The most common fatal accident occurs when the individual becomes entangled with the cord. The body is suspended by neck and compression of trachea , carotid arteries, jugular veins, and cervical vertebras leads to a severe asphyxia , consciousness decline , and death. An example of it had recently occurred during the preparations for the last half time SuperBown show. An experienced bungee jumper, a woman, died suspended during the training before the presentation. This is more common in acrobatic jumping.
The miscalculation of the elasticity of the bungee cord may allow the impact of the head with the bungee pad to occur which is frequently fatal.
Trunk - The trunk injuries can be divided in three distinct categories : shoulder, back, and spine injuries. The shoulder injuries are dislocations and soft tissues damage as occurs in back injuries.
Spinal injuries reported had serious consequences, fortunately they are limited in number. Trauma has involved cervical spine, resulting in compression fractures , near-hanging, and quadriplegia. Damage to spine had typically involved the cervical facets and posterior spinous processes of vertebra, and intervertebral bodies and subaracnoid spaces between vertebrae. Abrasions, ecchymosis around the neck and minimal oedema result from near-hanging, C5 tenderness with decreased range of motion and bending of the neck have also been reported. In addition , it may occur acute neck pain, inability to move the legs and loosing of sensibility at and bellow cervical damage.
C2, C3, C5, C6, C7 neural injuries have been reported and the consequences of it include slightly decreased strength in the muscles of army, hands, and back , flaccid muscles in the lower extremity, and absence of deep reflex.
Further injuries in cervical spine resulting from bungee jumping and possibly attributed to the extreme forces that jumpers are exposed include : articular subluxation, small facet fractures, spinal cord contusion, and herniated nucleus pulposus.
Lower extremities- The peroneal (fibular) nerve injury is frequently involved in bungee jumping. This damage leads to a cutaneous anesthesia of the lateral aspect of the leg , foot, and ankle, as well as marked weakness in dorsiflection and eversion of the foot. These are the classical signs and symptoms of peroneal nerve palsy. The excessive traction on the nerve is the probable reason for the palsy.
Bungee Jumping results in a wide range of injuries owing the nature of the sport. Additional risk is present when there are lack of experience and faulty equipment. The effects of acceleratory forces on the body should be examined more closely, to determinate , for example, whether distance dropped or tensile strength of the bungee cord need to be modified as well as the equipment should be examined in its reliability and tension , in order to establish more consistent equipments and possible reduce risks. Formalized regulations should be established with specific standards and guidelines on equipment and practices.
Serious injuries to head, trunk, and lower extremities resulting from bungee jumping often leading to permanent sequels have been documented. There is a poor literature about this sport and general population may not be aware of risks. Although estimating the risk of a single jump is not possible , it depends on several factors as the weight ,age ,personal skill ,equipment and many others factors.
Thus, others studies are needed. A very powerful industry is given support to this sport, but safety must be the principal issue. The development of new equipment designs or variations of the sport should be thought since a lot of fun and adventure could be experienced in this extreme sport.
While there may be no single fountain of youth, you can slow down the aging process by staying physically active. Regular exercise enhances muscle and joint function, keeps bones strong, and decreases your risk of heart attack and stroke.
Here are some tips that can help you exercise safely.
Always take time to warm up and stretch before physical activity. Research studies have shown that cold muscles are more prone to injury. Warm up with jumping jacks, stationary cycling or running or walking in place for 3 to 5 minutes. Then slowly and gently stretch, holding each stretch for 30 seconds.
Don't succumb to the "weekend warrior" syndrome. Compressing your physical activity into two days sets you up for trouble and doesn't increase your fitness level. Try to get at least 30 minutes of moderate physical activity every day. If you're truly pressed for time, you can break it up into 10 minute chunks. Remember that moderate physical activity can include walking the dog, working in the gardening, playing with the kids and taking the stairs instead of an elevator.
Take lessons and invest in good equipment. Whether you're a beginner or have been playing a sport for a long time, lessons are a worthwhile investment. Proper form and instruction reduce the chance of developing an "overuse" injury like tendonitis or stress fractures. Lessons at varying levels of play for many sports are offered by local park districts and athletic clubs. Select the proper shoes for your sport and use them only for that sport. When the treads start to look worn or the shoes are no longer as supportive, it is time to replace them.
As you age, you may find that you are not as flexible as you once were or that you cannot tolerate the same types of activities that you did years ago. While no one is happy about getting older, you will be able to prevent injury by modifying your activity to accommodate your body's needs.
When changing your activity level, increase it in increments of no more than 10 percent per week. If you normally walk 2 miles a day and want to increase your fitness level, don't try to suddenly walk 4 miles. Slowly build up to more miles each week until you reach your higher goal. Also use the 10 percent rule as your guide for strength training and increase your weights gradually .
Develop a balanced fitness program that incorporates cardiovascular exercise, strength training, and flexibility. In addition to providing a total body workout, a balanced program will keep you from getting bored and lessen your chances of injury.
Add activities and new exercises cautiously. No matter if you've been sedentary or are in good physical shape, do not try to take on too many activities at one time. It is best to add no more than one or two new activities per workout.
If you have or have had a sports or orthopaedic injury like tendonitis, arthritis, stress fracture or low back pain, consult a Sports medicine Expert who can help design a fitness routine to promote wellness and minimize the chance of injury.
When you participate in sports and physical fitness activities, you can injure the soft tissues of your body. Even simple everyday activities can damage these ligaments, tendons, and muscles.
Some of the soft-tissue injuries you are most likely to experience include:
Any of these can be the result of a single episode, such as a fall, a sudden twist, or a blow to the body. You might also sustain one or more of these injuries because of repeated overuse, such as in ongoing athletic activities. In this case, small amounts of body stress accumulate slowly but steadily. The result can be damage and pain.
Here are some of the injuries you are most likely to experience, along with suggested ways of treating them.
The joints of your body are supported by ligaments. Ligaments are strong bands of connective tissue that connect one bone to another. A sprain is a simple stretch or tear of the ligaments.
The areas of your body that are most vulnerable to sprains are your ankles, knees, and wrists.
A sprained ankle can occur when your foot turns inward. This can put extreme tension on the ligaments of your outer ankle and cause a sprain.
A sprained knee can be the result of a sudden twist.
A wrist sprain most often occurs when you fall on an outstretched hand.
Most mild sprains heal with "R.I.C.E." (rest, ice, compression, and elevation) and exercise. Moderate sprains may also require a period of bracing / casting . The most severe sprains may require surgery to repair torn ligaments.
Your bones are supported by a combination of muscles and tendons. Tendons connect muscles to bones.
A strain is the result of an injury to either a muscle or a tendon, usually in your foot or leg. The strain may be a simple stretch in your muscle or tendon, or it may be a partial or complete tear in the muscle-and-tendon combination.
The recommended treatment for a strain is the same as for a sprain: rest, ice, compression, and elevation. This should be followed by simple exercises to relieve pain and restore mobility.
For a serious tear, the soft tissues may need to be repaired surgically.
A contusion is a bruise caused by a blow to your muscle, tendon, or ligament. The bruise is caused when blood pools around the injury and discolors the skin.
Most contusions are mild and respond well when you rest, apply ice and compression, and elevate the injured area.
If symptoms persist, medical care should be sought to prevent permanent damage to the soft tissues.
Inflammation is a healing response to injury. It is usually accompanied by swelling, heat, redness, and pain. An inflammation in a tendon or in the covering of the tendon is called tendonitis.
Tendonitis is caused by a series of small stresses that repeatedly aggravate the tendon.
Professional baseball players, swimmers, tennis players, and golfers are susceptible to tendonitis in their shoulders and arms.
Soccer and basketball players, runners, and aerobic dancers are prone to tendon inflammation in their legs and feet.
Tendonitis may be treated by rest to eliminate stress, anti-inflammatory medication, steroid injections, splinting, and exercises to correct muscle imbalance and improve flexibility.
Persistent inflammation may cause damage to the tendon, which may necessitate surgical correction.
A bursa is a sac filled with fluid that is located between a bone and a tendon or muscle. A bursa allows the tendon to slide smoothly over the bone.
Repeated small stresses and overuse can cause the bursa in the shoulder, elbow, hip, knee, or ankle to swell. This swelling and irritation is called bursitis.
Many people experience bursitis in association with tendonitis.
Bursitis can usually be relieved by rest and possibly with anti-inflammatory medication. Some orthopaedic surgeons also inject the bursa with additional medication to reduce the inflammation.
When one of your bones is stressed by overuse, tiny breaks in the bone can occur. The injury is termed a stress fracture.
Early symptoms may be pain and swelling in the region of the stress fracture. The bones of the lower leg and foot are particularly prone to stress fractures.
The fracture may not be seen on initial routine X-rays, requiring a bone scan to obtain the diagnosis.
These injuries are treated by rest, activity modification, cast immobilization, and, rarely, by surgery.
If you are an athlete or a fitness enthusiast, you should pay close attention to your body's warning signs.
Recreational athletes can help prevent injuries by a brief warm up, then stretching, before exercise.
Fatigue and pain are usually a signal that you are pressing too hard. Be sure to stretch thoroughly before your work-out, and stop before you are exhausted.
Stress injuries can also result from poor muscle balance, lack of flexibility, or weakness in soft tissues caused by previous injuries. These injuries to the muscle, bone ligaments, and tendons may require a prolonged amount of time to heal, in spite of appropriate care.
You should see a Sports Medicine Specialist for treatment of these injuries to the soft tissue and bone. Besides treating the problem, he will develop a program of exercise or rehabilitation to restore function.
The toughest and most important step in an exercise program is getting started. People often think they need to tackle a strenuous program right away to prove they are committed. But in reality, slow and steady is the best way to begin.
You need a workable plan to change your lifestyle from sedentary to physically active. Following some basic guidelines can help establish an exercise program that protects you against disease and disability and insures a healthy, independent, and productive life.
Some athletes use steroids in an attempt to improve their athletic performance. Other young persons use the drug because they are insecure about their appearance.
Anabolic steroids may help you increase the size of muscles. But if you take the drug to improve your athletic performance or your appearance, think again.
Why would you take a drug that could:
That's not what you want if you're a young man looking for big muscles.
If you're a young woman using the drug, you could get:
If you are still growing, anabolic steroids may permanently stunt your growth.
Medical experiments in animals show that anabolic steroids make the tendons weak, and that may result in tearing or rupture of the tendon. Tendons connect muscles to bones.
If you buy anabolic steroids from illegal sources, you never know if they are pure. You could take a drug that is tainted. Sharing needles to inject steroids has been linked to AIDS.
You have to keep taking the drug to keep your new look or the muscles will shrink. That's why users who are obsessed with a new body image find taking anabolic steroids a habit that is hard to kick.
Anabolic steroids can make you uncontrollably aggressive and combative, even with the people you love. Steroid abusers often have arrest records. Although the psychological effects are reversed when steroids are discontinued, the social scars will remain.
When you stop taking the drugs, you may get deeply depressed. Many former steroid abusers tell of suicide attempts.
One of the most common injuries in sports is a stress fracture. Overcoming an injury like a stress fracture can be difficult, but it can be done.
A stress fracture is an overuse injury. It occurs when muscles become fatigued and are unable to absorb added shock. Eventually, the fatigued muscle transfers the overload of stress to the bone causing a tiny crack called a stress fracture.
Stress fractures often are the result of increasing the amount or intensity of an activity too rapidly. They also can be caused by the impact of an unfamiliar surface (a tennis player who has switched surfaces from a soft clay court to a hard court); improper equipment (a runner using worn or less flexible shoes); and increased physical stress (a basketball player who has had a substantial increase in playing time).
Most stress fractures occur in the weight bearing bones of the lower leg and the foot. More than 50 percent of all stress fractures occur in the lower leg.
Studies have shown that athletes participating in tennis, track and field, gymnastics, and basketball are very susceptible to stress fractures. In all of these sports, the repetitive stress of the foot striking the ground can cause trauma. Without sufficient rest between workouts or competitions, an athlete is at risk for developing a stress fracture.
Stress fractures affect people of all ages who participate in repetitive sporting activities, like running. Medical studies have shown that female athletes seem to experience more stress fractures than their male counterparts. Many orthopaedic surgeons attribute this to a condition referred to as "the female athlete triad": eating disorders (bulimia or anorexia), amenorrhea (infrequent menstrual cycle), and osteoporosis. As a female's bone mass decreases, her chances of getting a stress fracture increase.
Pain with activity is the most common complaint with a stress fracture. This pain subsides with rest.
It is very important that during the medical examination the Sports Medicine Specialist evaluates the patient's risk factors for stress fracture.
X-rays are commonly used to determine stress fracture. Sometimes, the stress fracture cannot be seen on regular x-rays or will not show up for several weeks after the pain starts. Occasionally, a computed topography (CT) scan or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) will be necessary.
The most important treatment is rest. Individuals need to rest from the activity that caused the stress fracture, and engage in a pain-free activity during the six to eight weeks it takes most stress fractures to heal. It may even require casting.
If the activity that caused the stress fracture is resumed too quickly, larger, harder-to-heal stress fractures can develop. Re-injury also could lead to chronic problems where the stress fracture might never heal properly.
In addition to rest, shoe inserts or braces may be used to help these injuries heal.
Here are some tips to help prevent stress fractures:
Some athletes think that "winning is everything," and take large doses of nutritional supplements to get an edge over their opponents. Creatine is the most popular sports supplement. Many athletes, including some children and adolescents, take creatine supplements to increase strength and improve sports performance.
Creatine is a natural source of energy for muscle contraction. The body produces creatine in the liver, kidneys, and pancreas. People can also get creatine by eating meat or fish. (Vegetarians may have lower amounts of creatine in their bodies.) Most of the creatine in the body is stored in skeletal muscle and used during physical activity. The rest is used in the heart, brain, and other tissues.
Taking creatine supplements may increase the amount of creatine in the muscles.
Muscles may be able to generate more energy or generate energy at a faster rate.
Some people think that taking creatine supplements along with training will improve performance by providing quick bursts of intense energy for activities such as sprinting and weightlifting.
Vegetarians and other individuals with lower amounts of natural creatine may see more of a difference by taking creatine supplements, compared with other people. There may be a "saturation point" that limits how much creatine muscles can store.
Creatine supplements come in a wide variety of brand names and products. The supplements are available over the counter at vitamin, drug, and grocery stores, and on the Internet.
Use of creatine supplements is widespread and is expected to rise. Most of the people who use creatine supplements are:
It is important to remember that, although creatine is a "natural" product, it is not always safe to take creatine supplements. This means that the creatine products available in stores may vary in amount and quality, and there is no guarantee of safety or purity.
Many young athletes who take creatine supplements rely on the advice of friends, not doctors. Some creatine users do not know how much creatine to take and may take more than they should.
People who take creatine supplements may gain weight because of water retention in the body's muscles. Other side effects of long-term use of creatine supplements include muscle cramps, dehydration, diarrhea, nausea, and seizures.
It may be dangerous to take creatine supplements while undergoing dehydration (for example, for wrestling competition) or when trying to lose weight.
We do not know the effects of creatine supplements on important organ systems, such as the heart, brain, kidneys, liver, and reproductive organs, or the effects of combining creatine supplements with over-the-counter medications, prescription drugs, and vitamins.
Medical researchers are studying the safety and effectiveness of creatine supplements. They also are studying whether creatine supplements may help in the treatment of diseases that cause muscles to shrink and fail, such as heart failure/disease, muscular/neuromuscular diseases, and stroke.
Although research is underway, we do not know the long-term health effects of taking creatine supplements, especially in children who are still growing. Because of these unknown risks, children and adolescents younger than 18 years and pregnant or nursing women should never take creatine supplements. People with kidney problems also should never take creatine supplements.
No matter what your age or health condition, always see your doctor for advice before taking creatine supplements.
Swimming is good exercise (that's obvious). Swimming is a lifetime sport that benefits the body and the whole person! But what is it that makes swimming good, specifically? That depends on what you are trying to accomplish.
Swimming is a healthy activity that can be continued for a lifetime - and the health benefits swimming offers for a lifetime are worth the effort it takes to get to the pool. If you are looking for a break from the heat of the summer, then a dip in the water is exactly what you need; swimming is a way for you to cool off.
Maybe you are a runner, training on a regular basis, and want to find an activity that keeps your heart rate up but takes some of the impact stress off of your body. Perhaps you have been doing some other form of land exercise, and now an injury prevents you from putting weight on a knee or ankle. Swimming can help you. Kicking workouts, water aerobics, pool running, or a regular swimming workout can all give you a great exercise session without the weight of your body pounding you with each move.
Regular swimming builds endurance, muscle strength and cardio-vascular fitness. It can serve as a cross-training element to your regular workouts. Before a land workout, you can use the pool for a warm-up session. Swimming with increasing effort to gradually increase your heart rate and stimulate your muscle activity is easily accomplished in the water. After a land workout, swimming a few laps can help you cool-down, move blood through your muscles to help them recover, and help you relax as you glide through the water.
Swimming does burn calories at a rate of about 4 calories a km per kg of bodyweight. If you weigh 75 kg and it takes you 20 minutes to swim one km, then you will be using about 900 calories in one hour.
Spending time in a group workout, whether water aerobics or a master's swim practice, is a great social outlet. Exchanging stories, challenging each other, and sharing in the hard work make swimming with others a rewarding experience.
There are other psychological benefits to swimming, if you allow it to occur. Relax and swim with a very low effort. Let your mind wander, focusing on nothing but the rhythm of your stroke. This form of meditation can help you gain a feeling of well-being, leaving your water session refreshed and ready to go on with the rest of your day. Many swimmers find an in-direct benefit from swimming. They develop life skills such as sportsmanship, time-management, self-discipline, goal-setting, and an increased sense of self-worth through their participation in the sport. Swimmers seem to do better in school, in general terms, than non-swimmers as a group.
Personalities in the sports world , be it cricket superstar Sachin Tendulkar or Golf wonder Tiger Woods , all worked hard to get to where they are today .However , even with intense training , their bodies have limitations , and they get injured . But they bounce back , often remarkably fast . How?
The answer in most cases is the administration of effective injury care and proper structured rehabilitation . Many of us have experienced the agony of a muscle pull , perhaps during a friendly football match , a mishap with the shoulder in the local gym , or a sprained ankle during badminton practice .What’s worse than the initial intense pain is the fact that although it finally recedes , some pain often lingers for a long time or becomes chronic .It is then easily aggravated each time you play , or merely engage in any physical exertion to the affected area .
Fortunately , sports injuries like serious broken bones or life threatening emergency cases are rare among amateur athletes . However , sprained ligaments and strained muscles are common . Ironically , these common soft tissue injuries are the ones that have the greatest potential to become chronic if not properly treated .
Frequently , a “snap” or “pop” is heard at the time of the injury . Other signs and symptoms of a soft tissue injury are severe onset of pain , tenderness , swelling , bruising and loss of normal function .A complete examination of the athlete and equipment by a Sports Medicine Specialist is ideal to assess the cause and severity of the injury . Xrays are done if necessary . Protocol for proper treatment and rehabilitation of the injury will then be determined .
Managing a sporting injury is not simply a matter of treating the injured part . If you are a runner who returns to pounding the roads in the same pair of old , worn shoes after your achilles inflammation has settled , you will relapse without fail . Always remember that the AIM of treatment is a return to sport .
Initial treatment includes rest , ice , compression and elevation which is easily remembered as the acronym RICE .
Rest : no weight bearing for the first 24 hours after the injury , and possibly longer depending on the severity . It implies rest to the injured part and not the rest of the athlete
Ice : Apply icepacks on the injury for 15-20 minutes every one to two hours for the first 24 to 48 hours .
Compression : A crepe bandage or elastic wrap should be applied to the injured part to prevent the accumulation of edema ( swelling ) .
Elevation : Elevating the injured area helps in removing the edema . Placing the injury higher than the hip or heart is a good rule of the thumb .
Management of a sporting injury requires an assessment of why the injury occured , treating the injury itself while maintaining fitness , and a gradual structured rehabilitation programme through to competition .Breakdown can occur at any stage along the path of return to sport .
PREVENTION is the key word in management of a sporting injury
With many sports injuries , there is a mechanical alteration of the bones/joints and a weakening of the muscles , tendons , and ligaments .Basically , the tissue gets stretched and bruised , and the joints get stuck and out of alignment , which in turn affects how the nervous system provides feedback to the brain.Time and rest will generally help the damaged tissue to heal , but the immobilised part is not necessarily fixed , ultimately compromising optimum recovery , proper nervous system control , and a return to previous levels of performance.
The most important component of treatment of a sporting injury is the physiotherapy programme .Physiotherapists use massage , friction , faradism , strapping , stretching , and strengthening techniques with manipulation and mobilisations . They also employ various electrical treatments such as interferential therapy , laser , ultrasonics ,and shortwave therapy .This helps restore the body’s natural structural balance , and improves the neurological feedback to and from the brain . This also supports the body’s innate ability to repair itself , making healing more efficient and effective .Physiotherapists also teach athletes to be in tune with their body . If you have an injury , whether big or small , covering up the pain with painkillers can prolong the injury .This is because you are turning off the body’s alarm system , and are more prone to inflicting further injury .This becomes evident when it takes more and more painkillers to relieve the pain.
A complete programme that monitors the progress of recovery along with stretching , exercises and nutritional instructions can make the difference between success and failure .Exercises are the most important aspect of recovering full function of the injury . Stages of the rehabilitation are
With this , most injuries will heal completely within a few weeks . The more severe the injury , the longer time it will take to heal , and eight to ten weeks recovery time is not unusual even with rehabilitation .Often it is necessary to continue rehabilitation exercises for a month or two following the elimination of pain.
It is important that you don’t return to your sport or activity too quickly . By returning too soon , you may worsen your injury , which could lead to permanent damage .(called the Second Injury Syndrome ). Everyone heals at different rates . Once recovery seems to be reasonably secure , light testing should be employed before returning to sports.
Some indications for return to play after a common ankle sprain are :
Tennis elbow is a degenerative condition of the tendon fibers that attach on the bony prominence (epicondyle) on the outside (lateral side) of the elbow. The tendons involved are responsible for anchoring the muscles that extend or lift the wrist and hand.
Chronic overuse leads to tendon degeneration, which is painful.
Tennis elbow happens mostly in patients between 30 years and 50 years of age. It can occur in any age group.
Tennis elbow can affect as many as half of athletes in racquet sports. However, most patients with tennis elbow are not active in racquet sports. Most of the time, there is not a specific traumatic injury before symptoms start.
Many individuals with tennis elbow are involved in work or recreational activities that require repetitive and vigorous use of the forearm muscle. Some common activities that lead to epicondylitis include:
Some patients develop tennis elbow without any specific recognizable activity leading to symptoms.
Common activities that lead to epicondylitis are both recreational (tennis, especially groundstrokes; racquetball; squash; and fencing) and occupational (meat cutting, plumbing, painting, raking, and weaving).
Patients often complain of severe, burning pain on the outside part of the elbow. In most cases, the pain starts in a mild and slow fashion. It gradually worsens over weeks or months.
The pain can be made worse by pressing on the outside part of the elbow or by gripping or lifting objects. Lifting even very light objects (such as a small book or a cup of coffee) can lead to significant discomfort.
In more severe cases, pain can occur with simple motion of the elbow joint. Pain can radiate to the forearm.
The diagnosis of tennis elbow begins with a complete medical history.
There will be a full physical examination.
X-rays are not necessary. Rarely, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans may be used to show changes in the tendon at the site of attachment onto the bone.
In most cases, nonsurgical treatment is be tried before surgery.
Pain relief is the main goal in the first phase of treatment.
Orthotics can help diminish symptoms of tennis elbow. You will use counterforce braces and wrist splints. These can reduce symptoms by resting the muscles and tendons.
Left, counterforce brace. Right, wrist brace.
Symptoms should improve significantly within four weeks to six weeks.
If symptoms do not improve, the next step is a corticosteroid injection around the outside of the elbow. This can be very helpful in reducing pain. Corticosteroids are relatively safe medications. Most of their side effects (i.e., further degeneration of the tendon and wasting of the fatty tissue below the skin) occur after multiple injections. Avoid repeated injections (more than two or three in a specific site).
After pain is relieved, the next phase of treatment starts. Modifying activities can help make sure that symptoms do not come back. The sports medicine specialist will want you to do physical therapy. This may include stretching and range of motion exercises and gradual strengthening of the affected muscles and tendons (see figure right). Physical therapy can help complete recovery and give you back a painless and normally functioning elbow. Nonsurgical treatment is successful in approximately 85 percent to 90 percent of patients with tennis elbow.
Surgery is considered only in patients who have incapacitating pain that does not get better after at least six months of nonsurgical treatment.
The surgical procedure involves removing diseased tendon tissue and reattaching normal tendon tissue to bone (figure below). The procedure is an outpatient surgery, not requiring an overnight stay in the hospital. It can be performed under regional or general anesthesia.
After surgery, the elbow is placed in a small brace and the patient is sent home. About one week later, the sutures and splint are removed. Then exercises are started to stretch the elbow and restore range of motion. Light, gradual strengthening exercises are started two months after surgery.
The Sports medicine expert will tell you when you can return to athletic activity. This is usually approximately four months to six months after surgery. Tennis elbow surgery is considered successful in approximately 80 percent of patients.