Injury Prevention

Chances are, if you’ve been training intensely for any length of time, you’ve sustained at least one injury at some point. The causes of sports- and workout-related injuries are numerous and include overtraining, sloppy form, and lifestyle choices (i.e. bad diet and sleep habits). The good news is that injuries are not inevitable, and in fact most are completely preventable if proper precautions are taken.

· Always warm up thoroughly.

o Use range of motion exercises such as joint mobility and/or a few minutes of very light cardio. Warming up prepares your body for the hard work ahead by raising your core temperature. This makes your muscles more pliable which in turn enables your joints to pass through a wider range of motion more safely. A solid warmup is especially important during colder months or if you plan on lifting very heavy. Also, while stretching is important, it should be saved for after your workout or between exercises.

· Use the proper weight for the workout and your ability level.

o Pushing too much weight or volume when you aren’t adequately prepared – whether due to lack of conditioning or to a bad warmup – is asking for trouble. Except for rare occasions when you might be doing max effort lifts, a good rule of thumb is to use a weight that is challenging yet still leaves you feeling as though you could have cranked out a few more reps.

· Avoid working out too much.

o If you’re running 6 miles per day plus training with kettlebells plus participate in an amateur softball league, you may want to consider pulling back on one or all activities. Your body has a finite ability to recover, and if its resources are exhausted by, for example, attending back-to-back Spinning and kettlebell classes, your likelihood of getting injured (or at least having a sub-par workout) is greatly increased.

· Take care of yourself outside the gym.

o It’s surprising how much factors such as poor diet or sleeping habits can inhibit your ability to recover optimally. If you’re constantly nagged by little injuries such as a tweaked shoulder or muscle pull, ask yourself: How’s my diet? Am I getting 7-8 hours of sleep a night? Am I doing a lot of other training? If you suspect that your diet is the culprit, consult a professional to see where you can make changes. If it’s sleep, consider TiVoing that last sitcom and hitting the sack a half hour early.

· Consider cycling the poundage and volume of your workouts, both on a weekly and monthly basis.

· Above all, learn to listen to your body.

o When you have a bad feeling about something, that’s a red flag. Pay attention – your body is a lot smarter than you think.

Of course, life isn’t 100% under our control. You can follow all the above advice to the letter and, for whatever reason, still end up with an injury. However, if you take care of yourself and listen to your body, you can greatly reduce the chances of injury in your life. If you’re constantly plagued by a minor cold, get frequent stress fractures, or aren’t improving in your workout performance, take a serious look at your exercise and lifestyle habits. Your workouts and life will be much more productive, safe and fun.

Okay, you’ve been getting 8 hours a night, are consuming a balanced diet and have been vigilant about avoiding overtraining…and you pull your groin. There are a couple things to do help speed your recovery.

· First of all, if it’s a serious injury – i.e. the area changes color or temperature drastically, becomes very swollen, or does not improve within a reasonable amount of time – see a doctor.

· Ice the area first. Applying heat right away, however, might increase the inflammatory response to the area, so don’t apply heat until about 48 hours have passed. You may also consider alternating ice and heat a few times to speed blood flow to the area.

· Don’t stretch a pull. You’ll just make it worse.

· As soon as possible, start doing light activity. This will speed blood flow and hence nutrients to the area, aiding the recovery process.

· Use pain-relieving medications sparingly. As much as you want that Advil, you also don’t want to mask the pain and then train through your injury thinking it’s all good.

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