7 Common Mistakes that Lead to Joint Injury
hollydohrman
Posts: 492 Member
By Jen Mueller & Nicole Nichols, Certified Personal Trainers
Everyday exercisers and weekend warriors often suffer injury due to a few common mistakes that can be prevented with careful attention. Here's what to be aware of so you can move and exercise without joint pain or injury.
• Doing too much, too soon. When starting a new exercise program, motivation is typically high. It's easy to get caught up and decide that while a 30-minute workout is good, a 2-hour workout is even better. Before you know it, you've got nagging knee pain and have to stop your workout routine completely. Joint pain and injury is common when you don't allow the body to adapt slowly to exercise.
• Performing the same activities all the time. It's important to find activities you enjoy, because that makes it easier to stick with an exercise routine. But you can end up with too much of a good thing if you are always doing the same activity all the time. Taxing the same muscles (and joints) in the same way day after day can easily lead to overuse injury and wearing down of cartilage. By moving your muscles and joints in different directions and intensities, you can help prevent injury.
• Wearing the wrong footwear. When heading into a specialty shoe store for the first time, it's easy to get sticker shock. Typically there are lots of options, many of which can be expensive. Although you might save money by picking up some shoes on sale at your local discount store, you may also be increasing your risk of injury by wearing shoes that don't meet your needs. An investment in good footwear for your specific activity can prevent injury and pain, as well as the expense from doctor's visits and physical therapy.
• Exercising with improper technique. Whether riding a stationary bike or lifting weights, proper technique is essential to preventing joint injury. For example, if the seat of the bike isn't positioned properly, it can put extra pressure on the knee that wouldn't otherwise occur, increasing the risk of injury. The truth is, few people without formal instruction know how to line up every joint and move through the correct range of motion that keeps their joints safe. While it's something anyone can learn, it takes diligence and attention during every movement--not just in the beginning, but forever.
• Skipping the warm up, cool down or stretches. When you're short on time, it's tempting to skip one (or more) of these pieces of the workout routine. But there is an important reason for each one, and choosing not to do them can lead to joint injury. A proper warm up safely prepares the body for the increased demands of exercise by generating heat, increasing circulation to the muscles and joints, and lubricating the joints for activity. The cool down brings your heart rate back to normal slowly and safely, which helps prevent pooling of the blood in the extremities (which can cause dizziness or fainting), and stretching after a workout (when the muscles are warmer, lubricated and more elastic) helps maintain and increase joint mobility.
• Doing too many high-impact exercises. Joint injury can occur more easily during high-impact activities. It's a common belief that high-impact means "hard" and low-impact means "easy," but these actually describe the intensity of your body striking the ground. If one or both of your feet is off the ground, even for a split second (such as when you run or jump), the exercise is high-impact, meaning your body has to absorb a higher impact of shock when you come in contact with the ground. Because high-impact exercises put more stress on the joints and skeletal system, they actually help strengthen bones, reducing the risk of osteoporosis. However, the higher the impact, the greater the injury potential.
• Skimping on rest. Most people think that exercise itself is what leads you to be stronger and fitter, but it's actually the rest that happens after a workout that creates those positive changes in your body. When it comes to getting results and protecting your joints, rest is just as important as exercising with good form. You aren't being lazy by taking rest days--you're being smart. Taking days off from exercise helps prevent overuse injuries, stress fractures, and joint inflammation that can lead to pain.
While there is some inherent risk in any type of exercise, the benefits of working out regularly far outweigh the risks for most people. With attention to the prevention and safety tips above, you'll be strengthening and protecting your joints for the rest of your life by exercising your body regularly.
Everyday exercisers and weekend warriors often suffer injury due to a few common mistakes that can be prevented with careful attention. Here's what to be aware of so you can move and exercise without joint pain or injury.
• Doing too much, too soon. When starting a new exercise program, motivation is typically high. It's easy to get caught up and decide that while a 30-minute workout is good, a 2-hour workout is even better. Before you know it, you've got nagging knee pain and have to stop your workout routine completely. Joint pain and injury is common when you don't allow the body to adapt slowly to exercise.
• Performing the same activities all the time. It's important to find activities you enjoy, because that makes it easier to stick with an exercise routine. But you can end up with too much of a good thing if you are always doing the same activity all the time. Taxing the same muscles (and joints) in the same way day after day can easily lead to overuse injury and wearing down of cartilage. By moving your muscles and joints in different directions and intensities, you can help prevent injury.
• Wearing the wrong footwear. When heading into a specialty shoe store for the first time, it's easy to get sticker shock. Typically there are lots of options, many of which can be expensive. Although you might save money by picking up some shoes on sale at your local discount store, you may also be increasing your risk of injury by wearing shoes that don't meet your needs. An investment in good footwear for your specific activity can prevent injury and pain, as well as the expense from doctor's visits and physical therapy.
• Exercising with improper technique. Whether riding a stationary bike or lifting weights, proper technique is essential to preventing joint injury. For example, if the seat of the bike isn't positioned properly, it can put extra pressure on the knee that wouldn't otherwise occur, increasing the risk of injury. The truth is, few people without formal instruction know how to line up every joint and move through the correct range of motion that keeps their joints safe. While it's something anyone can learn, it takes diligence and attention during every movement--not just in the beginning, but forever.
• Skipping the warm up, cool down or stretches. When you're short on time, it's tempting to skip one (or more) of these pieces of the workout routine. But there is an important reason for each one, and choosing not to do them can lead to joint injury. A proper warm up safely prepares the body for the increased demands of exercise by generating heat, increasing circulation to the muscles and joints, and lubricating the joints for activity. The cool down brings your heart rate back to normal slowly and safely, which helps prevent pooling of the blood in the extremities (which can cause dizziness or fainting), and stretching after a workout (when the muscles are warmer, lubricated and more elastic) helps maintain and increase joint mobility.
• Doing too many high-impact exercises. Joint injury can occur more easily during high-impact activities. It's a common belief that high-impact means "hard" and low-impact means "easy," but these actually describe the intensity of your body striking the ground. If one or both of your feet is off the ground, even for a split second (such as when you run or jump), the exercise is high-impact, meaning your body has to absorb a higher impact of shock when you come in contact with the ground. Because high-impact exercises put more stress on the joints and skeletal system, they actually help strengthen bones, reducing the risk of osteoporosis. However, the higher the impact, the greater the injury potential.
• Skimping on rest. Most people think that exercise itself is what leads you to be stronger and fitter, but it's actually the rest that happens after a workout that creates those positive changes in your body. When it comes to getting results and protecting your joints, rest is just as important as exercising with good form. You aren't being lazy by taking rest days--you're being smart. Taking days off from exercise helps prevent overuse injuries, stress fractures, and joint inflammation that can lead to pain.
While there is some inherent risk in any type of exercise, the benefits of working out regularly far outweigh the risks for most people. With attention to the prevention and safety tips above, you'll be strengthening and protecting your joints for the rest of your life by exercising your body regularly.
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Replies
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I love this!
I have experienced this first hand. I was working out like a mad woman and my body was doing really well. I went out of town for a week and waited another week after that to get back to the gym. Well the following day I had TERRIBLE hip pain! I mean the worse! I could barely walk. I had to becareful how I walked. I bought some shoes that would have better support for my hip. I am still leary of working out at the gym. I do stil go for 20 min walks, play on my wii and do weights. Something is better than nothing! I hope this heals quickly and I can take it slowly. I love the feeling of working out!0 -
I love this!
I have experienced this first hand. I was working out like a mad woman and my body was doing really well. I went out of town for a week and waited another week after that to get back to the gym. Well the following day I had TERRIBLE hip pain! I mean the worse! I could barely walk. I had to becareful how I walked. I bought some shoes that would have better support for my hip. I am still leary of working out at the gym. I do stil go for 20 min walks, play on my wii and do weights. Something is better than nothing! I hope this heals quickly and I can take it slowly. I love the feeling of working out!
I hurt my back at the first of this year and had to give up doing Insanity workouts. I really enjoyed them but I didn't want to do anything more to my back. I really wanted to workout so I switched to something else. The most important thing is to keep at it. Take your time and heal and you'll be back to your workouts before you know it.0
