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Source: ONE News -
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Breaking up your fitness routine is hard to do. But it's crucial
for avoiding the bigger heartache of overuse injury, fitness
experts say.
"People tend to do the same thing over and over again, without
varying it, without taking adequate rest, without building slowly,
and they end up with an overuse injury," said Geralyn Coopersmith,
national manager for the Equinox Fitness Training Institute.
"Tendonitis, bursitis, fasciitis, these kinds of inflammations are
pretty much guaranteed if you don't' vary your training," said
Coopersmith, who oversees the training of 1400 personal trainers in
48 Equinox clubs nationwide.
Yet she concedes that even clients who complain of nagging aches
and pains are loath to change their routine.
"People get terrified. They'll say, 'The treadmill made me lose
weight.' Well, exercise made you lose weight. The treadmill was the
modality. That doesn't' mean it's the only way or the best way,"
she explained.
"Most people don't cross train enough," she said. "Maybe they've
been doing yoga for years so their flexibility is great but ask
them to hold a plank position and there's no core strength at
all."
For Adrian Shepard, fitness director for the recreation department
at Butler University, over-exercisers can suffer more than pain or
poor performance.
"Overall it's a tricky thing to notice," he said. "Some signs, like
sleeplessness, apathy, depression and difficulty concentrating, may
be associated with other conditions. You really have to focus on
the big picture."
Shepard says some young adults he works with at the Butler campus
in Indianapolis, Indiana, are especially vulnerable.
"Most at risk are those training for an event or sport," he said,
"or those with a preoccupation with being thinner."
He stresses the importance of consulting a fitness
professional.
"If you're feeling pain while doing an exercise the form might be
wrong or you might be injured," he said.
Dr Heather Gillespie, of the American College of Sports Medicine,
sees everyone from elite athletes to weekend warriors in her sports
medicine practice at UCLA.
She said the consequences of over-exercising can include stress
fractures as well as overuse injuries.
"Some runners just run, no cross training, and they may do the same
thing every week," she explained.
For them she recommends strength training.
"Some sort of weight lifting routine focusing on their weaknesses,"
she said. "A lot of knee pain comes from weak gluteus
muscles."
She suggests varying routines and taking time to recover.
"Rest and recovery is very important. It's recommended that you
take at least one day off," she said, particularly after an injury
has been diagnosed.
"For stress fractures, rest is essential," she added. "But just
because you can't run doesn't mean you can't run in the pool. I
consider that active rehabilitation."
She acknowledges the difficulty of prying even an injured addict
away from his activity.
"Exercise is a great form of stress release," she said. "And injury
can cause depression. I've had a lot of people break down in my
office because they can't run and they're in tears."
Coopersmith urges all who work out to seek professional
advice.
"We tell people that exercise is a drug, and like a drug you need a
prescription. So much of it is good, and then so much of it
is an overdose."
