These simple precautionary measures apply to both sportsmen and women as well as people who are embarking on active life to boost their livelihoods. PHOTO | ILLUSTRATION IMAGE
What you need to know:
Drink lots of water before and after exercising to stay hydrated.
Choose the right gear for your sport.
Always make sure you warm up and stretch first
Start light and progress to heavier stuff.
You have finally made a commitment to get in shape this year. To do this, you need to get active either in the gym or outdoors walking or jogging. But the one thing you want to avoid is injury as you work out. This is because injury can derail your healthful plans.
While a workout injury can happen to anyone, regardless of experience and fitness levels, there are certain steps you can take to minimise its occurrence.
These simple precautionary measures apply to both sportsmen and women as well as people who are embarking on active life to boost their livelihoods.
Physical check-up
Be sure to get a physical examination before embarking on any strenuous exercise especially for those who may have a heart condition. This is more so if you are above 55 years.
City Physiotherapist George Odhiambo says that it is always a good idea to get a physical examination from your physician before starting any fitness programme.
“There could be some silent cardiac problem that may be triggered into action in case one jumps into the workout routine feet-first without the doctor’s approval,” he says.
He warns that chest pain during workout should not be ignored as this could be a pointer to a more serious heart condition.
Hydrate
Make drinking lots of water a habit throughout the day to keep supple and hydrated. You lose up to a litre of fluid per hour when you exercise. This amount, however, differs from one person to another and depends on workout duration as well as its intensity.
You mainly lose fluid through perspiration and in the air you breathe out during exercise. Unless you replenish the lost fluid, you can quickly get dehydrated, which can affect your health and ability to continue exercising.
Drink water at least two hours before and shortly after a workout. If you take your water immediately, chances are that you will suffer a stitch during your workout. On the other hand, if you do not hydrate after exercising, you might suffer fatigue and headaches.
“Dehydration can also reduce endurance, decrease strength, cause cramping, and slow muscular response,” says Odhiambo.
Get into proper sports wear
Choosing the right wear for the sporting activity you resolve to take part in is an important step. This is because the right clothing not only makes you move better but also feel better.
For instance, if you plan to go swimming or jogging, a proper, fitting sports bra can save you from pain due to friction and chafing. When your shoes rub your heels or when thighs rub each other, they cause friction which will sooner or later injure your skin.
Work out progressively
While your eagerness to see results is understandable, it is improper to jump into your workout routine without warm-up and stretches.
“Failure to warm-up properly can cause muscle pull and ligament sprain on the knee, elbow or the back,” he warns.
Ligaments are tough tissues that connect bones. They support the joints and help keep the bones in place. A ligament sprain occurs when a ligament is stretched or torn.
Odhiambo says a workout should kick off with light exercise and progress to heavy ones so that the body can adopt to the changing tempo. When you begin an exercise routine or start a new work-out programme, start slowly then gradually build up the intensity, duration, and frequency.
It is imperative to warm up before each workout in order to ensure that the muscles and surrounding tissue receive enough blood and nutrients to perform any required tasks during the actual exercises.
About 10 minutes of light cardio routines like jumping, running, or using an elliptical will get your circulation going and qualify as adequate warm up.
Vary your work-out
Avoid overusing one set of muscles otherwise this could be recipe for injuries. Some of the injuries that can occur due to repetitive muscle movements include shin splints and tendinitis.
Shin splints involves pain along the inner bone of the shinbone or tibia. This kind of injury is common in sports men and women involved in physical activity like running or jumping.
Tendons are thick cords joining muscles to the bone. Tendinitis involves irritation, inflammation and swelling of a tendon which, in turn, causes pain and tenderness. With this, it becomes difficult to move the affected joint.
To avoid splints and tendinitis, you could opt to run on day one, lift weights on day two then swim or cycle on the third day of workout and then simply walk on the other days.
Mr Odhiambo notes that it is always vital to have a medical personnel around on order to deal with arising injuries during a fitness routine.
“A medic can come in handy especially if the injury involves bleeding,” he says.
