How to Avoid Overtraining Injuries

Overtraining is a common concern, and something that we should all be aware of (both physical therapists and clients). Learn more about overtraining injuries, how to prevent them, and get the right guidance for training from this article published on MoveForwardPT.com, an informational site created by the American Physical Therapy Association. For more questions please call at 619-756-7500.

 

Overtraining is a concern for all people pursuing fitness – from recreational or elite athletes to people who exercise to lose weight and stay in shape. Overtraining injuries are musculoskeletal injuries that occur due to more activity or exercise than your body is used to, and may happen to anyone who increases intensity or changes type of activity. Overtraining syndrome includes overtraining injuries, but also encompasses general fatigue and other symptoms.

Signs and Symptoms

If you experience any of the following after working hard to meet advanced fitness goals, overtraining may be a cause.

  • Physiological: increased resting heart rate, increased blood pressure
  • Physical: decreased appetite, upset stomach, insatiable thirst, sleep disturbances, increased frequency of sickness and infections, general feeling of increased difficulty and fatigue throughout the day, abnormal muscle soreness, pain occurs that is different than typical muscle soreness
  • Behavioral: personality changes, decreased motivation, altered concentration, lowered self-esteem, decreased ability to cope with stress
  • Performance: Increased heart rate during activity, decreased strength or endurance, impaired movement and coordination, multiple technical errors.

Avoiding Overtraining Injuries

No matter the activity (running, swimming, weight lifting, etc), when working to improve your fitness you need to push yourself in order to see results. But pushing yourself too hard can result in injuries that are detrimental to your fitness goals. Here are some tips to avoid overtraining injuries:

Don’t increase exercise difficulty level too quickly. Exercise needs to be progressed steadily at a gradual pace. Following a structured plan that increases your activity incrementally and safely can help you stay healthy and pain free. For example:

  • For running, increasing difficulty may include increasing speed, running up or downhill, increasing duration, and use of intervals, where you alternate intensity over time.
  • For resistance training, increasing difficulty may include increased weight, repetitions, sets, and decreasing the amount of time to perform the same amount of exercise.

Pay attention to your body.Your body is smart. If it feels like you are developing signs of overtraining, then take a break, lessen your activity, or rest.

Ease into it. Particularly if you are new to fitness or altering your exercise activities, take it slow. Don’t expect to make up for several months of inactivity with a few weeks of exercise. Aim for long-term consistency, not overnight success. People who try to do too much too soon often end up injured or frustrated and give up on their fitness goals altogether.

Avoiding Overtraining Syndrome

Overtraining syndrome occurs when an active individual or athlete increases activity faster than the body can adapt or is unable to recover from a sustained high level of activity. Your body then lets you know that you’ve done too much too fast through a variety of physical responses.

There are several signs and symptoms that may indicate overtraining syndrome but are also symptoms of other problems

Every active individual is unique. Your pain may be due to overtraining, but it also may be due to other health issues. For example, heart rate changes, general fatigue, and other systemic symptoms may be due to a more concerning condition. Physical therapists are educated to evaluate and treat a variety of conditions. If you have any of the above signs a physical therapist can help to determine the seriousness of the signs and what your next course of action for your health.

Here are some tips to avoid overtraining syndrome:

Take a break. If you have a scheduled rest day in your plan, use it, you’ve earned it!  Your bones, joints, and muscles need rest days to stay healthy.

Get rest. Recent studies are supporting the important role of sleep in the health of active people and athletes.  This is when our bodies’ build and repair and our immune system recovers.

Eat well. Proper nutrition is essential to the health of your body. Do not severely restrict calories when exercising. Make sure to eat proper nutrients, including plenty of lean meats, fruits and vegetables.

How will a physical therapist help me meet my fitness goals?

Physical therapists are movement experts, and work with people of all ages and levels of activity. During a visit, a physical therapist can:

  • Check your flexibility, strength, and endurance of muscles to support your desired level of activity.
  • Ensure that symptoms are due to overuse or overtraining and not something more serious.
  • Identify training errors to ensure a safe fitness plan, no matter your previous level of activity.
  • Correct biomechanical problems in form with your chosen activity to avoid overuse of a susceptible body part.
  • Provide appropriate training plan to minimize risk of injury and help you safely meet your fitness goals.

Bone Health

Learn about bone health, what it is, what it is effected by, and how to maintain and promote it. This article gives great insight to the importance of bone health published on moveforwardpt.com, a site created by the American Physical Therapy Association. For more questions call us at 619-756-7500!

 

Physical therapists are experts in improving and restoring mobility and play an important role in ensuring optimal bone health. Healthy bones can help you stay strong and active throughout your life. If good bone health is achieved during childhood and maintained, it can help to avoid bone loss and fracture later in life. For healthy bones, it is important to maintain a physically active lifestyle and eat a balanced diet with plenty of calcium, vitamin D, and perhaps other supplements as needed. Physical therapists can design a unique program for you to help keep your bones healthy.

Osteoporosis is a common bone disease that affects both men and women (mostly women), usually as they age. It is associated with low bone mass and thinning of the bone structure, making bones fragile and more likely to break.

Some people are more at risk for osteoporosis than others. Not all risk factors can be changed, but healthy habits and a proper exercise routine designed by your physical therapist can keep bones healthy and reduce risk. Risk factors* include:

  • Age: More common in older individuals
  • Sex: More common in women
  • Family History: Heredity
  • Race and Ethnicity: Affects all races. In the US, increased risk for Caucasian, Asian, or Latino
  • Weight: Low body weight (small and thin)
  • Diet, especially one low in calcium and vitamin D
  • History of broken bones
  • Menopause
  • Inactive lifestyle
  • Smoking
  • Alcohol abuse
  • Certain medications, diseases, and other medical conditions

Physical therapists can help prevent osteoporosis and treat its effects by designing individualized exercise programs to benefit bone health, improve posture, and enhance core stability and balance. Most of these exercises are simple and can be done at home with no special equipment.

Fight Fracture with Fitness

Inactivity is a major risk factor for osteoporosis. The right exercises and good habits can keep bones strong and prevent or reverse the effects of osteoporosis. Weight-bearing exercise, such as walking, is an important way to build and maintain healthy bones. Muscle strengthening exercises have been found to stimulate bone growth and can help prevent and treat osteoporosis. These types of exercises are best if started early in life and done regularly. However, it is important to remember that you can begin exercising at any age and still reap great benefits.

If you have osteoporosis, are at high risk for a fall or fracture, or have a medical condition, affecting your ability to exercise, do not begin an exercise program without first consulting your physician and a physical therapist.

Avoid exercises and daily activities, which round the spine, such as sit-ups, crunches, bending down to tie your shoes, exercise machines that involve forward bending of the trunk, and movements and sports that round and twist the spine.

Benefits of Good Balance

Preserving balance and stability with exercises can help reduce falls and resulting fractures. Exercises that improve posture, core stability, balance, and coordination, can also protect the spine against compression fractures. An individualized program may include a walking regimen, Tai Chi, and other exercises geared toward conditioning, balance, and coordination.

Bone Health Begins With Good Posture

Physical therapists recommend good posture and safe movements to protect bones from fracture during daily activities. Using proper posture and safe body mechanics during all activities protects the spine against injury. Here are some tips:

  • Keep your back, stomach, and leg muscles strong and flexible.
  • Keep your body in alignment, so it can be more efficient when you move.
  • Do not slouch. When sitting, keep your spine and head straight. Put a small pillow behind your waist to keep your spine in a good position.
  • Use good body positioning at work, home, or during leisure activities.
  • When lifting or bending forward, bend your knees, keep your back straight, bend forward at the hip crease, and lift with your legs. Keep the load close to your body.
  • Ask for help or use an assistive device to lift heavy objects.
  • Maintain a regular physical fitness regimen. Staying active can help to prevent injuries.

Progress or Plateaus

Most people will encounter plateaus at some point during a consistent training program. Learn more about what plateaus are and what to do when they arise in this article written by Jeff Gilliam, PhD, PT and published on physicaltherapist.com. For more questions call us 619-756-7500!

 

So often we see such great progress as we begin our weight loss program, pushing onward to our goal at a jackrabbit pace, only to be met with a discouraging plateau. When plateaus are experienced, our first response should be, “Am I doing everything possible to encourage my progress? Am I following through with the program as it’s been designed”??? If our answer is “Yes!” then our next question should be, what has happened to slow my progress, and what can I do to ensure continued progress toward my goal?

During weight loss programs, momentary plateaus are an absolute. Plateaus occur as the body loses weight and no longer requires the same amount of calories to run its basic bodily functions and daily activities. No longer are you carrying around 10, 20, or 30 extra pounds during daily activities, which means fewer calories are being expended now, than when you started the program. Also, whenever you go on a caloric restricted diet, your body becomes very efficient in running its basic bodily functions, and requires fewer calories for the Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR). Lastly, during weight loss programs, typically 25% of the weight loss is from lean body mass, while approximately 75% is from fat. The likelihood of muscle loss is increased when resistance training does not accompany a weight loss program. Maintaining muscle is a key to ensuring that the RMR continues to expend energy at a high rate, subsequently burning calories at a level that will allow for continued weight loss.

When plateaus arise, modifications in your program will be necessary to ensure ongoing progress. Increases in your exercise intensity/time are often required, and a close examination of your food choices may be necessary. In order to offset this trend, it may be necessary to increase your exercise output (an increase in exercise time and/or intensity) making sure resistance training is a part of your routine. Additionally, making sure your protein intakes are optimal will spare lean body mass loss during caloric restriction. The importance of protein in a weight loss program is highlighted by a recent study which found when subjects on an ad lib diet increased their protein intake to 30%, they ate 441 fewer calories each day, lost more weight, and experienced greater feelings of satiety than the lower protein group. Remember at your current weight you’re expending fewer calories at rest than when you started your weight loss journey, which means you must continue to make better food choices to encourage your body to continue to lose excess body fat.

These changes should cause your body to increase its fat burning capacity and is often affective in “recharging” the system and renewing weight loss at an acceptable level. During times in which you experience a plateau in your weight loss, strategic shifts toward better food choices and avoiding those occasional food temptations will allow you to realize ongoing progress. The use of daily exercise to boost your metabolism has been shown to be helpful in offsetting a depression in the RMR.

Remember: Plateaus are only momentary pauses in our progress that will soon be relinquished by making the appropriate adjustments in our dietary and exercise regimens.