endurance

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.

Exercise for Osteoporosis

Bone health is an important aspect to healthy living! Look at this article featured in WebMD reviewed by James E. Gerace, MD to learn more about exercising for Osteoporosis. Visit us at San Diego Sports Physical Therapy for more PT information today!

One of the best ways to strengthen your bones and prevent osteoporosis is by getting regular exercise. Even if you already have osteoporosis, exercising can help maintain the bone mass you have.
Super Foods for Your Bones

The Reason for Exercise for Osteoporosis
Why do health experts recommend exercise for osteoporosis? When you exercise, you don’t just build muscle and endurance. You also build and maintain the amount and thickness of your bones. You may hear health professionals call this “bone mass and density.”
Three types of exercise for osteoporosis are:
• Weight-bearing
• Resistance
• Flexibility
All three types of exercise for osteoporosis are needed to build healthy bones.
Weight-bearing Exercise for Osteoporosis
Weight-bearing means your feet and legs support your body’s weight. A few examples of weight-bearing exercise for osteoporosis are:
– Walking
– Hiking
– Dancing
– Stair climbing
Sports like bicycling and swimming are great for your heart and lungs. However, these are not weight-bearing exercise for osteoporosis. That’s because you are being held up by something other than your feet and legs, such as the bicycle or the water.
Walking as little as three to five miles a week can help build your bone health. For general health, most experts recommend that everyone get at least half an hour of moderate to vigorous exercise five times a week. Forty-five minutes to an hour is even better.
Resistance Exercise for Osteoporosis
Resistance means you’re working against the weight of another object.Resistance helps with osteoporosis because it strengthens muscle and builds bone. Studies have shown that resistance exercise increases bone density and reduces the risk of fractures.
Resistance exercise for osteoporosis includes:
• Free weights or weight machines at home or in the gym
• Resistance tubing that comes in a variety of strengths
• Water exercises — any movement done in the water makes your muscles work harder.
You can find instructions for safe exercises online. Once source is the CDC http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/physical/growing_stronger/). Another source is the National Institute on Aging (http://www.niapublications.org/exercisebook/chapter4_strength.htm).
For best results, do resistance exercises two or three times a week. Make the exercise more challenging by gradually adding weight or repetitions. Work all your different muscles — including arms, chest, shoulders, legs, stomach, and back. Be sure not to do resistance training on the same muscle group two days in a row. Give each muscle group time to recover.
Flexibility Exercise for Osteoporosis
Flexibility is another important form of exercise for osteoporosis. Having flexible joints helps prevent injury.
Examples of flexibility exercise for osteoporosis include these:
• Regular stretches
• T’ai chi
• Yoga

Making Exercise for Osteoporosis Safe
Many people worry about the safety of exercise later in life. You may be concerned if you already have osteoporosis or osteopenia. Perhaps you have never been very physically active. Whatever your concern, you can choose from a range of safe exercise options.
To ensure your safety during exercise for osteoporosis, keep these guidelines in mind:
– Talk to your doctor before beginning any exercise program. This is especially important if you know you have bone loss or osteoporosis.
– Weight-bearing exercise does not have to be high impact. Running, jogging and jumping may put stress on your spine. These high-impact activities may lead to fractures in weakened bones. If you already have bone loss, choose gentler weight-bearing exercise like walking, dancing, low-impact aerobics, and gardening.
– If you already have osteoporosis, be careful of exercises that involve bending and twisting at the waist. This motion can put you at risk of fracture. Exercises that involve waist twisting include sit-ups, toe touches, and rowing machines. Golf, tennis, bowling, and some yoga poses also include some twisting at the waist. Talk to your doctor before choosing any of these activities.

Mobile Header