Advanced Search

The story appears on

Page C2

February 21, 2014

GET this page in PDF

Free for subscribers

View shopping cart

Related News

Home » Supplement

Avoid injuries by stretching before a workout

By Louis Lee | February 21, 2014, Friday | Print Edition

Many people enjoy working out at the gym. But many people also sustain minor injuries during their workouts. Here are a few tips to help prevent injuries during exercise.

First, stretching exercises are critical before you start strengthening your muscles. Proper and thorough stretching ensures the flexibility of muscles and elasticity of tendons and ligaments. Often, non-contractile tissues within the body are tight, and sudden contraction from a muscle will pull them too much, resulting in injury. Muscle injuries are called strains, while damage to ligaments are called sprains. Both contain a rich supply of capillaries, and an injury to either can result in swelling and pain.

Second, if you currently experience lower back pain, you need to be careful with your choice of gym equipment. Not every machine or exercise will be good for you. One current popular trend is core stability training, but you should always consult a fitness trainer before trying a new exercise regime. Swiss Ball and mat exercises stimulate your core abdominal and multifidus muscles and help stabilize the lumbar spine segments of your lower back. If done properly and at the right stage of your conditioning, they are very useful in alleviating lower back pain and preventing re-injury.

Some don’ts

Furthermore, for sufferers of lower back pain, it is better to avoid rowing machines, which tend to bend your lumbar spine into an awkward position. This position will put the intervertebral discs of your spine under pressure, and can easily result in disc herniation. Also, when doing situps, avoid bending the middle of your back or turning your trunk as this will put too much stress on the disc and cause injury. Finally, if you enjoy riding a stationary bicycle, make sure the seat is at a proper height to keep the spine straight. Don’t ride a bike with your whole trunk bent if you are presently having back problems.

If you work out in the morning, stretching the back thoroughly takes on even greater importance. Often people experience a herniated disc or facet lock in the morning because the discs tend to swell at this time of the day, making them very susceptible to injury. So it is vital to first perform back extension exercises while lying on your stomach or leaning against a wall. This will give you some protection for the rest of the day.

Using the leg press and Pilates reformer are other good choices for those with lower back pain, as well as certain elliptical, Nordic track, or stair climbing machines. These will enable you to build up strength in the trunk extensor and gluteus muscles. Since these machines are all hydraulic in nature, they do not impact your discs or knees, and are therefore very safe methods to build back strength and preventing injuries at the same time. For more suggestions on exercises to alleviate back pain, please talk to a physical therapist.

 

Louis Lee is chair of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Shanghai United Family Hospital and Clinics.

It is important to learn the basics about back and neck pain before problems occur.

There are many causes of back pain. Lower back pain or neck pain experienced by two people may have very different causes.

Here are some useful terms related to injuries and pain: Macrotrauma vs Microtrauma.

Macrotrauma is a fall, a blow, a crash, or some form of heavy-force injury. Microtrauma is a small stress on the body that builds over time.

A repetitive stress injury is the most common cause of pain in today’s world of iPhones and laptops.

Moreover, poor sleeping habits with the improper choice of beds and pillows, a lack of exercise, sports injuries, kidney stones, liver disease and even cancer can all cause back pain.

For unexplained causes of back pain, it is important to consult a medical professional for a thorough examination.

There are many measures to prevent back pain like doing warmups and stretches before doing any physical activity, using the right pillows to support and cradle the neck while sleeping, living healthier, and avoiding lifting heavy things.

Consult a medical professional if you experience strong back pain.

 

Supplement


 

Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.

沪公网安备 31010602000204号

Email this to your friend