Injury Prevention

Once you have met with your physician, you are ready to plan or modify your program. Before you start exercising, be sure to review the key practices for preventing injury (I will also discuss most of these recommendations in more detail in later chapters, although not necessarily in relation to injury prevention). Nothing you do will completely rule out the possibility of injury, but you can try to eliminate several predictors of injury.

Injuries are commonly classified as either traumatic or overuse injuries. Traumatic injuries during exercise include sprained joints, muscle strains, contusions, and broken bones. Unless you plan to participate in a vigorous group sport such as soccer, you probably do not need to worry about the last two. On the other hand, since most females start losing bone density during their 30s (men start losing density a little later), they do need to be concerned about fractures. Overuse injuries include stress fractures (a potential problem if you have low bone density) and tendinitis.

One predictor of injury is a history of injuries to particular body tissues, perhaps because the tissues involved do not completely return to their preinjury condition. Furthermore, an injury to the knee joint (or to a muscle that supports the knee) inhibits knee extensor strength, and this strength loss persists long after the injury has healed (Suter and Herzog 2000). The pathological changes that take place in tissues because of arthritis and aging increase a person s susceptibility to injury. The composition of cartilage changes, both in bones and in joints, and the joint capsule itself changes. These changes may cause instability in a joint and gradual loss of motion in the joint capsule (Hertling and Kessler 1996; Stamford 1988). The slow loss of muscular strength that occurs with aging also diminishes stability.

A special concern with arthritis is rest'or lack of it, which can contribute to both types of injury. Studies have shown that general fatigue is a factor in traumatic injuries, possibly caused by impaired reactions and poor decision making. Muscular fatigue may contribute to injury when it slows the force and speed of muscle contractions. Muscular and general fatigue often increases during arthritic flare-ups. I will discuss the importance of rest again later; it is a vital component of injury prevention.

Traumatic Injuries

Overuse Injuries

Importance of Rest