Balance Your Exercise Routine to Reduce Chronic Pain and Injuries
Sunday, June 20, 2010 at 05:00PM Yo Max,
I'm about to turn 50 and becoming increasingly frustrated with the aches and pains associated with exercise. I seem to have at least two recurring pains at any given time these days, tendinitis in one elbow, soreness in my lower back, pain in one knee, etc. These pains prevent me from working out regularly and then I fall behind. What to do?
Wynn, Wayland, MA
Yo Wynn,
This scenario is a problem for many people, myself included. Occasionally, these ‘pains’ are indications of serious problems and I think it wise to consult your doctor and get regular health check-ups but the vast majority are the result of tendinitis, strained muscles or ligaments, minor nerve damage, and poor flexibility or muscle tightness. Many of these conditions fall under the category of what I generally refer to as O.U.I’s, Over Use Injuries. So, indeed, what do we do?
Since I don’t know the details of your case, I can’t be specific to your single, best course of action so I’ll list a few strategies and hope that if you consider it all you can at least reduce this problem to a minor annoyance.
1.Work around pain. People often stop exercising all together because of a problem in one or more areas when they could have found a way to continue if only they had a greater variety of training options and more knowledge of anatomy. If your knee, elbow, and back are all bothering you at the same time this could prove difficult but you may still find that swimming, crunches, and careful stretching, for example, are tolerable and actually help relieve the pain. By avoiding movements that cause direct pain to the area(s) affected, you can continue to train and likely will speed your recovery because of increased circulation throughout the body. Exercise can cause pain but it also has a profound healing effect on what ever ails us.
2. Balance your training routine(s). Many clients come to me with O.U.I’s like you’ve described and what I find is that they’re over training in one area and not doing enough in another. For example, they run every day but don’t take the time to stretch afterwards and do no strength training to compensate for the stress that running puts on the body. This causes imbalance and imbalance leads to injury. As we age, this need for a multi-facetted plan increases. Take a good look at your daily and weekly routines and make sure that cardiovascular, strength, and flexibility training are all being accounted for.
3. Accept certain chronic pain(s) and move on. This might sound insensitive but I think a simple truth if you expect to stay active and healthy throughout your life. Bodies can hurt and much of the time the pains we experience can’t be explained and don’t seem to make any sense. Right now I have a muscle spasm in my eye, neck pain, a problem in the ball of my right foot, an occasional stabbing pain in my groin, where I recently had a hernia repaired, and a recurring rotator cuff problem in my right shoulder. One way or the other I find a way to train everyday but I can’t always do what I want – often I have to modify my first choice or go with my second or third. And I accept the fact that although I feel great most of the time, I also have some pain and discomfort.