Physical Activity: Listen to Your Body
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Have you ever heard the phrase, “no pain, no gain”? While it may be a common saying, this advice shouldn’t be followed. Physical activity can be hard work, but should never cause pain or discomfort. These feelings can be warning signs that an injury has occurred.
One out of every ten injury-related emergency department visits, the injury occurred during physical activity. Of these injuries, four out of five involved the musculoskeletal system (Borg-Stein, Zaremski, & Hanford, 2009).
Fortunately, there are things you can do to prevent injury during physical activity:
• Warm-up and stretch before becoming physically active. This is thought to help prevent injuries by increasing flexibility, range of motion, and blood flow throughout the body.
• Increase physical activity levels slowly over time. For example, if you regularly run five kilometre races and decide to run a half marathon, slowly increase your running frequency, distance, and speed.
• Vary physical activity types. For example, rather than climb the stairs five days a week, you might walk two days a week, do yoga one day a week, and climb the stairs two days a week.
• Use proper form and technique. For example, doing the front crawl when swimming, you should keep your elbow bent and push your hand towards your feet when your arm is under water.
• Wear protective equipment and check equipment for safety on a regular basis. For example, if you’re riding a bike, make sure you’re wearing a properly fitted helmet. Also, make sure your bicycle tires are fully inflated and your steering components and brakes are working properly.
• Wear proper equipment, clothing, and shoes. For example, if you’re bowling, make sure you wear bowling shoes so you don’t slip on the lane.
• Stop what you’re doing if you feel pain or discomfort. These are warning signs that an injury has occurred. Being physically active through pain may worsen an injury by causing more soft tissue damage or delaying healing.
• Cool-down and stretch after being physically active. This allows your body temperature and heart rate to return to normal, and helps relieve stiffness and improve flexibility.
Also, make sure you give your body what it needs between physical activity sessions. Eat a healthy diet, drink plenty of fluids, get enough sleep, and give your body time to rest and recover between workout sessions.
If you do become seriously injured during physical activity, seek medical attention right away. If it’s a minor injury, follow the R.I.C.E. guidelines within 48 hours of becoming injured:
• Rest to give the injury time to heal and to prevent further damage.
• Ice the injury to reduce swelling and soothe the area. Wrap ice in a towel to protect your skin. Keep the ice on for 15 to 20 minutes at a time, then remove for at least 20 minutes.
• Compress the injury to reduce swelling and provide minor pain relief. Wrap the injured area in an elastic compression bandage, ensuring it’s snug but not too tight.
• Elevate the injury to reduce swelling by limiting the blood flow to the area. When possible, keep the injured area above your heart. For example, if you injured your ankle, sit back and elevate your foot using a pillow.
Being physically active on a regular basis is one of the most important things you can do to improve your overall health and well-being. To take advantage of these benefits, take steps to prevent injuries and, if they do occur, let them heal. It is important to talk to your health care provider before starting or increasing the intensity of an existing physical activity routine to make sure your body can handle it.
