Do you suffer from Overuse Syndrome?

If you are in a group class, there is a reason the instructor is doing something different. Don’t ignore and go back to your old ways, you are only hurting yourself.

Overuse injuries result from repeated stress placed on the body. They can occur as a result of the weekend warrior syndrome (too much, too soon) or they can be part of an over training syndrome which occurs in athletes and is characterized by staleness or burnout. In either case, prevention is the best treatment, since overuse injuries are tough to heal. Avoid overuse syndrome with the following advice.

PROCESS

Frequent exercise cause the chemical breakdown of cellular substances inside the muscle, tendons, bones and cartilage. Lactic acids and other metabolites accumulate. Damage to the muscle’s microfibrils, sarcolemma, and /or connective tissue cause pain. This pain usually convinces one to rest, and normal cellular repair occurs. However, if one exercises despite the pain, more cellular breakdown occurs. In fact, the collagen (substance holding the cells together) also begins to break down and inflammation occurs. Now pain is accompanied by swelling. Also, micro-tearing occurs-actual injury to the tissues whether it be muscle (strains), tendon (tendonitis), bone (stress fracture) or bursa (bursitis).

CAUSES

♦ Training errors

The most common training error is doing too much,too soon. Other errors include:
1. a sudden increase in training
2. training hard on consecutive days with failure to alternate training days
3. over training due to heavy competition schedules

 ♦ Anatomical factors

include: leg length discrepancy, scoliosis, knock knees, flat feet, rigid foot (very high arch), muscle insufficiency, rear-foot valgus (cussing pronation of the foot).

♦ Excessive Body Weight

repetitive force from more weight than the body can comfortably maintain can cause stress and eventual in jury to the body’s joints, muscles and connective tissue.

♦ FOOTWEAR

Footwear is necessary with high impact aerobic exercise to decrease the amount of shock transmitted to the body. Most below the knee injuries are thought to be the result of impact stress.  That stress can be modified with shoes that provide a shock absorbing outsole and at least 3/8″ cushion mid sole under the ball of the foot. Adequate lateral shoe support is also crucial in reducing shock.

♦ TRAINING SURFACES

Impact aerobic exercising places percussive, vertical impact o feet, which is largely responsible for a high injury rate. Avoid concrete floors, carpet over concrete, or worn or inadequate mats over concrete. Types of floors that are  associated with a lower incidence of leg and foot injuries are suspended wood, carpet over mats, and non-skid mats alone.

♦ IMBALANCE

Aerobic workouts that are not balanced by programs designed to improve neuromuscular reaction time, flexibility, and strengthening can lead to overuse injuries.

♦ TYPES

• Plantar fasciitis
• Calluses,corns, bunions
• Stress fractures
• Morton’s neuroma