I sat down the the lovely Ida Koraitem, a health advocate with a Bachelors in exercise science and a Masters degree in occupational therapy from Concordia University, and the University of British Columbia respectively, to ask her questions frequently pondered by steel hungry Veggiesaurs.
She was kind enough to devote her time and expertise to our good cause!
Muscle strains and tears are common gym injuries which usually result from over training, poor muscle strength balance, and overall posture. When it comes to physical injury, prevention is key.
Another quick option for sore muscles is to take a shower starting with hot water, then ending it with a cold run of water. This will help with “blood pumping” to help drain out any lactic acid build up in overworked muscles.
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She was kind enough to devote her time and expertise to our good cause!
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First off, what exactly is occupational therapy?
- “Occupation” refers to activities we do throughout our day. We all have many occupations that are essential to our health and well-being such as taking a shower, going to the gym, cooking lunch, or driving. Occupational Therapy is a profession which helps individuals and their families in participating in purposeful and meaningful activities. Occupational therapists can work with specific groups to help them reintegrate into previous routines of daily life. In short, Occupational therapy aims to bridge the gap between disability and function.
What are the most common types of
injuries at the gym?
Muscle strains and tears are common gym injuries which usually result from over training, poor muscle strength balance, and overall posture. When it comes to physical injury, prevention is key.
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Muscle strain is very common, after strenuous activity, and is sometimes needed for muscle to gain desired strength and endurance. Delayed Onset of Muscle Soreness (or DOMS for short) is a result of micro-tears of muscle fibers. Soreness is usually felt a day or two after exercise. Our muscles however, adapt quickly to prevent further muscle damage/soreness when the exercise is repeated.
- Pain around major joints such as the knee of shoulder joint, are also quite common and often result from lifting too much weight, poor postural form, exercise execution, and overall muscle imbalances. Many people load up the weights and neglect important stabilizing muscles needed for controlled and safe movement. This will lead to muscle tears, strains, a loss of range of motion and weakness.
What are the most common mistakes
which can lead to injuries at the gym, and how does one avoid them?
Common mistakes are the following related to
working out include :
- Loading up too much weight: when it comes to resistance training, you should always choose quality over quantity of exercise and load. Lifting heavy weights feels awesome, but a lot of times this is done because your body is recruiting other accessory muscles to help you lift, therefore you’re not isolating the target muscle thus, minimizing desired results. This is usually demonstrated by Swinging the weight to complete the exercise reduces the effectiveness of the exercise and could lead to injury. Bad body form also increases if your lifting too heavy of a weigh, especially when trying to get the weights up.
- Focusing on “sexy” muscles and neglecting the core: More often than not, gym goers focus on one epic looking muscle group and forget other, not so sexy muscles they cannot see. In example, focusing on pectoral/chest muscles and neglecting upper back musculature such as the Rhomboids or lower Trapezius, will pull your scapula forward, and make you appear “hunched over”.
- Skipping warm up and post-exercise stretching: Stretch between exercises, research has shown that a lack of the aforementioned hinders maximal tensile strength of muscle fibers, meaning your next rep won’t be as great
In the event of mild injury, what
are the proper steps to be taken to prevent worsening it, both at home and at
the gym?
- Mild injuries such as muscle soreness and
joint pain are best dealt with immediately to prevent any complications. With regards
to soreness, give your body some time to rest and recuperate after injury. If
you notice your joints are inflamed or seem irritated, use the RICE method (
R:rest, I:Ice,C: Compression, Elevation).
- When I know I’m going to have a tough week at the gym, I make sure I stock up on ice bags I can quickly grab when I get home. I also use bags of peas because they mold around tricky joints better (like my ankles). Place the ice on the joint for a MAXIMUM of 20 minutes (10 minutes for smaller joints like the wrist or fingers). If the swelling is pretty bad, repeat this roughly 4 times a day. Be warned, acute injuries should never be exposed to heat, this will worsen inflammation and could cause further tissue damage. Wait a minimum of 2 days until you apply gentle heat to an injury.
Another quick option for sore muscles is to take a shower starting with hot water, then ending it with a cold run of water. This will help with “blood pumping” to help drain out any lactic acid build up in overworked muscles.
Depending on the type of injury,
what is the ideal average rest time I should take off the gym?
- For sore muscles, the ideal is 24-48 hours depending on how sore you are. If the soreness lasts beyond 48 hours, then you should re-consider the load and intensity of the exercise you completed, try to lessen it a bit because long lasting soreness is your body’s way of telling you that you really overdid it.
- Pain is our body telling us something went wrong, and that it needs time to patch up whatever damage happened. As a reward for giving your body a break, your body will eventually acclimate itself to the forces you apply to it , and muscles will build up more, contractile fibers to increase strength and be able to withstand applied forces.
For the average, healthy adult,
do you condone the use of compression bandages, knee/back/elbow braces, and
general exercise tape, and why?
- Compression bandages help in decreasing inflammation, and could also minimize painful movement. Braces do the same thing, they may provide external support for a body segment, and lessen the risk of it moving into a painful range of motion. It could also align a joint in the most biomechanically efficient angle to promote healing and decrease pain.
- Tape is also beneficial during the rehab process in that it provides protection but does not completely immobilize a joint. The effect of the tape however, is lost after roughly two hours after its application. Taping can also prevent injury, especially if it’s combined with good strength and balance exercise programs (eg. Strengthening peroneal muscles of the leg to minimize ankle sprains). Taping can also protect a healing structure. I often used protective taping before my clients started an exercise so they wouldn’t become completely sedentary as a result of their injury. So, despite the long healing process of ligamentous injuries, they were able to continue with a less intense yet effective exercise regimen.
There are supplements out there that claim
they reduce post workout muscular inflammation, and in turn, the feeling of
immobility and soreness. How do you feel about them? And are there natural
alternatives, dietary or otherwise?
We all want quick fixes so we could get back
to our routine and stop delaying the process of achieving our goals. It’s normal
to consider this shortcut, but the consequences are, well…it’s not that their bad…but
no one really knows what they are.
Aside
from the fact that supplements are often expensive, a lot of them aren’t
regulated, and the research and evidence to back up their effectiveness and
safety remains questionable. Supplements are often composed of concentrated
forms of naturally occurring vitamins and minerals, but again, sound research
has yet to confirm just how safe it is to consume such concentrated doses of these
nutrients.
Personally, I’m a firm believer that remedies
for muscular inflammation and soreness are readily available naturally. A
balanced and well-rounded diet in addition to adequate hydration will amend
this issue.
If you feel that you need help with diet and
nutritional intake, please please please consult a nutritionist and dietician
to assist you with this. I cannot emphasis just how important this is. Just
because it MIGHT have worked for your friend or that fitness guru online, it
doesn’t mean it will work for you. I cannot emphasize this point enough!
There are those that don’t like
to remain inactive during their rest days, what advice do you have for them?
And what are signs that I need to take some time off from the gym?
Rest and recovery are crucial
for any exercise program. You could do this in two ways, either
by passive recovery which is simply taking 1-2 days off from any
exercise related activity and there’s nothing wrong with this because again,
our body NEEDS this.
But recovery doesn’t need always need to mean complete abstinence from activity. If you’re adamant about being active every day, then good for you! As long as you’re not in pain, and you choose the right intensity of activity, then you could participate in active recovery. This form of recovery includes lower intensity and volume when compared to your regular routine. Its main goal is to improve recovery by circulating blood into muscles you worked on the day before. Some active rest ideas could include the following:
But recovery doesn’t need always need to mean complete abstinence from activity. If you’re adamant about being active every day, then good for you! As long as you’re not in pain, and you choose the right intensity of activity, then you could participate in active recovery. This form of recovery includes lower intensity and volume when compared to your regular routine. Its main goal is to improve recovery by circulating blood into muscles you worked on the day before. Some active rest ideas could include the following:
- Foam rolling: This may improve range of motion and decrease any stiffness. Try rolling over all major muscle groups with a foam roller for 20-30 seconds but avoid any bony areas. This isn’t supposed to be super painful; you’re supposed to feel better than you initially did. If not, then you might have added too much pressure to that body segment.
- Cardio: Such as cycling, swimming, or walking at lower than usual intensity. Try to aim for 55%-60% of your max heart rate. Anything higher would take you into an actual work out zone which you’re trying to avoid during active recovery.
- Work on your core and flexibility: Stretching is your friend, and so is your core strength. Complete at least two sets of stretching exercises.. Work on your core muscles such as your abdominal muscles. Even if it seems too mundane and easy, you’re doing your body a service. Anything is better than nothing as long as you’re not straining any structures or venturing into a workout zone.
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Have you got any questions you'd like to ask our OT? Inquiries about the aforementioned? Contact me with your questions and we will be right on it!
