12 Exercise Injury Myths

article by Hilary Topper

Here are 12 Exercise Injury Myths:

NO PAIN NO GAIN
When doing muscle training to build muscle it is important to push the strength training exercise until point of fatigue but not pain before having a minutes rest between sets. If starting out start with lighter weights that cause you to fatigue by 15th repetition. Then as you become stronger increase the weights to a level that you fatigue after 10 repetitions of the exercise.

REST IS BEST AFTER SURGERY
Following an operation it is important not to just rest and to do your exercises to return strength, fitness and flexibility. But you do need some rest to help control inflammation in the early stages.

REST IS BEST FOR CHRONIC (LONG TERM) PAIN
Continued rest from long term pain leads to inflexibility, reduced strength and fitness and over time more pain. A graded exercise programme will help you break this cycle of deconditioning and help get your life back. Read more here.

GOOD CYCLING SHOES WILL CURE YOUR BACK PAIN
It’s actually a combination of good orthotics along with well fitting shoes and working on correcting your biomechanics under guidance of your physio.

HEAT IS BETTER THAN ICE FOR PAIN
Heat works better for some types of pain and ice for others. It is best to try them both to find which works for you best.

STRETCH BEFORE EXERCISE
Often people think stretching before exercise will reduce injury but there is no specific research to support this and gentle warm up light cardio exercise prior to exercise followed by a cool down routine will help to reduce injury.

HEAT FOR SWELLING
People often reach for heat when they sustain an injury and have swelling but this will only increase blood flow ,the swelling and pain. Best to go for ice packs, cryocuffs and cold sprays.

EXERCISE NOT GOOD FOR RHEUMATOLOGICAL CONDITIONS
Rheumatological conditions involve inflammation of joints and soft tissues in the body. Exercise is beneficial to people with rheumatological conditions to improve their strength and fitness. However the exercise programme needs to be graded and controlled to prevent any increase in inflammation or stir up of pain.

PREVENT RUNNING INJURIES BY JUST RUNNING
When specializing in any type of sport it is important to also do strengthening and stretching of the whole body to prevent injury. Alternating with different exercise, hill runs, circuits and sprint training will help strengthen our muscles in different movements and lead to faster running, increased endurance and help prevent future injury.

GLUCOSAMINE SULPHATE PROTECTS MY CARTILAGE FROM INJURY
There is no evidence of this and recent research has proven no benefit of cartilage repair by taking glucosamine sulphate.

RUNNING IS HARMFUL
Running has numerous benefits of increasing your endurance and fitness therefore improving heart and lung function. Regular running will help keep weight under control and the weight bearing part of running helps to reduce chances of osteoporosis. Research has also shown cartilage regeneration from joints from running. Pain and harm only come from having a poor running style therefore advisable to have your biomechanics checked by a physiotherapist if you are a runner.

A TORN MUSCLE MEANS IT HAS BROKEN
There are different grades of a tear to a muscle. Grade I strain involves a small amount of fibers and causes small pain and no loss of strength. Grade II involves a large number of muscle fibers and causes significant pain, reduced strength and swelling . Grade III is a complete tear of the muscle. Tears do not mean the muscle is broken and with correct advice, treatment and rehabilitation the muscle can repair and regain its strength.

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