Injury Prevention and Treatment
To become a successful bodybuilder you must constantly push past your physical
limits. But there's always a chance you will exceed the ability of your
physical structure to endure the strain, which can result in injury.
Some injuries are so slight and common that we barely notice them, others are
serious and may require a physician. An injury can lead to a serious setback,
so it is important to learn how to prevent them, work around them, and treat
them.
Injuries usually occur at the weakest point in the structure: in the muscle,
at the muscle/tendon juncture, at a joint, etc. They can also occur over a
period of time because of overuse or the mishandling of a very heavy weight.
Injury prevention
"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." There is a fine line
between overuse and chronic strain due to heavy workouts. Intense workouts are
bound to lead to occasional muscular soreness or soreness of the
muscle/tendon complex.
This kind of overuse is not an injury and most bodybuilders take it as a sign
that they have trained hard enough. But if you're so sore that you can hardly
move and the intensity of your subsequent workouts is diminished, you've
probably gone to far.
Tired, tight, and sore muscles are more vulnerable to injury, so if you
insist on working out under these conditions, there is a good chance of an
injury. The best prevention under these circumstances is gradual stretching,
warm-ups, or even a light workout.
* Stretching lengthens the muscle/tendon complex reducing the chance of an
exercise movement to suddenly stretch these structures
past their limits and cause damage.
*Warming up pumps blood and oxygen to the area and literally raises the
temperature of the muscles involved, allowing them to contract with greater
force.
The best way to avoid training injuries is by taking care to stretch and warm
-up and by observing proper technique. The stronger you are the more strain
you are able to put on the muscle and tendons, but often the muscles gain
strength at a faster rate than the tendons, thus creating an imbalance that
may cause problems. You must allow yourself to progress at a reasonable rate,
and not attempt to train too intensely or with too much weight without proper
preparation.
Injury Treatment
Initial treatment for all injuries is rest, the injured area must be
protected against further injury. Working through or working out the injury
can make it only worse.
For a mild strain, rest and avoid the activity that caused the injury. This
may be the only treatment necessary until the extremity has recovered.
In very severe muscle and tendon injuries, with complete rupture of any of
the components, the integrity of these components must be restored and
surgical repair may be required. Even in these severe cases, the first-aid
principles are the same as described:
- Rest- to promote healing.
- Elevation- to aid blood flow out of the injured area.
- Ice- to decrease the diameter of the blood vessels and reduce hemorrhaging.
- Compression- to reduce hemorrhaging and swelling.
- Immobilization-to prevent further injury.
Pain
Pain when your training is a warning sign that an area has been injured. By
letting the pain be your guide, you can practice preventive medicine. First
avoid the activity that caused the pain and allow the area involved to
recover. After an adequate period of rest you can gradually resume the
activity. Once you have regained full range of motion of the injured area and
there is no associated pain, you have healed enough to increase the
resistance to that movement on a gradual, progressive basis.
If you begin to feel pain, you have gone too far. Healing takes place by
degrees over a period of time, and the pain is an indicator of how far along
you are. To progress too much too soon and not stay within the boundaries
described-freedom from pain-risks re-injury, more severe injury, and chronic
pain.
Bodybuilders often become frustrated with prolonged or even short
recuperation periods because of the resultant loss of conditioning, the
setbacks, the "shrinking" and the mental and emotional anguish of not being
able to train. However the ability to deal competently with injury and to
have the discipline to allow healing to take place is essential to a
successful bodybuilding career. To do otherwise could further delay or
completely prevent you from achieving your goals.
The Importance of Sleep!
To get big, all you have to do is eat right and train heavy, right? Not
exactly. One important yet often overlooked factor is sleep. When you train
you're literally destroying microscopic bits of muscle. These "micro-tears"
require time to repair, to grow thicker and stronger in response to the added
stress. Think of sleep as protection against muscle wasting.
During sleep our bodies secret important hormones. Within the first two hours
of sleep, the body secretes the greatest quantity of Human Growth Hormone.
GH as bodybuilders know, is a natural and powerful anabolic hormone produced
by the pituitary gland. GH can promote increased muscle size and inhibit fat
storage. Not sleeping enough can diminish the amount of GH your body
produces, thereby retarding your muscle development.
It's important for all athletes to understand and appreciate the importance
of sleep. Never sacrifice a good night's sleep for more time in the gym.
Here's some more helpful advice. Don't train too close to your bedtime. The
stimulating effects of exercise can slow down the onset of sleep. Remember,
getting big is a by-product of sleep. Don't deprive yourself of sleep.
Testosterone and Luteinizing hormone levels higher during sleep!
If you want higher levels of testosterone and luteinizing hormone (LH)
naturally then sleep more. According to a study conducted at the Haemek
Medical center in Afula, Israel, researchers found that sleep produced rises
in serum hormone levels in young, healthy male subjects. Serum hormone levels
of testosterone, LH, and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) were measured
every fifteen minutes during a twelve hour period. Hourly testosterone levels
were at their lowest when subjects were awake. As the subjects fell asleep,
testosterone levels began to rise (90 minutes before the first REM), peaking
around the time of the first REM phase. LH also exhibited similar increases,
though preceding testosterone's peak by an hour. These levels remained high
until the subjects awoke.
- Try to get 9-10 hours of sleep per night.
- Exercise in the late afternoon to improve sleep.
- Avoid high-intensity, long duration exercise in the evening, which can
impair sleep.
- If your having trouble sleeping try taking some of the below.
- Kava, Valerian, Melatonin, Excedrin PM, Tylenol PM, or Bayer PM.
Nathan
NSTYNC03@aol.com
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