Sports and the risks: How not to hurt yourself, doing jogging, fitness or yoga
Sport has become something of a new religion: the desire to comply with the global fitness trend has taken a lot of us into the fun. Everybody has his own reasons - from striving for an ideal body and caring for health to searching for fresh impressions and new acquaintances. Entering the “Faster, Higher, Stronger!” Mode, we often forget that the human body is a reliable, yet fragile thing, and in trying to bring it into shape, we sometimes come to the opposite result - new health problems.
Each organism has different physiological indicators, which means that it is “sharpened” for different types of loads.
Everyone knows that regular light jogging, swimming and morning exercises are universal health measures. Nevertheless, even to these sports loads there are a number of contraindications, not to mention training in the gym with an impressive weight or long-term aerobic high-intensity loads. In the high-risk group, first of all, those who have been playing sports for a long time in an intensive mode.
If you believe the results of a study published in the European Heart Journal medical publication in 2012, athletes who have been putting intense stress on their body for years - whether marathoners, soccer players or cyclists - usually suffer from inadequate right ventricular function. In addition, immediately after another prolonged load in the blood of these athletes, an increase in the level of cardiac enzymes — markers of pathological conditions of the heart — is observed, which can lead to the formation of plaques and blood clots. A week after the marathon, 12% of the athletes had a clear scarring of the heart muscle.
Almost all doctors agree that regular intensive training “wear out” the cardiovascular system over time. American cardiologist James O'Keefe and his colleagues note that grueling training “on the edge of the possible” over time leads to an increase in the indices of the mentioned cardiac biomarkers, and as a result of permanent injuries of the heart muscle, a disturbance of the heart rhythm often occurs. So, if at the next crossfit training session you have to deal with shortness of breath and gagging, it’s time to think about priorities.
Not in vain in medicine there is a separate area that studies the physiology of sports: in it you can find the answer to the question of what type of physical activity is right for you. In big sports, laboratory diagnostics of fitness for a particular sport is used. It includes checking performance in various types of loads, analyzing the parameters of muscle fibers and even identifying specific genes. Each organism has different physiological indicators, which means that it is “sharpened” for different types of loads. Today, almost all beginning athletes carry out such diagnostics: it allows not only to find out which sport will work best, but also to find the best ways to improve the athlete’s performance (running speed, jump height, and impact strength).
The definition of a suitable type of activity is worth attending not only to professionals, but also to every amateur athlete. Doctors determined a general list of medical contraindications to sports, in which all possible illnesses are mentioned - from acute gastric ulcer and flat-footedness to nervous diseases and mental disorders. In the general lists, as a rule, there are no specifications for sports, moreover, the Russian version is somewhat more detailed, but at the same time common, than its Western alternatives, so it may seem that almost no one can do anything.
However, most contraindications are not without common sense. So, if the color perception of the eyes is impaired, even simple runs can be prohibited: there is a risk of incorrectly perceived road signs, a signal of a traffic light or the type of road surface. In turn, for a person with flat-footedness, lifting the barbell without using special shoes, even with proper execution, can lead to spinal cord injuries due to improper weight distribution. Consultation with a specialist will help you not to go to extremes and train wisely: he will determine the optimal load based on the main contraindications and the degree of accompanying pathologies.
Contraindications in sports largely depend not only on the intensity of physical activity, but also on its type. The load is aerobic and anaerobic, static or dynamic, while in one workout different types of loads easily coexist. People with hypertension, angina pectoris, arrhythmia, heart failure are not recommended to work out on power simulators, lifting the barbell, isometric (static) exercises. In the anaerobic mode, in which these workouts mainly take place, the muscles do not have enough of the amount of oxygen that they have time to get into them with blood, and they switch to an alternative way of providing themselves with energy. Doctors do not recommend anaerobic exercise for people with a weak heart: for a long time keeping muscles in tension, they risk earning a surge in blood pressure, arrhythmia, or an attack of angina.
These contraindications to a certain extent also apply to aerobic exercise, but classes on cardiovascular machines (treadmills, bicycles) are considered more beneficial for people with a history of heart and vascular diseases - of course, under the supervision of a physician. And people in the group of medium or low risk of cardiovascular diseases, doctors from the American Association for the Rehabilitation of the Cardiovascular System and the Lung, are recommended to start moderate aerobic exercises from 2-4 weeks before starting anaerobic exercise.
Self-designation of sports can be counterproductive - you will have to be treated in much less pleasant ways.
With aerobic exercise of low and medium intensity, the muscles for work enough oxygen from the blood entering them. Unusually deep breathing (hyperventilation) and accelerated heartbeat are not to be feared - these are merely adaptive, compensatory mechanisms for providing muscles with oxygen in conditions of its increased consumption. With regular cardio loads, the stroke volume of the heart increases, and the heart rate gradually decreases - both at rest and during exercise - and this is one of the indicators that your heart is in good shape.
Anyone who decides to get on the cardio training path, doctors recommend not only to take into account their level of preparedness, but also to perform the so-called stress tests with a cardiologist or a specialist in functional diagnostics. With this test, the doctor will determine the level of loads available to you and the safe pulse area. It usually accounts for 75-80% of the level at which heart pain, dizziness and other unpleasant symptoms occur. If you feel uncomfortable at the training session (shortness of breath appeared, heartbeat became more frequent), reduce the load or rest.
As you can see, problems with the heart and blood vessels are not just in the focus of lists of contraindications to physical exertion, but there are other risk factors. Fans of fitness who have ever had back problems should also be more careful. Of course, in the presence of hernias or significant protrusions, those who value their own health will not do anything except medical gymnastics under the strict guidance of a doctor. But even those of us who have found a slight displacement of intervertebral discs or a slight form of scoliosis during tomography (and this is what most adults suffer), we should not neglect the help of a doctor when choosing an activity.
As a complementary method of treatment of intercostal neuralgia, European and American doctors often prescribe yoga, but self-assignment in this matter, as in any other, can lead to opposite results in the need to treat the spine in much less pleasant ways than the "dog face down." The benefits of swimming in the prevention and treatment of back injuries also make up legends, but there are less optimistic data: if you believe the scientists from the Milan Research Institute of Spinal Problems, hard swimming can cause chronic back pain (they are more susceptible to women) and also cause trunk asymmetry and hyperkyphosis.
Thoroughness in the selection of physical activity is especially important for people with poor eyesight. Scientists have found that moderate-intensity cyclic exercise (that is, those in which the pulse does not exceed 100-140 beats per minute), such as running, swimming, skiing, have a beneficial effect on vision: causes a reactive increase in blood flow in the eye after some time after exercise and stimulates the improvement of the efficiency of the ciliary or ciliary muscle, which provides accommodation of the eye. However, after performing cyclic exercises of considerable intensity (with a pulse of up to 180 beats per minute and above), as well as exercises on gymnastic equipment, jumping with a rope, acrobatic exercises in people with myopia, severe eye ischemia can occur, which lasts a long time, and deterioration of performance ciliary muscle.
Conditionally healthy organisms are also not insured against the risks associated with physical activity. Records of the number and sharpness of the debate on the subject of good and harm seem to beat two sports: running and yoga. From the regulars of running clubs and ardent fans of charity marathons, we hear that running is life and it is never too much, and their opponents, among whom there are also qualified doctors and desperate hedonists, argue that running does not take care of the joints and heart. We have already found out that professional athletes cannot avoid the "wear and tear" of the heart muscle - many of them consciously make sacrifices for the sake of results. As for amateur runners, the most important thing is to learn the technique and know the measure.
As part of a large-scale study, the results of which in 2012 were published in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, scientists monitored the health status of 52 thousand people for 30 years. Observations showed that among people who are fond of running, the death rate was 19% lower than that of those who did not like this sport. At the same time, the beneficial effect depreciated for enthusiasts who in total ran more than 32 km in a week, ran faster than 13 km / h, or more often than six times a week.
Based on these data, doctors determined a middle ground for joggers: they recommend traveling no more than 30 km a week at a speed of up to 9-11 km / h and, at the same time, stop for 3-5 runs per week. The group, whose members followed the doctors' instructions, hit the real jackpot: the risk of mortality among diligent runners fell by as much as 25%.
Regular jogging in the wrong shoes can result in a whole bunch of diseases - from foot deformities to displacement of intervertebral discs.
It is important to remember that running is, in any case, a shock load on the joints and the spine. With age, the metabolism slows down, the body recovers longer, and as a result, the run will make itself felt, but only if you do it all your life and with high intensity. In this case, there are a lot of other nuances: abrupt changes in the usual length of the distance and speed often lead to inflammation of the tendons, patellofemoral pain syndrome and other troubles, and regular jogging in the wrong footwear can result in a whole bunch of diseases - from deformity of the foot to displacement of intervertebral discs. The lower the cushioning of the surface on which we run, the stronger the wear and tear of the joints, so that the asphalt and treadmill injure the joints much faster than, say, rough terrain with soft soil (many parks in Western Europe and the USA are specially equipped) .
As for yoga, along with proven benefits, a number of contraindications are known: severe spinal injuries, increased intraocular and intracranial pressure, disorders of the vestibular apparatus. In case of displacement of the intervertebral discs and certain types of pinching of the spinal nerve, yoga can be both beneficial and harmful. The now popular anti-gravity yoga, which is practiced in hammocks hanging from the ceiling, has its own contraindications: glaucoma, hypertension, history of heart attacks. Hypertensive patients and people with weak hearts are not recommended to get involved in Bikram yoga - practice in a heated room.
In order not to aggravate existing health problems and not to get new ones, it is important to learn a few simple rules: when choosing a sport, if possible avoid self-designation, do not be lazy to contact a qualified specialist to determine the optimal load, do not tolerate pain and discomfort during workouts, work under the guidance experienced and loyal coach. And most importantly - forget about the competition: no numbers and records are worth the undermined health.
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