Sports Injuries

Question:

My brother likes to play sports a lot, but he had just recovered from a sports injury. Though exercise is a good thing, I am not too sure whether it is alright for him to be exercising again. And how does he know whether the sports that he does is bad for his body? Are there warning signs that we should look out for?

Answer:

You should check with your doctor and he/she will be able to advise you on the type of sports you can do. Doing the wrong kind of sports can aggravate your pre-existing medical condition. Your doctor will also be able to tell you how intense your workout should be for your age and level of fitness.

Individuals with pre-existing medical conditions, e.g degenerative disc disease of the spine, osteoarthritis in the knees, malalignment in the knees, ligament laxity etc, should be careful with the kind of sports they participate in. Individuals with arthritis should try to avoid high impact sports. However they should still continue with low impact sports as this will enable them to strengthen the muscles around the joint and keep it supple. Individuals with ligament laxity or collagen disease should avoid extreme sports as this group of individuals are predispose to having dislocations.

Examples of low impact sports are swimming and static bicycle riding.

The best way to not get yourself injured when you exercise is to listen to your body. The way your body communicates with you is through pain. If you exercise and develop pain, and it does not go away after a few days, you should stop doing the exercise and get it checked by a doctor. In general, exercise should not cause any discomfort to your body. Exercise should be enjoyable and after doing your round of exercise you should have this “feel good” effect. However if you start to develop aches and pains, perhaps you should think of cutting down the intensity of the exercise to a level you are comfortable with. After 2 weeks at this comfortable level, you can then gradually increase the intensity. Don’t be a weekend warrior and try to squeeze a week’s worth of exercise in one weekend.