Articles by Dr. Erdman are for informational purposes, and are not to be taken as specific medical advice.
The calendar says spring is here. The weather channel begs
to differ. As I write this, more snow is forecast, and spring seems a long way
off! Thanks for nothing, Phil.
For now, thinking about spring and outdoor activities is all
we can do. We look forward to getting back to our outdoor exercise regimen,
whether it’s running, biking, softball or any other physical activity. How we ease
into these activities has a big role in how long we will actually perform them
before an injury occurs. Preventing injury is much preferred to recovering from
an injury.
Warm-up activities are a must if you want to continue to be
active, and minimize your risk of injury. You can’t stay healthy if you can’t
perform your favorite activities.
In the past, we were told that you started to warm up by
doing stretching exercises of the cold muscles you intend to use. You know, the
old touch your toes, and stretch your quads and calf muscles. This is called
static stretching. This used to be the gold standard in stretching techniques.
However, recent research is now showing that prolonged static stretching of
cold muscles actually decreases blood flow within your tissues, creating
localized ischemia (restriction of blood flow) and lactic acid buildup. This
has been shown to cause irritation and injury to muscles, tendons, and neural
tissues, as well as impede lymphatic drainage. Obviously, this is not what you want
to do to begin your exercise routine.
If your kids are in sports, and they are doing this type of
static stretching of cold muscles prior to their activity, get them to stop.
These activities cause more injuries than they prevent. The school trainers should
be up to speed on this, yet most are not. I see these stretches being done all
the time. Take your warm-up period seriously, even when you are young, if you
want to stay in the game.
Ideally, the warm-up period should begin with progressive
aerobic activity. Start with a slow jog to loosen stiff legs and pump your arms
as you run. The goals are to get your heart rate up and to get blood infusing
all the needed muscles and soft tissues. This can last from five to ten
minutes. You should have worked up a light sweat before continuing on.
The next phase of warm-up is dynamic stretching. This is
where the entire musculoskeletal system is put through normal ranges of motion
by doing specific dynamic movements. These exercises are designed to
incorporate the multiple motions used in all sports. Examples would be a
walking high kick, crab crawls and the jump squat to push up routine. These are
the things you need to be doing before a game, not static stretches. There may
also be sport specific muscles that need particular attention for you. For
example, a baseball/softball catcher needs the large muscles of the legs to be
explosive, without tearing tissue, so dynamic squatting to crouching warm-ups
need to be performed over and above an all-around warm-up. Infielders need to
be able to glide laterally while twisting and flexing the torso. Those moves
are very hard on the low back and pelvis, so they would need to do warm-up
techniques that mimic those motions.
Determine the motions your sport requires, and form an
action plan of dynamic movements around those needs. A trainer, chiropractor or
physical therapist should be able to help you formulate a plan.
The only time static stretching should be performed is after
your activity is done. There is some evidence to show that post exercise
stretching helps reduce edema and lactic acid buildup which is what makes you
sore.
Warm-up activities are the way you can help yourself stay in the game. Quality warm-up leads to less likelihood of injury, whatever your age. Smart players will warm up properly so they can be there to help their team.