Overcoming your fear of exercise (part 2): injury

If you haven't exercised for a long time or you have suffered an exercise related injury in the past, the fear of injury may be deterring you from starting an exercise program. This fear is arguably the most legitimate fear of exercise: there is a known increased risk of injury occurring during exercise and in most cases those new to exercise or those who have suffered an injury in the past are at the greatest risk. The fear of injury occurring during exercise is one that I can relate very well to. Following a knee injury occurring during a sporting competition that required a reconstruction, I was very hesitant to return to my normal exercise routine. Even following a complete (and as successful as possible) rehabilitation I found it very difficult to approach exercise the same way I did pre-injury. It took me far longer to recover mentally then physically and the ever present risk of re-injury continues to concern me during some exercise movements. Despite this risk, I came to the realisation that it's more dangerous long term for me not to exercise; let me explain why.




Let's acknowledge that there is a risk of injury occurring during all exercise. However what is the alternative? To avoid exercise altogether due to the fear of injury? Or to take the risk and learn how to exercise safely. Long term, the risk of an injury occurring is far greater if you don't exercise then if you exercise regularly. Regular exercise prepares the body for every day activities, sports and active recreation and unpredictable events which may require you to be physical. Without regular exercise you are at a much greater risk of an acute injury occurring during day to day activities - this is particularly true as you get older. I have heard of shoulder injuries occurring while lifting luggage into over head compartments, back injuries occurring while bending down to pick up a pen in the office and knee injuries occurring while stepping down from the pavement onto the road. Of course, unpredictable movements can cause injury to even the most well conditioned person, however, regular exercise does reduce the risk by better preparing the body. Keeping this in mind, it seems very short sighted to avoid exercise due to the risk of injury occurring during an exercise session.

By avoiding regular exercise you also increase your risk of chronic injury and disease. The risk of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, chronic back pain, and other chronic postural related injuries are all increased by not exercising. When you consider that a typical exercise session takes roughly 30 minutes, you are only at risk of an exercise related acute injury occurring during that 30 minute period. This is a relatively small risk to take in return for a reduced chance of developing life threatening chronic disease and debilitating chronic injury.

There a number of ways you can reduce the risk of injury during exercise:

• Have any existing injuries checked out by a doctor or physiotherapist prior to commencing an exercise program. If you have existing injuries that need working around during exercise see a personal trainer for an individualised exercise program.
• Make sure you wear appropriate footwear for the exercise you are participating in.
• Learn correct exercise technique from a qualified person and regularly have them watch your technique to give you feedback to ensure you are performing the movements correctly.
• Vary your training stimulus and periodise your training. This may mean varying exercises, rep and set volumes, resistance, rest periods etc. Not only is this great for results and keeping training interesting, it is also effective at reducing injury risk from over training.
• Include injury prevention fitness component development in your exercise program. Joint stability, flexibility and core strength are all important fitness components that may help to prevent injury. Seek the instruction of a personal trainer to help develop these fitness components effectively.
• Include appropriate recovery and rest days in your training program. As a general rule don't train the same muscles on consecutive days and don't train muscles if they are still sore from a previous exercise session.
• Ensure you are achieving adequate protein intake in your diet to aid muscle recovery. 1g of protein per kg of body weight is adequate for general exercise participation. There is more information available on this topic in the article: FAQ: what should I eat after training?
• Listen to your body - if you feel a sharp pain that hurts during exercise don't push through it, work around it. It is important that you learn the difference between a normal 'working' fatigue and a sharp pain. This will be looked at in more detail in part 3 of this series which will look at the fear of pain and soreness.

Exercise can be weighed up as a matter of risk vs reward: you take the small risk of an acute injury occurring during the time of exercise in return for the reward of decreased risk of injury occurring during everyday activities and of developing chronic disease and injury. Don't let the fear of injury stop you from exercising, this is short sighted: you are at greater risk of injury and illness occurring long term by not exercising. I understand the fear of injury first hand - I choose to take my chances with regular exercise.

Part 3 of this series will look at overcoming the fear of pain and soreness.