So unfortunately, I’ve seen a handful of injuries lately that have been directly related to some form of exercise, working out, exercise routine. So I thought I would just touch base today on the different types of injuries that may be associated with exercise. So many times, you may have an overuse type injury. Now an overuse type injury is more something would be related to let’s say tennis or golf, something that you’re doing repetitively. We’ve spoke about this in the past. It could potentially create a tennis elbow, a tendonitis type injury. Recently, I’ve seen more acute type injuries. And what I mean by an acute type injury, the injury is typically associated with some type of very specific exercise that you’re doing. So let’s talk about low back pain. So many times with low back pain, there’s some deficiency or dysfunction somewhere else, whether it’s lack of mobility or a stability issue that potentially may set you up for an injury like this.
So you go about your day, your workouts, you know, weekly workouts, like you always have. You typically don’t have any types of problems. The issue is with these deficiencies, our margin for error is getting smaller and smaller. And what I mean by that is if you don’t have enough hip mobility or core strength, then you’re one that enjoys very dynamic type exercises, whether it’s overhead deep squatting or deadlifting, you know, those are two exercises that we don’t have a whole lot of room for error. And so our biomechanics need to be very spot on. And what I mean by that is that we need to make sure that we have a neutral spine, you know, our symmetries good. We’re not compensating or getting overloaded in one area or the other. So we’re already set up there that the margin for error is not very wide.
And then you may have these deficiencies with mobility or stability. Okay. And you go through the drill, we get loaded on one side, and then you create an acute type strain or spring. Recently, I had a patient yesterday that we had this discussion and they couldn’t understand that they’ve done this exercise for so very long without any problems. And so we start kind of going through my checklist. Do you stretch? Are you working on basic core mobility? What do you do for a living? Oh, you sit all day. And so we go back to these cumulative things that we do day to day that’s associated with some of these deficiencies or some of these misses or limitations that we may have. And then that sets us up for these types of injuries. So I think it’s important that we look at what we do day to day.
Okay? Also associated with some of those things, we need to be stretching more. We need to be working on basic core drills to prevent these types of things. So let’s say you do encounter an acute type injury that’s associated with exercise. We always want to keep moving. We talk about moving. Movement is medicine. We don’t want you lying down. We don’t want you seated for extended periods of time. So I think number one, it’s important that we continue to move. Next, I also think it’s important that we kind of take a step back what we’re doing at the gym. Maybe rest for a few days, limit some of those dynamics, some of those lifting type things that we’re doing at the gym to give ourselves a chance to recover. Obviously chiropractic physical therapy. If your symptoms persist, I would encourage you always to get checked out by a professional.
Diagnosis is the key. So we need to know what we’re dealing with, so we treat it appropriately. Ice is another great option. So with some form of acute injury, there’s going to be inflammation. So I think ice is a good option associated with some form of anti-inflammatory to help manage some of the inflammation. So I think that we need to keep moving, obviously. Modify your exercise or slow down a little bit with what you’re doing. I’m not suggesting that you can’t go to the gym, but it wouldn’t be a good idea to go to the gym and do a bunch of sit ups or low back type exercises. We need to leave your low back alone.
If your symptoms persist, I think it’s important obviously that you get checked out by a professional, receive a proper diagnosis, then a treatment plan. Okay. So don’t get me wrong. I encourage you all. We always talk at the Tulsa Spine and Rehab that we want to keep moving, get moving. I want you in the gym. I want you exercising. I want you active, but it’s important to take a look at your day to day type activities that you’re doing associated with some of those deficiencies, the mobility, the stability. So let’s stretch and work on core stability. Okay. And if you do have an injury, I think it’s important that you hit the reset button and address it appropriately. And as we always say here at Tulsa Spine and Rehab, keep moving.
