Exercise
To exercise or not to exercise
To exercise or not to exercise?
Olympic athletes are supposed to be young and fit with the best training and medical advice, yet they still suffer from various musculoskeletal injuries. This gives 'non-exercisers' a very good excuse not to exercise at all as they could argue that they will not get swimmer's shoulder, tennis elbow or shin splint (pain along the shin of the lower leg) if they don't swim, play tennis or run. Assuming that we all agree with the importance of exercises for our health generally, we have to find ways to convince our patients to exercise. First of all, the danger of no exercise must be explained as patients may not be interested in the advantage of exercises but may worry about the disadvantage of not exercising. I often begin explaining the harmful effect of in-activity to the circulatory system. Poor circulation to the legs causes swollen legs ''fat legs'') that concern young female patients most. To slim their legs, daily massage, ''lymphatic drainage'', pressure stockings are no matches to the good old simple foot/ankle exercises. Immobility and poor venous (blood) return, in extreme case, may lead to the deadly ''Economy Class Syndrome'' which is gaining publicity by airline warnings. Poor circulation to the muscle hinders clearance of lactic acid and other metabolic waste that could cause muscular aches and pain. Consolidation of such waste products is part cause of muscle tightness and could lead to night cramps that concern patients young and old. Poor circulation to the ligament and other peri-articular (surrounding the joint) soft tissues leads to joint stiffness and therefore poor mobility followed by non-specific joint pain such as neck and back aches that annoys so many sedentary office workers. There is no direct blood supply to a synovial joint(joint type of most parts of the body). Its circulation relies on production of synovial fluid stimulated by joint motions of all possible directions. Without full range mobility, a joint lacks circulation and may virtually be 'starved to death', leading to early degeneration as concerned by most patients. If we hate someone so much, we should not put him in a hard-labor camp as he could get fit and strong. The best is to tie him down and allow him to do absolutely nothing for a few months. Surely he will become a jelly and may not even be able to stand up. All activities or in-activities carry certain risks of injury to certain parts of the body. The risk of no exercise is very much higher than that of exercise. The skill is to design appropriate exercises to suit individuals. The general rule is to prescript the appropriate postural, mobility, stretching, strengthening and sporting exercises as I have always emphasized. As for the laziest 'non-exercisers', they should at least perform these exercises on the left regularly. If not, only God may help them!
Luck LI
Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist
Olympic athletes are supposed to be young and fit with the best training and medical advice, yet they still suffer from various musculoskeletal injuries. This gives 'non-exercisers' a very good excuse not to exercise at all as they could argue that they will not get swimmer's shoulder, tennis elbow or shin splint (pain along the shin of the lower leg) if they don't swim, play tennis or run. Assuming that we all agree with the importance of exercises for our health generally, we have to find ways to convince our patients to exercise. First of all, the danger of no exercise must be explained as patients may not be interested in the advantage of exercises but may worry about the disadvantage of not exercising. I often begin explaining the harmful effect of in-activity to the circulatory system. Poor circulation to the legs causes swollen legs ''fat legs'') that concern young female patients most. To slim their legs, daily massage, ''lymphatic drainage'', pressure stockings are no matches to the good old simple foot/ankle exercises. Immobility and poor venous (blood) return, in extreme case, may lead to the deadly ''Economy Class Syndrome'' which is gaining publicity by airline warnings. Poor circulation to the muscle hinders clearance of lactic acid and other metabolic waste that could cause muscular aches and pain. Consolidation of such waste products is part cause of muscle tightness and could lead to night cramps that concern patients young and old. Poor circulation to the ligament and other peri-articular (surrounding the joint) soft tissues leads to joint stiffness and therefore poor mobility followed by non-specific joint pain such as neck and back aches that annoys so many sedentary office workers. There is no direct blood supply to a synovial joint(joint type of most parts of the body). Its circulation relies on production of synovial fluid stimulated by joint motions of all possible directions. Without full range mobility, a joint lacks circulation and may virtually be 'starved to death', leading to early degeneration as concerned by most patients. If we hate someone so much, we should not put him in a hard-labor camp as he could get fit and strong. The best is to tie him down and allow him to do absolutely nothing for a few months. Surely he will become a jelly and may not even be able to stand up. All activities or in-activities carry certain risks of injury to certain parts of the body. The risk of no exercise is very much higher than that of exercise. The skill is to design appropriate exercises to suit individuals. The general rule is to prescript the appropriate postural, mobility, stretching, strengthening and sporting exercises as I have always emphasized. As for the laziest 'non-exercisers', they should at least perform these exercises on the left regularly. If not, only God may help them!
Luck LI
Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist