INJURY CAUSE, PREVENTION AND RECOVERY: PART II
PART II: WHY INJURIES OCCUR
1) Poor Form (as mentioned in Part I).
2) Overuse. Too much resistance, more than the body can handle, or not enough rest between exercising same muscle/muscles. An injury can then occur because a) one strains the agonist, b) one sprains the ligament of the joint in motion, c) one strains the antagonist trying to balance and counter the motion, d) one strains other recruiting muscles because the agonist is not strong enough to handle the load.
3) Too much lactic acid build-up without appropriately getting rid of it. That’s what causes the burn - the acid. Thus the need, as mentioned previously, to warm down.
4) Electrolyte depletion. Sodium, Potassium, and Magnesium being the main ones. These electrolytes are very important for cell function, all cells: nerve, muscle, internal organ, glandular, brain. Therefore electrolyte depletion can cause muscle cramping, nausea, dizziness, and disorientation. Subsequently, the body will not be able to repair itself or recover as well.
5) Perpetual high cortisol. Cortisol, produced by the adrenals, increases with exercise, but if one over exercises the cortisol levels could get too high and lead to adrenal fatigue. The adrenals produce other anti-inflammatory hormones as well, so if you overuse adrenals, you deplete their ability to make these anti-inflammatories. This leads to increased inflammation and pain, which will ultimately lead to limitation and dysfunction. FYI one way of knowing that you have or may have adrenal fatigue is knee pain. In Applied Kinesiology, which I will write about in Part 3, every muscle has an organ relationship, and some of the knee and calf muscles are related to adrenals.
6) Improper nutrition. If one does not consume adequate amounts of protein and/or good fats to meet the demands of the body, then the body cannot function optimally and is therefore more likely to sustain an injury. On the other hand, eating foods that are toxic to the body and stress the liver, i.e. fast foods, white foods, sugar, processed foods and preservatives cause inflammation, thereby weakening one’s system and resilience, allowing injuries to occur more readily.
7) And last, but not least, dehydration. We need big juicy cells to function properly. One should drink half one’s body weight in fluid ounces of water. i.e. if you weigh 120 lbs. you should drink 60 oz. water/day, approximately 2 qts. And of course MORE when you are exercising.