How much is too much? A few tips on how to find the right dose of exercise to prevent injuries
Sébastien Turner-Chiasson, Physiotherapist
If you play a sport regularly, whether it is golf, running, soccer or many others, there is always a risk of injury to consider. The goal of this blog is to give you a little bit of advice on how to find the perfect « dose » of exercise so you can continue to play your favorite sport without becoming injured.
There are two main categories of sports-related injuries. First, there is what’s called traumatic injuries. These are injuries that happen suddenly and we often have no control over (for example, spraining your ankle while playing soccer or a body check to shoulder in hockey). The second category is called overuse injuries. This type of injury occurs when a certain body part is being overused and can’t tolerate the amount of stress that is applied to that region. These injuries are often seen in sports that have a lot of repetitive movements, such as running, cycling or racket sports. As you may have guessed, the second type of injury is a lot easier to prevent than the first.
To prevent an overuse injury, it is very important to understand that our body is able to adapt to stress as long as we don’t exceed what’s called our adaptation capacity. This simply means that if we want our body to adapt progressively to the stress that is applied, we must find the perfect dose of exercise to favorize this. When you find the perfect dose, your body can adapt and your adaptation capacity increases gradually as well (which means that you will be able to do even more). However, it is important to note that if you don’t do enough training or exercise, your body will not adapt, and your adaptation capacity will decrease!
Therefore, to answer the main question of this blog: How do we know when we’ve done too much and we are at risk of an injury? Here are four signs that could lead to suggest that you are exceeding your body’s adaptation capacity:
- Pain during the activity
- Pain after the activity
- Significant soreness in the morning
- Swelling at a certain region during or after the activity
If you are having any of these symptoms, it may be your body that is telling you that you have exceeded your adaptation capacity, which would put you more at risk for a particular injury. However, no need to panic! Just make sure that next time, you decrease the dose of exercise you will be doing. This can be done by decreasing the intensity of the exercise, the length of the exercise or by taking rest periods.
I will be the first to admit that it is not always easy to find the perfect dose of exercise. We must often go through a process of trial and error. However, if you are patient, have fun and gradually increase your body’s adaptation capacity, you will be able to continue playing your favorite sport for years to come!
For more information and for a visual explanation of the adaptation capacity concept, check out the Running Clinic’s website:
1- https://lacliniqueducoureur.com/quantification-du-stress-mecanique
