Exercise Precautions

The number of exercises that can be done are in the thousands. Some exercises are good and some increase the chance of injury. Reduce the risk of injury by knowing your limitations and taking the precautions outlined below. Many people use the “risky” exercises without any problems. The advice to them is to be cognizant of the possible problems and curtail these activities if you become aware of tightness, pain, or swelling in the area. Trade-offs are acceptable and important—we increase the chance of injury when we exercise but we reduce the chance of obesity, heart disease, etc.

  1. Learn your limitations. Start easy and work up gradually to the more difficult level. Discover which exercise you can do, which ones you need to avoid, and which ones where you need to be more careful.
  1. Work at your target heart rate. This insures that you are working at the correct level for the best results and yet, you are not stressing the body and/or mind.
  1. Be comfortable during exercise. There should be no pain during or after exercise. The risk of injury increases when you ignore pain and/or execute many of the high risk exercises mentioned in this paper, illustrated on course materials or demonstrated by the instructor. Pain does not mean or include muscle soreness.
  1. Be aware of your physical and mental state. Illness, emotional problems, stress, a “high” or “low” could affect the level of execution for the day and increase the risk of injury if not heeded.
  1. Avoid tight fitting, nonporous clothing. Don’t use gear that retains heat to encourage sweating and thus weight loss. Water loss is only a temporary weight reduction. A 2% loss of water results in the body becoming inefficient. Anymore loss than 2% and it begins to become dangerous to your health.
  1. Protect the feet and joints of the body by wearing appropriate foot gear and selecting a work-out area that is not hard—grass area, matted or wall-to-wall carpeted floor, etc.
  1. Do not overstretch. Work-up gradually with no pain. The best time to work on flexibility, the most neglected factor of physical fitness, is after the activity. Overstretching the gluteal area when doing the rocker, hamstring stretch, head toknee pose, etc., may damage the sciatic nerve resulting in constant chronic pain. This nerve exits the pelvis under the gluteus maximus and runs down the back of the leg. Never force your stretching.
  1. The terrible “D’s” should not be done.
  1. Dead Lift—standing with knees straight, hands touching the toes.
  2. Double Leg Lifts—lying on the back and lifting both legs or sitting up with legs straight.
  3. Dorsal Flexion—lying on the stomach and arching with the head and feet off the floor.
  4. Deep Knee Bends—from a strand, squat beyond a 90 degree angle while lifting the heels off the floor.
  5. Dorsal Neck Flexion—arching the head backwards wears the discs and pinches nerves and arteries in the head and neck.
  1. Protect your lower back and neck (lumbar and cervical vertebrae).
  1. See number 8 above.
  2. Don’t whip the head or lower back forward and back while exercising.
  3. Contract the stomach muscles to keep the back flat while doing the quadriceps stretch, cobra, hip lift from a hook lying position, etc.
  4. Dorsal arching the neck (head back) creates wear in the atlantooccipital joint and/or could also disrupt neck nerves.
  5. Bend the knees while doing exercises from a standing position with the trunk bent forward from the waist.
  6. Headstands, shoulder stands, back rolls, and sit-ups with the hands pulling the head may injure the neck and overstretch the extensor muscles. Avoid these activities if you have weak neck muscles, are overweight, or simply wish to reduce the chance of injury.
  1. Shoulder exercise to avoid. Backward arm circles with palms down (humerus medially rotated). Everytime the arm is lifted the rotator cuff and the bursa in the shoulder is squeezed and the greater tuberosity impinges upon the coracoacromial ligament. The friction over time wears down the tendon and/or tuberosity and results in tendonitis, bursitis, and arthritis.
  1. Protect the knees from strains, sprains, and tears. The following could increase the risk of injury: deep knee bends, Yoga leg folding, using force to flex the knee—hands over the knees during the rocker or when doing the head to knee pose, hurdle exercise, etc. The knee should not be taken beyond a 90 degree angle.
  1. The iliopsoas muscles are located inside the pelvis and increases the curve of the lower lumbar vertebrae and/or flexes the hip joint. A tight iliopsoas increases the lumbar curve (lordosis) and causes most lower back problems. Stretching the iliopsoas with the lunge, comma, or modern cobra is indicated. The backbend, traditional cobra, prone swan, etc. are not recommended.
  1. Exercises that cause muscle imbalance should be avoided. Many weight lifters work on the chest muscles but neglect the back muscles causing misalignment of the body. Antagonistic muscles need to be worked to keep a balanced relationship. The body should also be worked symmetrically—both sides of the body should be developed equally.
  1. Knowing what is generally good and bad about specific exercises, knowing what precautions to take and doing them, and knowing your personal limitations will reduce the chance of injuries from exercise. Putting this knowledge into practice can protect you from exercise instructors conducting programs that increase the chance of injury and protect you from your own overzealous approach to activities. Do only what is right for you to attain your goal of effective living.