ADVERTISING: Advertorial — Strength training: Stay strong, reduce your risk of injury and know how your body heals

The body and all it’s joints and muscles were made to move. That’s their job!

The joints, muscles, nerves and bones need at least 10 repetitions a day to keep healthy. If you are not active daily, muscles and their neurological intervention atrophy in only 3-5 days with non-use. So the best way to ensure your bodies health this season is to get moving!

Strength training reduces sports injuries by over 66% and repetitive overuse injuries by 50% according to recent research data overview. Interestingly enough the research also showed that the more we increased are strength training “volume and intensity,” the less sport related injuries occurred. Different approaches to strength training appeared to lead to the same outcomes in the literature, they all decreased the risk of injury. Which is good news, because we can make a change in our health, no problem, it’s never too late.

Evidence suggests that if you were already on a strength training program increasing your volume by only 10 % was shown to be effective at reducing injuries. Stretching was not directly related to a reduction in sport related injuries, but it did make people feel better.

There are so many different ways to strength train that picking one seems to be part of the challenge. Since the data is showing that all strength training leads to a healthier life and reduces the risk of injury, we just need to get started.

Body by Science challenged our thinking by describing five main exercises done to fatigue at the highest weight possible and it takes approximately 15-20 mins to accomplish it. The Cross Fit world offers us longer, integrated workouts with a connection to a team of people to help keep us motivated. Your local gym has personal trainers that can offer you one on one direction and drive you forward to your personal goals as well. There are exercise apps and online training programs so you don’t even have to leave your house to strength train.

Your local physical therapists are premier Musculoskeletal Specialists and can help you get started on a strength training program that you can do at home or a gym. They understand past injury implications and complex medical history to keep you safe while you strength train.

They have customized exercise apps that can advance your strength as you progress every few weeks to months.

Currently, I have a couple who have their exercise app on their TV and they workout together with it everyday.

They have never felt better.

Getting stronger will most likely keep you from the unwanted “downtime” that comes from sport related injuries or repetitive work injuries, so you can have more fun playing this season.

Understanding what it takes for the body to heal after injury might help us see why strength training is so necessary.

The different structures in our body heal at different rates and once you know the time frames it becomes a motivator for prevention of injury.

Healing time frames for body structures:

1) Bones: Approximately 6-8 weeks, protect the site but weight bearing helps bones heal.

2) Nerves: Typically take the longest 3-4 months to heal, the longer a nerve is the longer it takes to heal. A nerve heals at an approximate rate of 1-3 mm a month.

3) Cartilage: Approximately 12 weeks, it is aneural so often we don’t know it’s injured until it thins down to the underlying bone.

4) Ligaments: Depending on severity 10-16 weeks, slow to heal as their blood supply is limited.

5) Muscle: 2-6 weeks depending on severity, good blood flow improves their ability to heal quickly.

6) Tendons: 4-6 weeks depending on severity and area of tear, can take longer if blood supply isn’t efficient. Achilles’ tendon after takes longer as it is large and diffuse with more elastic fibers, needs eccentric loading to heal.

Strength training is the best way to help muscles, bones, ligaments tendons and nerves stay healthy. Preventative exercise is the key to longevity. The body wants to heal itself. We have the ability to turn off genetic tendencies for chronic disease with daily exercise, clean diet, intermittent fasting, sleeping 7-8 hours a night and decreasing the stressors that make excessive cortisol. The Buck Institute for Anti-Aging states that they “believe it is possible for people to enjoy their lives at 95 as much as they do at 25, and to achieve that, they are seeking a more comprehensive understanding of the biology of aging itself”. Once we understand that more clearly we can affect regeneration and healing. Strength training is a key component of that because the myokines made during exercise actually decrease inflammation and facilitate healing.

This is good news, because it means we are never too old and it’s never too late to make a change in our health.

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Sheree DiBiase, PT, ICLM, is an entrepreneur and the owner of Lake City Physical Therapy, PA, and she believes your health is the greatest gift you will ever have in your life!

Please reach out to her at www.lakecitypt.com to learn more about what you can do to have a healthier lifestyle.