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Common Exercise Injuries and Prevention Tips · The Dohnal Health Minute

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  Hey there and welcome back to the show. I'm Dr.
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  Chris Donnell, your chiropractor here in Nashville.
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  And today we're talking about something I see
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  in my office all the time. Exercise injuries,
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  whether you're a weekend warrior, someone just
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  getting back into the gym or a seasoned athlete,
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  this one's for you. Here's the thing. Exercise
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  is one of the best things you can do for your
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  health. I will always be in your corner when
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  it comes to staying active. But pushing your
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  body without the right knowledge, that's where
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  people run into trouble. And the good news is
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  most of these injuries are preventable. So let's
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  talk about what I see most often. The first one
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  is muscle strains. These happen when a muscle
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  is overstretched or overworked, usually because
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  someone jumped in too hard, too fast. You know
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  what I hear a lot? I hadn't worked out in a few
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  months and I just went all out. I get it. The
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  motivation hits, and you want to make up for
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  lost time. But your muscles need time to adapt.
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  If you've been away from the gym, ease back in.
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  Give your body a week or two of lighter work
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  before you ramp it up. The second big one is
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  joint injuries, especially in the knees, shoulders,
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  and lower back. These often come from poor form
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  or muscle imbalances. Here's what's interesting.
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  A lot of knee pain during squats or lunges actually
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  comes from weak hips. Your body is one connected
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  system. So when something's weak or tight in
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  one area, another area takes the hit. That's
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  why I always say don't just train the muscles
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  you can see in the mirror. Work on your hips,
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  your glutes, your core. Those are the foundation.
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  And the third one I see regularly is overuse
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  injuries. These build up slowly over time. Things
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  like tendonitis or repetitive stress in the lower
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  back or neck. These usually happen when people
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  do the same movements over and over without enough
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  recovery time. Your body repairs itself during
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  rest, not during the workout itself. Now let
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  me give you some practical things you can start
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  doing right now. First, warm up before you train.
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  Not stretching, I mean actual movement. A few
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  minutes of light cardio, some arm circles, leg
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  swings, hip rotations. Get the blood flowing
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  before you ask your muscles to do the heavy lifting.
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  Second, cool down when you're done. Five minutes
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  of gentle movement and some light stretching
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  goes a long way toward keeping things loose and
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  preventing next -day soreness. Third, learn to
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  listen to your body. There's a difference between
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  the discomfort of a good workout and the sharp
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  or nagging pain of something going wrong. If
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  something doesn't feel right, dial it back. Pain
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  is information. Fourth, build in rest days. Your
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  muscles, your joints, your nervous system, they
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  all need time to recover. More is not always
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  more. Now, When should you come see me? If you've
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  had a nagging pain that isn't going away after
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  a week or two of rest, come in. If you've had
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  a sudden injury that caused sharp pain, swelling,
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  or limited your range of motion, don't wait.
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  And honestly, even if you feel okay but you want
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  to move better and stay injury free long term,
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  that's a great reason to get evaluated too. A
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  lot of what I do is helping people move well
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  before the pain ever starts. At Donald Chiropractic,
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  we work with active people every single day.
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  We're right here in Nashville, and we love helping
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  our community stay strong, stay moving, and get
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  back to doing what they love. Thanks so much
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  for tuning in today. If you have questions or
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  want to schedule a visit, give us a call or find
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  us online. We'd love to see you. Until next time,
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  take care of yourself, stay active, and remember,
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  a little prevention goes a really long way.