When is movement helpful and when is it harmful?
Everyone knows exercise is good, right? Then why does it sometimes hurt, and how do I know if that pain is helping or hindering my success?
Answering that question depends largely on the cause of your pain and the type of movement you’re doing. Is it sore muscles, osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia, a sprained ankle, or a broken bone? Are you just trying to hit your step goal or are you attempting to set a new personal best in the 10 Km? Let’s discuss some guiding principles to help you find what’s right for you.
The inverted U – too little and too much of a good thing
There is a very common principle in biology known as the inverted U-shaped curve. It applies to nearly all activities, inputs, and chemical processes. Simply put, it means – too little of something is bad and too much of that same thing is also bad. Take a few examples:
• Food – too little and we starve —> too much and we grow obese
• Light – too little and we can’t see —> too much and we are blinded
• Blood pressure – too little and we faint —> too much and we develop heart disease
This is especially true with exercise. Too little and our bodies atrophy —> too much and we become injured. Movement is an essential input of the human body; it affects our physical, physiological, and mental health. However, it is easy to go wrong on both ends of the scale. Our sedentary desk jobs are just as bad for us as the firefighter and first-responders who push their bodies to the max. Every person needs to find a happy, middle ground that keeps our joints and cardiovascular systems healthy without overdoing it.
Movement nourishes our joints
This concept explains why too little movement is bad. Our joints don’t get blood supply in the same, direct way that muscles do and therefore, need movement to nourish them. Muscles, alternatively, receive blood and nutrients directly from the artery. Joints are separated from blood by a ‘joint capsule’ that contains a slippery and nutritious fluid, which leaches its nutrition from the blood across the capsule’s membrane! This process requires the ‘pump action’ of a MOVING joint. Otherwise the fluid dries up and the joint breaks down. So being sedentary actually limits the joint’s capacity to heal and repair normal wear and tear, leading to injury.
This realization leads us to the following conclusion –
some painful movement is good for you!
This is because moving an injured joint is the best way to bring nutrients inside the joint space and begin the healing process.
What types of movements are best?
Low intensity movements that bring the joint through a full range of motion are my favorites! Things like:
• Walking – roughly 10,000 steps a day
• Yoga and other thoughtful stretching
• Thai Chi
• Breathing exercises
• Sitting on the floor in a variety of positions
• Dancing
The movements listed above should make up the majority of our movement diet. Every day, we should be getting no less than two hours of movement (including walking)! Beyond that, weight training and cardio can be added in 1-3 times per week.
When is movement potentially harmful?
Most of the time I would recommend some type of movement but there are several scenarios when adjusting the intensity, duration, and type of activity is warranted. Here are a few conditions where I would wait before adding movement:
• Broken bone – no way around this one, you will have to take some time off
• Shooting nerve pain that worsens with activity – set up an appointment with a healthcare specialist before pushing through nerve pain
• Severe fatigue conditions like adrenal fatigue or chronic fatigue syndrome – light stretching is all I would recommend*
• Overuse injuries – typically, athletes need to dial back their activity to a much lower amount*
*Note in these conditions I’m not saying stop, but readjusting is necessary!
I hope this helps you tackle your health and wellness goals. If you have any questions or want a personalized assessment please don’t hesitate to give Sprout Wellness a call.
Aaron Coulthard M.OmSc
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