East Meets West

Yay! The weather is beautiful; perfect for hopping on your new mountain bike, pulling the rollerblades out of your closet, or joining your buddies for a "friendly" game of soccer. Great! Exercise is good for you. Right? Well, yes…and no. Exercise is wonderful and essential, but some of you don't move enough during the workweek, and then push yourselves too hard when the weekend finally arrives. What happens next? Injuries. Then you're sidelined for awhile, unable to do the activities you would like to. You may even push yourself back to the activities before your body is sufficiently healed and the injury cycle begins.

In addition, those who exercise sporadically actually have an increased risk of exercise-related heart attacks and cardiac arrest over those who exercise regularly according to the American Heart Association.

Prevention:

Start off a new exercise program slowly.
Begin each activity with a 5-10 minute brisk walk or some other aerobic activity.
Stretch your muscles once you have warmed up, holding each stretch for at least 30 seconds and make sure to breathe during each stretch.
Stretch again after your activity.
Continue with some activity during the workweek, e.g. every other day.
Give yourself time for rest and recovery.
Cross-train. Studies have shown that you will be less likely to injure yourself if you don't always do the same exercise, so mix up your activities.
Pay attention to your form. If you are starting a new exercise, consider talking to a certified trainer.
Pay attention to your body. If you're too tired, rest. You're more likely to lose your form and injure yourself when you're tired.
It is normal to have sore muscles when you start exercising again, but if the soreness lasts more than 36 hours, or if it gets worse, get treatment.
Stay hydrated.

Treatment

At the first sign of an injury, remember the RICE method: rest, ice, compression, and elevation. If your pain does not subside, seek treatment.

Acupuncture can work wonderfully to treat pain, decrease inflammation, and speed up healing time. It can even help strengthen areas of weakness so that injuries will be less likely to recur.

A safe and effective alternative to pharmaceutical anti-inflammatories is a natural product called Serrapeptidase. This is an enzyme that was initially isolated from silkworms which use the enzymes to break down their hard cocoon walls. It is now produced through a fermentation process. Serrapeptidase in not only anti-inflammatory (reduces swelling), but also anti-edemic (lessens fluid retention) and fibrinolytic (breaks down protein buildups such as those in scar tissue). While not a TCM supplement, I have found it to be a great supplement for my patients with pain, inflammation, and sinusitis.