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Mixing It Up The importance of cross training to avoid injuries by Marnie Dominy

My friend Elizabeth is an avid runner. Rarely does she miss a day running around Green Lake, and if time allows, she runs it twice. Her body thrives on exercise, and like so many of us she is always looking to lose that last five pounds.

Imagine my surprise when she proclaimed that her doctor had recently forbidden her to run for a month! The diagnosis? Stress fractures (tiny fractures in an overused bone) in her shinbone (tibia). She was totally bummed. She’d bought new shoes at the slightest sign of wear in the old ones, ran north to south one day and reversed it the next, stayed on the asphalt trail on even days and the dirt trails the odd days, and was diligent about warm-ups and cool-downs. What would she do now?

The answer was simple, really: cross train. Cross training is the practice of using different modes of exercise in your cardiorespiratory training program. Elizabeth had done what so many of us do: overuse a specific area of her body by failing to vary her exercise regimen, creating the dreaded “overuse injury.” It was time for Elizabeth to try other forms of aerobic exercise.

She thought the gym would be the place to start because of all the cardio machines. The challenge though was to find one that didn’t aggravate the tibia bone, and that wasn’t easy. Almost every cardio machine requires flexion and extension of the foot, which puts pressure on the shin and its surrounding muscle.

She was dying to try the spinning class because spinning had the intensity she thrived on, but it simply required too much involvement of the tibia and the muscle attached to the shin (tibialis anterior). She found the same problem with some of the cardio classes. Ultimately she found two activities that were perfect for her.

The first was a Pilates class. The class she took was very intense and recruited every muscle in her body, satisfying her cardio requirements. The other activity she chose was swimming. “I forgot how much I loved to swim,” she said. Though there was certainly flexion and extension at her ankle joint that created some pressure in her shin, swimming did not require Elizabeth to bear weight on her legs. If necessary, she could limit the use of her legs in the pool and increase the use of her upper body. As much as Elizabeth loves running, she had to confess that the changes she made were “fun and motivating.” A bonus was that she was making new friends.

Overuse injuries can take many forms. Besides causing stress fractures, doing the same exercise repeatedly can also lead to tendonitis. Tendonitis occurs with the repetitive contractions of muscles, resulting in pain and swelling in the tendons near the joints. Common tendonitis locations are the elbow (tennis elbow), ankle and shoulder. Plantar fasciitis is another common overuse injury. It occurs when the band or fascia that connects the heel to the ball of the foot starts to tear, resulting in intense pain with each step. People who have had plantar fasciitis know that the first step out of bed in the morning can be excruciating. Pain behind the kneecap may be the result of an imbalance in the knee-stabilizing muscles, causing the kneecap to get off track. This results in “runner’s knee” or patella-femoral pain syndrome.

Women have a greater propensity for this than men due to the angle of the femur that extends from the hip to the knee. Yet another common overuse injury is the all too common shin splint. Shin splints is a general term which describes pain that occurs in the front or sides of the lower legs. It can be the result of tendonitis, the muscle tearing away from the bone, a muscle strain or connective tissue inflammation. You know when you have shin splints as every time you take a step, your shin screams at you in pain.

Since overuse injuries can take months to heal, the best prescription is to avoid them in the first place. No matter how much you love one activity, it is simply imperative that you enhance your fitness regimen with complementary activities that engage a variety of muscles. For instance, if you play competitive soccer, complement your sport with resistance training to build the muscles you use in the game, paying attention to the core muscles of the body. Since soccer involves a lot of running, aerobic fitness is of utmost importance and many soccer players add training runs on off-days for this reason. This is good, but running should not be the only cardio exercise a player supplements with, as it puts extra stress on the bones and muscles of the legs which need to be in top condition for the game.

If you play soccer, it would be a good idea to train several days engaged in different activities. In other words, cross train. You can strengthen your cardiovascular system by biking or rowing. Even though the large leg muscles are used in both of these aerobic activities, they are being engaged at different angles and recruit different muscle fibers. Yoga is a perfect complement to the all-out performance requirements of soccer. The breathing and stretching in yoga can help prevent injuries and prepare the mind for competition.

Personally, I believe that Pilates should accompany every sport and exercise program you do. Considering all of the exercise and sports I have done throughout the years, nothing has affected me as positively as Pilates. Since core muscles are recruited in every physical activity, strengthening them with Pilates or core strength training gives you more stability, power and grace for whatever activity you choose.

Marnie Dominy has bachelor’s degree in physical education and health and a master’s degree in exercise physiology. Her business, Fit-For-Today, provides weight loss coaching, fitness classes and personal training. She teaches health science, personal wellness, weight management and walking for fitness at Olympic College. Her first book, The Fit-For-Today Weight Loss “Workbook” is due out in August.

©2009 Caliope Publishing Company