This is a very interesting question. It can be very frustrating to start an exercise program with the intention of achieving a weight loss goal only to end up getting injured before you really get the ball rolling.
Let’s talk about some possible reasons why cardio can sometimes cause injuries.
1. Poor mobility or stability.
All the muscles and bones in your body are all linked together. Think of your body like a train. The train car in the front pulls the ones behind it, which pulls the one behind it, which in turn pulls the one behind it, and so on.
Your body is very similar. If you have really bad mobility in one ankle, then that could put stress on the knee above it. If the knee isn’t working right, then the hip could have to move in an unnatural way to compensate.
This could cause your lower back to have more stress from bad hip, which then makes your lumbar vertebrae move in unnatural ways. The whole time, the other side of the body might be compensating in ways that throws your whole body out of whack.
Throw in and extra 30lbs of body fat to load the joints more and some tight and/or weak muscles on top of that, and you have a recipe for an injury.
This leads us right into the next cause…
2. Cardio involves doing thousands of repetitions.
If you get on a treadmill and go for a run, how many times do you think your legs move back and forth? Depending on your speed and stride length, it could easily be several thousand.
The same goes for other types of exercises such as the bike, elliptical, the arc trainer, etc. The difference is that these machines are not very high impact, but that is another topic.
3. Over training.
When you exercise, your body needs time to recover. If you do not give yourself enough time to rest, your body can get burned out in several ways.
If you train too hard too often without proper time to rest, then the chances of getting an overuse injury sky rockets.
Imagine driving your car for 100,000 miles without ever getting an oil change or any kind of maintenance. At some point, it is going to break down and have problems without the proper care. Your body is no different, therefore you must make sure that you supplement your exercise with enough rest and proper nutrition (VERY important).
Now, here is the scenario:
So imagine this, you get excited to accomplish a weight loss goal. You get a new pair of running shoes and decide you are going to start running 30 minutes on the treadmill 4-5 times per week. You start really strong right off the bat, but after about 3 weeks your knee starts really hurting.
You try to work through the pain, but it gets to the point that your knee looks red and your can feel the inflammation. You get discouraged and give up on your goal because an injury has prevented you from continuing.
The good news is that there are always alternative types of exercise modalities that you can use, but the important thing is to try and fix what is wrong.
Quite possibly, the best thing you can do is go to a physical therapist. They may find that your shoes need different insoles; you have muscular imbalances that are throwing off your joint mobility, or something else.
They can often design a therapy program that will get you back to normal and give you advice on how to proceed properly.
Another option is to go through the Functional Movement Screen. This is a basic test that helps to identify if you have any “red flags” that will indicate the possibility of injury. You can check the database at http://www.functionalmovement.com to find someone in your area who has attended the training.
The Importance of Strength Training
Even if you don’t have any major mobility problems (joints), you could still at risk for an injury if you have de-conditioned muscles.
The only thing in your body that makes you move are your skeletal muscles. The stronger your muscles are, they more they are able to support your joints.
If you are going to do lots of repeated distance runs and you have weak lower body muscles and have a few extra pounds on you, then the brunt of each stride is going to impact several joints throughout the body including your ankles, knees, hips, and back.
You can prevent this by making sure that you actively make strength training just as important in your workout as cardiovascular training. When you build up the muscles that support your joints all over your body, the chances of getting injured decreases significantly.
This is extremely important for anyone that wants to lose fat because all fat burning happens in the muscles.
In summary, here is how to avoid overuse injuries that can be cause by doing too much cardio:
- Poor joint mobility, poor flexibility, muscle imbalances, and weak muscles are all things that can cause injuries.
- Get someone educated in the Functional Movement Screen to check to see if you have any “red flags”.
- Begin a strength training program to strengthen your muscles and give more support for your joints.
- Don’t underestimate stretching and flexibility!
