A lot of men get hurt trying to do too much too quickly. Scott Oakes of Danville Regional Sports Medicine and Rehab says, “Men work during the week and then try to cram a lot in on the weekends. They may cut down a tree and move the firewood or go for a ten-mile walk. No matter how old you are, you will feel the results of overusing a muscle.”
Any new fitness routine may overuse several muscles all at once. “Men should know that when they try out a new exercise program, they may get sore from very minor exercises. No matter what they get into, they are older than the last time they tried it, so they need to make sure that they have a graded progression. Otherwise they get injured or extremely sore from too much too soon.”
A recurring theme when it comes to men’s health is denial. It’s easy for a man to not want to accept their current physical condition which can lead to injuries. But, regular exercise can prevent many of the injuries that may lead to a need for physical therapy. “Consider a guy who works at Goodyear. He may be very physically active on his job, but they build one type of muscle, sometimes on only one side. This can lead to pain or even an injury when they go to do a different type of physical activity.”
This muscle imbalance can even be seen in athletes. “The biggest problem with sports injuries are muscles and balance. A soccer player who tears their ACL may have really good quadriceps muscles, but almost nonexistent hamstrings. So in rehab, you start by finding where their deficiencies are and work on that. For example, baseball players rotate inside all of the time throwing and pitching, but they never do the opposite direction, so they will get an imbalance point of rotation and eventually bones start getting closer and closer. Even athletes need to have a wide range of exercises.”
Scott Oaks is the Director of Danville Regional Sports Medicine and Rehab (formerly Southside Spine and Rehab). He can currently be found at 4819 Riverside Drive, Suite C, in Danville or by calling 434.822.0484. But, when the new YMCA opens, Scott and his team will occupy space in the new building on the River.