Weekend Warriors Prone to Injuries

Aug. 25, 2008 - If that game of beach volleyball, tennis or pickup football left your muscles screaming, you're not alone: Sports injuries are now the second most common reason we head to the doctor, behind colds.

Just one in 10 Americans exercises regularly. With more of us pressed for time, energy and motivation, a growing number are now "weekend warriors" -- those who are largely sedentary during the week but explode into activity on days off. It's a group that's keeping orthopedic coordinator John McDonald of Saints Medical Center in Lowell, Massachusetts, on his toes.

"People who haven't done this level of activity in a while go out there and, well, their bodies just can't do it," explained McDonald, who estimates that a quarter to a third of all his patients are injured sporadic exercisers.

"When you try to do it at the level you once did -- even people who were athletes and in great shape -- you learn in a hurry that you can't. Their minds are still thinking they're 22."

It's not just baby boomers. The fallacy is that in your late 20s, 30s, and 40s, many are still young enough, and in-shape enough to be occasionally active. Their physical prowess is still a recent memory, McDonald said.

But even those few extra pounds between high school and thirtysomething can put extra stress on the joints and ligaments so that bodies that are a little older, heavier, more collagen-deficient and less flexible -- even those still south of middle-age -- become a little more crotchety, crabby, a little "less tolerant."

Enter turned ankles. Torn ligaments. Ripped rotator cuffs.

Injuries are often seasonal. With spring, the upper body more often suffers -- anything from tennis elbow to back and neck strain. But come the cool of fall and winter, when there's skiing, snowboarding and snowshoeing to contend with, the lower body is more often at risk.

On-again, off-again exercise also can be downright dangerous. If you're a weekend warrior with high cholesterol, blood surging through clogged arteries can exacerbate early heart problems, said McDonald. He urges exercisers, no matter their level, to get checked by their physician beforehand.

McDonald said that while even two-day-a-week exercise is "still a heck of a lot better than doing nothing" -- though most recommend at least 30 minutes of mild to moderate activity every day -- it's got to be done right. He recommends a five- to 10-minute routine of stretching and warm-up prior to any weekend activity to "get the body adapted," and always tells his patients to build up to activity, rather than plunge headlong into it.

If you're upping your routine, or trying something new, the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons recommends doing so in increments, just 10 percent each week. So if you normally walk three miles each day, for example, build up to four miles over three weeks to a month. And if you have a body part that's prone to injury, consider swapping sports. Runners with bad knees, for example, might take up swimming or kayaking.

And while explosive, or what trainer Bindy Johnson calls "ballistic activity," may burn more calories than more staid sports like power-walking or bicycling -- think flag football and volleyball -- it also brings more injuries. Johnson recommends sporadic exercisers find time to do even light weight training a few days a week and keep hydrated to ensure they respect their bodies.

Which in the end, even occasional exercisers, no matter their gusto, usually do.

"In the end," Johnson said, "the risks for not exercising are 20 times greater than for the risk for exercising."

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