Tips for the more Active Person

Already active people usually don’t need continual reminders to motivate themselves. These are people who just like sport. If you are one on these people who has a particular sport as your hobby, then that is fantastic as you will be constantly making time for that particular activity.

A tip for the active person is to remember the 4 S’s of Fitness:

• Stamina
• Suppleness
• Strength
• Speed

For example, if a person enjoys running he or she probably has a routine of running most days where ever or whenever schedule allows. We might be practicing for a particular community event and therefore the more practice supposedly the better the outcome. Many sportspersons however tend to underestimate the importance of spending some time performing all the S’s, especially Suppleness.

By definition, suppleness (or flexibility) is the range of movement of a single joint or group of joints. Although movement may be affected by structural damage of the bones attached to the joint, by far the most common factor affecting flexibility is the failure of the muscles surrounding the joint to stretch to a favourable length. In general, most joints have a much greater range of motion than the surrounding muscles will allow but through regular stretching joints can be freed from such a restriction.

If stretching has limited importance in a sportspersons routine then inadequate flexibility results in restricted joint movement and a higher risk to injury. Many studies have shown that more flexible athletes are better players in their sport.

Just like an unused elastic band that tends to snap upon stretching so too does a human muscle when called upon to perform an extreme movement in an emergency. Muscles that aren’t regularly stretched lose their elasticity and therefore are less able to stretch to a full range of movement, often resulting in damage to the muscle tissue. For example, if a runner accidentally trips down a roadside curb then it is likely that the muscles around the ankle joint become over extended. The flexibility of the muscles around the joint will determine, if any, the extent of the injury. Another example might be when say, something is knocked from a table and you perform a quick extended twisting movement in an attempt to catch it. If the spinal muscles around the joints are not regularly stretched and twisted in a controlled environment, then these muscles may not cope with an over stretched sudden movement.

Stretching not only prevents injury but can also improve sport performance.

How?

Improve biomechanical efficiency. If a basketballer has tight calf muscles or archiles tendons then they are inefficient because they are not allowing a complete and strong propulsion for each stride or jump. Therefore one can improve their jumping capacity by stretching.

Increase speed and power. By increasing the length of a muscle you are increasing the range of movement allowing for more momentum. eg bowling a cricket ball.

Improve co-ordination between muscle groups. When a muscle becomes stronger it becomes fatter and if not stretched, also shorter. The ‘ideal’ muscle is fat and long, equating to strong and flexible. If one group of muscles are predominantly used in a particular sport activity they will become stronger and if not regularly stretched, variability will exist in the opposing muscle groups. This can create weakness at joint connections creating, a injury prone area.

Ways to improve joint health?

Make sure you warm up and cool down properly with gentle stretches before starting your activity. Keep joints warm in cold weather and do daily stretches.

Maybe it might be necessary to join a regular weekly yoga class to keep you motivated and disciplined. Every sport will have specific muscles that need extra care for stretching. For example, if you play a ball sport like netball then even stretching the fingers would be worthwhile, but if running is the sport of interest then this stretch may not apply. What ever muscles are used predominantly in your sport, they need to be stretched regularly to improve joint health.

Nutritional intake can also improve joint health. Consume fatty acids to lubricate synovial joints and for their anti-inflammatory action. Eating oily fish at least twice a week is a superb start. Commercial supplements containing omega-3 fish oil, olive or flaxseed are beneficial but not as good as the natural version. Foods containing vitamins A and D are important to bone health. Vitamin C is both a powerful antioxidant as well as needed for the production of collagen- a protein found in skin, ligaments, cartilage and other body tissues. Therefore eating at least five servings of vegetables and two of fruit a day will supply these needs. Drinking at least two litres of fluid a day is best to maintain good hydration, and a flow of nutrients to the joints. A commercially available product called glucosamine sulphate maybe helpful to some athletes as it contains building blocks needed to make synovial fluid (the joint’s oil), more cushioning, and to repair torn cartilage, sprained ligaments or strained tendons.