If you are over 40, especially over 50 years old, you no doubt know the importance of exercise for muscles, mental health, weight loss, weight maintenance, and the list goes on. Nothing new here! But...
There is a dark side to this joy. MEI's. These get more prevalent with age and can be debilitating, frustrating and heartbreaking, and a great excuse to avoid exercise.
What's an MEI? We thought you'd never ask.
MEI stands for Miscellaneous Exercise Injury. If not already, avoiding MEI's should be your priority. Your life may depend on it.
I have had injuries to my calf muscles, hamstring, MCL, proximal hamstring tendon, Achilles tendon, rotator cuff, elbow, and wrist, and fortunately avoided back injuries, so far. I have experienced the frustration of not being able to exercise and losing the fitness I had worked so hard to gain. But there is always a way back, having said that, preventative Maintenance is far better and cheaper.
In my view, you cannot avoid exercise in your later years, so read up.
MEI's - where and why?
1. Legs
When we exceed the upper limit of muscle intensity in a short timeframe or volume over time. i.e. explosive movement or a long run we are not prepared for injury risk increases. You're not 25 anymore. Common suspects are hamstring and calf, proximal hamstring, and Achilles tendons.
2. Back
Overloading, overuse, new movements, or repetitive stress. Common suspects include lower back muscles, ligaments supporting the spine, lumbar strains, or herniated discs. These give me cold shivers.
3. Knees and other joints
Even colder shivers are the knees. Protect your knees at all costs. Don't forget the shoulders and elbow joints, ligaments and muscle damage.
Preventative maintenance is key. Or suffer the consequences.
MEI impact
- Your wallet - MRI, steroid injections, and physios all cost a lot.
- Your health - Unable to exercise.
- Your mental health - Loss of social connections through exercise.
- Food intake - Less exercise, less calories burnt, less food required?
Practical prevention steps from experience
1. Warm-up. That old chestnut, but not as you know it. This worked well for me and came as great advice. If you are starting to run or running, start each with a slow jog or brisk walk. For example, every run session for me always starts with a 10 min slow jog, and at the end a 10 min warm down. I avoided injuries once I started this. Every run, no excuses. Your legs will love you for it.
2. Vary up the surface. Try running on different surfaces i.e. on grass, pavement, gravel, on the beach, or at worst have more than one pair of running shoes and vary them up.
3. Stretch. Could be at night before bed or in the morning but ensure you retain muscle and tendon range, retain flexibility, and get blood flow to muscles. Try at least 3 times a week for around 20-30 minutes, lots of apps around to support this, or try a Pilates class.
4. Collagen. Got this from an experienced sports physio. It is not going to make you look prettier or younger, just saying, but it can help with damaged skin, and the strengthening of tendons or connective tissue, the intent being to help your body avoid or recover faster from injury.
5. Strength training. Your core, balance including glutes. Keep them strong. Pilates is also an option here.
6. I avoid knee exercises or exercises that I believe put unnecessary pressure on the knees such as heavy weight-bearing squats or lunges as examples. I focus on muscle rather than joint strength Joints will wear out over time, no need to speed up the process in my view.
7. Incremental increases. Rome wasn't built in a day, but can be burnt down in one. No, you can't go from the couch to 10 K on your first run, don't enter stuff after a couple of drinks with friends, or stuff you are not prepared for. Don't join sporting groups when you're not at the same capability as the other participants. You demotivate yourself and run the risk of injury. Work up to stuff.8. You don't see them coming. No one ever does. When training, at the first sign of a niggle or pain stop, do not soldier on and rather reassess and treat at the earliest opportunity. Live to come back another day.
9. RICE - Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation. If nothing else, rest and ice, bag of frozen peas works well if you get injured and try 10 mins on and 10 mins off for about an hour a day, and don't be a dumbass and burn your skin by overdoing it with a frozen whatever.
10. Muscle recovery - Sleep and supplements. Ensure you are getting sufficient protein, magnesium, vitamin C, vitamin D, zinc and Omega 3's. All support muscle repair and recovery.
Prevention beats cure, every time.
If you are exercising, prioritise this. You only realize what you have lost once you get injured, and the comeback trail can be timely, frustrating, and expensive. Prevention is better than cure.