Exercise Safeguards to Prevent Workout Injuries

Nothing throws a wrench into an exercise regime more than an injury.

When beginning a new exercise program, women in particular may need to take extra precautions to help protect their knees.

“Women have a greater tendency to be knock-kneed and have less muscle mass on the inner thighs than men,” said Letha Y. Griffin, a staff physician at the Peachtree Orthopedic Clinic in Atlanta and clinical professor of orthopedic surgery at Emory University.

Those physical differences can place extra pressure on the knees, particularly during activities that involve running and kicking, such as aerobics.

The result can be knee pain and ligament damage that may halt physical activity for weeks.

Experts recommend starting any exercise program slowly and gradually building up.

For fledgling joggers who want to work up to a half-hour jog each day, John Bergfeld, head of the Sports Medicine Division at the Cleveland Clinic, recommends beginning with a 10-minute daily run.

Follow that routine for two weeks, he said, then add five minutes every other week to the daily workout.

“Over a four- to six-week period, you will get yourself up to the activity that you want,” he said.

Another way to help reduce injury and gradually strengthen different muscles is to cross-train--that is, combine different activities, such as swimming, biking and walking, to build up muscles equally in the body.

“You can bike one day, run another, take an aerobic-exercise class on another and walk on another,” Griffin said.

To help avoid injury, experts recommend:

* Low-impact aerobics, which places less strain on the knees and is less likely to cause stress fractures. “But don’t just jump into a class of people who are pretty well conditioned,” Bergfeld said. Try a beginning class, then slowly work up to the more rigorous workouts.

* Walking, particularly as a way to start exercising after gaining weight or after having a baby.

“Knee-cap pain is not uncommon in women who gain significant weight during pregnancy and try to return to vigorous exercise following delivery without first losing some of this weight and regaining muscle strength,” Griffin said.

“Try brisk walking until muscle tone is regained in the legs and some of the weight gained during pregnancy is lost,” he said.

* Bicycling, particularly on stationary bikes. Raise seats as high as comfortably possible to reduce stress on knees and start at a low tension.

* Avoid stair climbing, squatting exercises and training on weight machines that allow 90 degrees of motion, all of which can place extra pressure on knees.

* Allow time to warm up properly before exercising.

* See a doctor if pain, tenderness or swelling develops with increased activity, Griffin said.