Is it possible to exercise if your muscles are still sore from the last workout? Important question. Is it possible to run and exercise if you take antibiotics? When you have an injury

Many of us get a cold at least once a year. Considering that the recovery process can take a week or even two, sports lovers have a question about whether it is worth playing sports with a cold.

Seek expert advice

Undoubtedly, training benefits our body, but do they continue their positive effects during illness? The opinions of athletes, coaches and doctors differ from each other. Some believe that you should never skip workouts during a “common ARVI”, while others argue that even with a mild cold, any exercise should be excluded.

When sports are an integral part of life, giving them up at least for a short time seems something impossible. This is why many of us continue to visit Gym despite the cold, explaining this by the fact that sports won’t make it worse, and I don’t want to lose the money paid for a month or several months in advance. Among athletes, there is a “above the neck rule”, according to which you can play sports if the symptoms of the disease are observed at least below the level of the neck. That is, if you follow the “above the neck” rule, if you have a slight sore throat and runny nose, sports are not prohibited. But if this “rule” is followed, complications such as pneumonia or bronchitis are possible, which is why if you are sick, it is better to rest at home and follow the doctor’s instructions, and after recovery, start training again. If you really want to, you should consult a doctor or trainer to change the duration of your workouts and load if necessary.

Looking for the golden mean

It is safe to exercise only if your doctor has not diagnosed you with the flu and has cleared you to continue exercising. In this case, it is necessary to monitor the duration of classes, which should not last more than 45 minutes, and also monitor the pulse, the frequency of which should not exceed 120-130 beats per minute. This will help avoid sweating and hypothermia, which will definitely not help improve your health when you are sick.

Is it possible to exercise if you have a severe cold?

Even if training for a cold does not worsen the body’s condition, it will still not be effective. Intense training causes a surge in the hormone cortisol, which is important for immunity, which can cause illness to worsen. With an increase in cortisol, strength indicators do not improve, and muscle mass does not grow, because this hormone destroys proteins, including muscle proteins. Of course, outdoor sports in cold weather are dangerous during illness, since profuse sweating, wet hair and hypothermia during skiing and skating are almost inevitable. Exercising in a gym with other people is also not recommended, as there is a chance of infecting others. Even if you are professional athlete, and you have an important competition or championship ahead of you, think about the health of your teammates. If you miss one game, you will not put them at risk of getting sick, and your health, on the contrary, will be restored sooner and will allow you to quickly get involved in the process. If you cannot imagine your life without sports, then the best solution for you would be to practice yoga and breathing exercises at home. Gentle stretches and restorative poses can help relieve stress and relieve pain. Walking is also useful, but here you should focus on your condition, for example, you can simply go to a more distant store or pharmacy. Walking like breathing exercises, will help get rid of sinus congestion.

Is it possible to exercise if you have a severe cold?

If you have a mild cold, provided that you are constantly running, you can continue playing this sport, but the intensity should be noticeably reduced. You need to be careful when swimming, especially if you have weak ears. Even with a mild runny nose, going to the pool is not recommended: chlorinated water can cause allergies or even more severe nasal congestion.

Self-control and love for the body

Do not forget that during a cold, immunity decreases and the possibility of getting sick with something else increases, so visiting public places is not recommended. During a cold, you also need to pay attention to nutrition. Sleep is a good adjunct to medication, as is rest, so it is best to watch TV and use the computer as little as possible. Instead, you can listen to music or an audiobook while lying on a heating pad. After complete recovery, you should not exercise as usual - you should gradually increase the load, monitoring your well-being. You can return to your usual routine after a week, which will help the body fully recover.

Is it possible to exercise if you have a severe cold?

Pain and discomfort in the muscles of the back and legs can be harbingers of a cold or any other disease, so if you feel the slightest ailment, it is better to stay at home and monitor further changes in your well-being. Self-discipline is good, but you should monitor your health not only during and after illness, but always. Sleep and rest serve to restore strength, and proper nutrition, hardening and training improve immunity and health in general, which is why you need to find time for all this.

Many athletes who have caught a cold are interested in the question of whether it is possible to continue training in such a painful state, what is the best way to exercise so that physical activity does not have a negative impact on the immune system and does not cause complications.

Each person suffers from acute respiratory diseases, influenza and colds two to three times annually. The recovery process takes about a week, and sometimes ten days. If you add up this time, you get about a month in a year. This is a fairly long period, which makes every person leading an active lifestyle think about whether it is possible to continue training with a cold.

Considering the relevance of this problem, many studies have been conducted on how sport affects the condition of a person who has a cold. They confirmed the fact that physical activity is acceptable for mild colds. This does not mean that such training will be effective. Unfortunately, his productivity is declining.

Severe infection or just feeling unwell

Studies show no worsening of symptoms or impact on recovery time from physical activity only for “upper colds”. This infection manifests itself only as unpleasant symptoms above the neck.

A mild cold, when the throat is sore, there is nasal congestion, watery eyes, but there is no aches and muscle pain, and there is no increase in body temperature, allows you to play sports. The main thing is to take into account certain requirements that exist in this case.

How should you exercise when you have a cold?

Avoid sweating and sudden hypothermia. Many gyms are equipped with air cooling systems that operate in winter. Cold currents, if exposed to them after or during exercise, can significantly aggravate existing symptoms.

The training should be light, not beyond the heart rate zone with 120-130 beats per minute. This allows you to avoid sweating. It is also recommended to keep the duration of the lesson to a minimum. You cannot go beyond 40-45 minutes.

Overtraining or a cold?

Overtraining is a rather dangerous condition in which it sharply increases the level. This substance is called a stress hormone, which is important for energy resources, immunity, and carbohydrate metabolism.

An increase in cortisol reduces immunity, which reduces the body's defense against infections, increases the period of recovery of muscle tissue and the area of ​​inflammation. The condition in which a person experiences chronically high cortisol is similar in symptoms to a mild cold.

Negative effects of training

If high cortisol is mistaken for a mild cold, continuing to exercise will only harm your health. The stress hormone continues to rise from training. The result is a sharp decrease in the body’s protective functions and the development of a real cold.

Cortisol rises even when a person has a mild cold. And if training in such a state does not worsen your health, one way or another it will bring practically no results. An increase in cortisol does not allow you to achieve as much growth muscle mass, and strength indicators.

What symptoms does the flu show?

Quite often, influenza and ARVI in the first stages can easily be mistaken for a common mild cold. The exact diagnosis becomes clear approximately on the third day. If the body temperature rises, pain is felt in the muscle groups, chills appear, then this is definitely the flu.

You cannot go to training in such a state. This will deal a double blow to the immune system, which will have to fight both infection and stress from cardio or strength training. The only thing that playing sports with the flu will bring is a worsening of the disease.

A mild cold, as studies show, is not an obstacle to exercise. The conclusions of such studies do not say anything about the fact that a person with a cold has a decrease in strength indicators or training performance.

It is definitely forbidden to exercise if you have the flu or severe colds. The symptoms of these diseases can be recognized with accuracy only on the second or third day. And if active training is not stopped these days, the condition will worsen sharply, and complications may arise.

Conclusion

It is safe to continue playing sports only if you are absolutely sure that the cause of your illness is not the flu, but a mild infection. The training should be short with a heart rate of 120 to 130 beats per minute to prevent sweating.

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For quite a long time, doctors around the world argued whether it was harmful to the body. sports for colds. After all, when you are sick, your body is already weakened by the fight against the disease, what other physical activity is there!

How does exercise affect your well-being when you have a cold?

At the end of the twentieth century, North American doctors tried to prove that physical activity during a cold not only will not harm the well-being of a person who has a cold, but will even help the body cope with the disease. During the study, a group of volunteers were injected with a cold virus through the nasal cavity. After which, as expected, all experimental subjects developed a runny nose. After some time, when the disease reached its maximum symptoms, the sick were sent to undergo a “sports for colds” test - using a treadmill. After which the researchers recorded that the cold had no effect on the functioning of the lungs, as well as on the patient’s body’s ability to withstand physical activity.

Are sports and a cold two incompatible things?

It would seem, what a positive result! However, such studies also had many critics. They claim that doctors are using in experiments a strain of the cold virus that is too mild and has virtually no health consequences. Whereas in real life a sick person is attacked by viruses different types, which, firstly, can damage the lung tissue and bronchi. And secondly - cardiovascular system. This means that if, for example, you consider physical activity not during a cold, but during the flu, you can get serious complications on the heart. When playing sports, a sick person overloads the myocardium. Flu causes inflammation.

Another serious objection to overseas researchers is the fact that any cold slows down the anabolic processes in the muscles. And physical activity during a cold with slow anabolism will lead to muscle destruction. Not to mention positive effect from training – it simply won’t happen.

So is it worth exercising when you have a cold? Hardly. At a minimum, there will be no benefit from training. And in the worst case, you risk getting complications from the disease. Take a break, spend these three days at home. The treadmill will not run away from you.

Only a doctor, having the patient’s tests in hand, can specifically answer the question of what sports can be done with osteochondrosis. There are many degenerative-dystrophic diseases of the spine, each of them has its own characteristics and stages. In some cases there may be significant painful sensations, in others - limitation of mobility.

Professional sports loads have a negative impact on health - this is a well-known fact, but feasible and somewhat limited exercise can help relax muscles and prevent the development of the disease. However, there are also contraindications, for example, running when cervical osteochondrosis is contraindicated, but it is recommended to walk more to improve blood circulation.

In the same way, it is impossible to categorically answer the question, is it possible to exercise in the gym with osteochondrosis? It all depends on the stage of the disease and what stress the body will experience during training.

If exercise in the gym is intense, the disease will take an acute form, resulting in severe pain, i.e. a person with osteochondrosis will not be able to play sports, no matter how much he wants to. In other words, osteochondrosis and different kinds You can combine sports, but wisely, and any training must be approved by a doctor.

Restrictions for different types of osteochondrosis

The type of osteochondrosis depends on the area of ​​its occurrence. Physical activity is directly related to the localization of osteochondrosis, since different exercises have an effect on one or another part of the spinal column.

For cervical osteochondrosis, exercises that improve blood circulation in the upper region are useful. Since cervical osteochondrosis puts strong pressure on the vessels supplying the brain, the progression of the disease can lead to serious and sometimes irreversible consequences. Therefore, in this case, you need to approach the choice of sport as carefully as possible.

With osteochondrosis of the thoracic region, diagnosis turns out to be quite difficult, since painful attacks are often confused with heart pain. This type of osteochondrosis is less common, and its symptoms in the acute stage are unlikely to arouse the desire to play sports, since motor activity is most often impaired.

The most common type is osteochondrosis of the sacral and lumbar region. The patient may experience severe pain attacks in the lumbar area, the pain may involve gluteal region, thighs and crotch. Strong loads and sharp turns increase the pain, and lumbago may also occur - very sharp pain.

If the disease is not treated in time, it leads to a deterioration in blood flow in the affected area, resulting in weakening muscles, difficulty moving, and changes in gait.

Therefore, exercises that a doctor can allow for this type of disease should be aimed at strengthening the muscles in the lumbosacral region. However, heavy loads can cause complications.

There is also polysegmental osteochondrosis, which occurs in segments of one or different parts of the spinal column. In this case, regarding physical exercises, a mandatory consultation with a doctor is necessary, since sometimes sports may be completely contraindicated.

For shoulder, hip, knee osteochondrosis physical exercise may be different, the main thing is that they spare the affected area. For example, with knee osteochondrosis, it is better not to strain your legs too much, and with shoulder osteochondrosis, you should not swim breaststroke or crawl.

Radicular syndrome is a pinching of nerve endings, which is accompanied by an inflammatory process. The pain intensifies significantly. In this case, any physical exercise should be suspended until the inflammation is completely relieved and the pain disappears.

Loads at different stages of osteochondrosis

Which sport will be allowed and which is contraindicated depends directly on the stage of the disease. There are only 4 of them:

  1. The disk core dries out and becomes deformed. The pain is not yet very intense and inconsistent. This stage is highly treatable, and sports activities In that case, you don't have to cancel.
  2. The disc is no longer capable of shock absorption, and the pressure on the nerves and blood vessels increases. With exertion, the pain becomes stronger. At this stage, it is recommended to reduce the load, but continue to exercise.
  3. The fibrous ring is destroyed, a hernial protrusion forms, mobility deteriorates, and inflammation appears. Physical activity should be canceled and inflammation should be treated.
  4. The tissues of the discs are replaced with degenerated ones, and the discs themselves are fixed in a given position, as a result of which the posture changes. Motor functions are impaired and limited. The spine becomes static. Exercises and physical activity should be minimal, and most often they are limited to exercise therapy. In this case, fitness, sports and other activities are out of the question.

Osteochondrosis and exercise

To combine sports life and osteochondrosis, and at the same time not harm your health, you need to consider the following points:

  1. During the acute period of the disease, any physical activity is contraindicated.
  2. Exercises must be chosen so that they provide maximum benefit to the spine. It is recommended to bend the body with a stick behind your back, pull-ups on a bar and all exercises that are performed in a lying position.
  3. After completing all the exercises, you need to stretch your back. It is allowed to use any devices that help stretch the spine. At the end of the workout, you need to lie down for a while with your back stretched out on a flat surface.
  4. It is advisable to cancel jumping and running at speed, as they can cause an exacerbation of the disease.
  5. You should not perform exercises that create a strong arch in your back.
  6. If pain occurs while performing any exercise, it should be cancelled. Only slight discomfort is acceptable.

Sports for osteochondrosis cervical spine is not a contraindication, but it is useful only in the initial stages of the disease; in case of severe pain, the patient should be at absolute rest. Jogging should be completely excluded, especially during the acute period of the disease; it’s better not to go to the gym just yet, but nordic walking it will be very useful. However, for walking it is better to choose a flat and soft surface; it is not advisable to walk on a concrete or asphalt road. Optimally - an earthen or sandy path in the forest. The only sport for osteochondrosis that has no restrictions is swimming; water aerobics is also useful.

Fitness classes

Fitness for osteochondrosis is useful in almost all cases. Exercise reduces the risk of pinched nerve endings, helps break up deposited salts between the vertebrae, and improves blood circulation.

However, fitness is only possible when classes are carried out correctly and in accordance with the existing disease. The instructor must be informed about the diagnosis and asked to select exercises that will not harm.

You can do fitness with osteochondrosis as follows:

  • do not burden the exercises with significant weight, as there is a risk of dislocating the vertebrae;
  • Under no circumstances should you lift the barbell, even from a lying position;
  • if pain appears, exercises should be stopped;
  • no need to commit quick exercises, this is especially true for turns.

In principle, osteochondrosis and fitness may well coexist; the main thing is to listen carefully to your body during training and not ignore its signals.

What conclusions can be drawn?

You can get in shape if you have osteochondrosis. You need to choose a sport based on the severity of the disease and the condition of the spine as a whole. In the acute form of the disease, sports are excluded; it is necessary to first cure all inflammatory processes in the spine, and then engage in physical exercise. While pain is present, it is also advisable to limit the load. When exercising, it is extremely important to maintain a posture that is comfortable for the neck and spine.

Osteochondrosis is a chronic disease; therefore, it is necessary to maintain a stable condition and not lead to exacerbations. It is very important not to diagnose yourself, much less prescribe treatment for yourself, and also not to listen to the advice of friends who have encountered this problem. You need to visit a doctor, undergo diagnostics and strictly follow all the recommendations given by the specialist. You should also consult a doctor about playing sports so as not to aggravate the situation.

Muscle pain and how to get rid of it

All people experience muscle pain from time to time. They may be associated with increased physical activity, prolonged maintenance of an uncomfortable body position, or certain diseases. Myalgia, or muscle pain, is not dangerous in itself, but can cause serious discomfort and distress. In addition, sometimes it is a signal of the development of a serious illness. Therefore, it is important to know why muscle pain occurs, how to cope with it yourself, and in what cases you need to see a doctor.

What is myalgia

Muscle pain that periodically occurs in people during exercise or at rest is called myalgia. It can be caused by various reasons and be accompanied by other symptoms. Typically, such pain is observed throughout the entire length of the muscle and intensifies with movement or pressure on the muscle tissue.

In most cases, myalgia requires special treatment only if it causes severe pain or limits movement. But most often, all symptoms go away on their own after rest. Treatment of muscle pain, which is a symptom of more serious diseases, should begin with eliminating their cause.

A type of this painful condition is fibromyalgia. This syndrome has recently become increasingly common, especially among the urban population. It is accompanied by pain and weakness in the muscles, sleep disturbances, headaches, and decreased performance.

Myalgia associated with physical work and sports more often affects men. Women and children may suffer from muscle spasms due to emotional overload or various diseases. The pain is localized mainly in the muscles of the legs or arms, as well as the back. Often, because of this, a person cannot move normally. Therefore, it is important to know why myalgia occurs and how to cope with it.

Muscle pain after exercise

Most often, people experience such sensations after severe physical work or sports training. This may be due to the accumulation of lactic acid, a product of metabolic processes in the muscles. Such pain passes quickly and brings only benefits to the body. Lactic acid acts as an antioxidant. It accelerates tissue regeneration. Because of this, muscle volume increases.

Sometimes during intense training microtraumas of muscle fibers occur. This also causes pain. If the body does not have time to recover, the muscle becomes exhausted. The pain becomes constant. Therefore, in this case, you need to reduce the load and pay more attention to stretching exercises. To prevent workouts from leading to muscle pain, you need to warm up well before exercise, gradually increase the load and drink more fluids.

Why do muscle pains still appear?

Myalgia is not always associated with increased physical activity. Muscles work correctly only with normal blood circulation and metabolism. If this process is disrupted, a spasm occurs, causing pain. Exist various reasons muscle pain, so measures taken for treatment must take them into account.

In most cases, muscle pain does not require serious treatment as it usually goes away with rest. But there are situations when myalgia indicates serious health problems. It is advisable to consult a doctor for a diagnosis in the following cases:

  • if muscle pain is constant or occurs periodically;
  • if the pain takes on a tugging character;
  • if pain appears after training, but does not go away after rest;
  • redness of soft tissues or swelling appears;
  • the pain is accompanied by alarming symptoms: urinary retention, rash, shortness of breath or high fever.

What to do for muscle pain

If pain occurs infrequently, then treatment can be carried out independently. The following remedies will help alleviate the condition:

  • in any case, if there is pain in the muscles, you need to provide them with rest;
  • If after an injury you immediately apply a cold compress to the affected area, this will stop the inflammatory process;
  • for myalgia, warm compresses, a heating pad or a warm bath are effective;
  • various ointments also help relieve pain;
  • you can take medicine, for example, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug: Ibuprofen, Diclofenac, Nimesulide, Nise or Ketorol, but you should not do this often without a doctor’s prescription;
  • kinesioplasters with a warming effect, for example, pepper, Ketonal Thermo, Nanoplast Forte and others, have a safer effect than tablets;
  • if your arm or leg hurts, you can use tight bandage elastic bandage;
  • Massage helps well, it improves blood circulation in the muscles and promotes their relaxation;
  • Exercises that are effective are best for stretching, performed at a slow pace.

Drug treatment of myalgia

To relieve muscle pain, various compresses, rubs and ointments are used. They usually contain anti-inflammatory or analgesic components. But to treat myalgia, drugs with a warming or distracting effect are often used. These are those that contain bee or snake venom, camphor, turpentine, capsaicin, menthol or essential oils.

There are many medications that are effective for myalgia.

  1. Apizartron ointment based on bee venom and mustard oil is used for inflammatory diseases, as well as after injuries. It is good for muscle massage.
  2. The drug “Vipratox”, containing camphor and bee venom, is very effective.
  3. Quickly relieves muscle pain after physical activity "Gymnastogal".
  4. Ointments based on extracts of medicinal herbs and essential oils help with myalgia. These are Sanitas, Myoton and others.
  5. Naftalgin ointment is very effective due to the complex action of the analgesic and naftalan oil.
  6. Rubbing the painful area with pepper tincture or Menovazin helps a lot.
  7. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory ointments are also often used: Voltaren, Fastum, Ketonal, Diclofenac, Indomethacin and others.

Folk remedies

Many people are helped to get rid of muscle pain by various tinctures and decoctions of herbs, as well as self-prepared rubs and compresses. Such remedies can be used only if myalgia occurs infrequently, but it is still better to consult a doctor first. The following folk recipes help relieve pain:

  • take orally decoctions of sweet clover, naked hernia, thyme, adonis, physalis berries, willow buds;
  • For compresses, baths and rubbing, tincture of mountain arnica, a decoction of willow twigs and mint leaves are used;
  • an ointment based on vegetable oil or petroleum jelly made from dried bay leaves and juniper twigs or horsetail powder is effective;
  • you can make a compress from a cabbage leaf, smeared with soap and sprinkled with soda;
  • if you are not allergic to honey, you can rub it on the sore spot; for greater effect, mix it with grated horseradish or black radish;
  • take warm baths with pine extract or sea salt.

What else can you do to help yourself?

If myalgia is associated with intoxication of the body, circulatory disorders or other diseases, treatment should be aimed specifically at this. But you can further relieve muscle pain.

  • In case of infectious diseases or other intoxications, myalgia appears due to the accumulation of toxins and metabolic products in the tissues. Therefore, it can be removed by removing them from the body. To do this, you need to drink more herbal infusions, fruit drinks and compotes, you can visit the steam room.
  • To eliminate muscle pain after illness or injury, it would be good to undergo a course of massage or physiotherapeutic procedures. UV irradiation and electrophoresis with novocaine, as well as mud and paraffin applications are especially effective. In addition to regular massage, you can try reflexology or acupuncture.
  • To restore normal muscle function, physical exercise is useful. The best things to do are walks, cycling, swimming. Stretching exercises are also effective.

Everyone has experienced muscle pain at least once in their life. Sometimes they go unnoticed, other times they cause serious trouble. To effectively get rid of painful sensations, you need to know what causes them. After all, sometimes there are conditions when only special treatment prescribed by a doctor can help.

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Fitness, Pilates, running, push-ups, water aerobics for osteochondrosis, when used correctly, are not only not contraindicated, but are also allowed if carried out correctly. Of course, there are different degrees of degenerative diseases of the spine. They may cause severe pain, secondary disorders in internal organs, and limited mobility.

When choosing a sport, you should consult with your doctor regarding its correct implementation. Everyone knows that professional sports activities are not conducive to health. Only limited physical activity will help prevent the back muscles from relaxing and prevent the progression of the disease.

Professional running with cervical osteochondrosis is contraindicated. But dosed physical activity will help improve blood supply to the spinal column. If you play sports, degenerative-dystrophic changes will take on an acute form. When severe pain occurs, you will still have to give up your favorite activity. It is better to do this earlier than to suffer from your carelessness later.

Thus, osteochondrosis and sports are compatible only if the doctor’s recommendations regarding physical activity. In the article we will consider the subtleties and nuances of this issue.

With degenerative changes in the spine, some sports are contraindicated:

  • Heavy athletic training for osteochondrosis;
  • High jump;
  • Throwing a spear;
  • Discus throwing;
  • Badminton;
  • Tennis.

When engaging in the types described above, a strong load is created on the spinal column. Intensive muscle pumping will contribute to the curvature of the spinal axis. Even during periods of remission of degenerative-dystrophic diseases, skeletal muscles cannot be strongly pumped up.

Even pull-ups with osteochondrosis are dangerous, since they stretch the spinal column. In case of vertebral subluxations or instability, traction will damage the soft tissues, which will increase the pain syndrome. In this case, prolapse of the intervertebral hernia may occur.

Hockey and football with osteochondrosis are dangerous due to trauma to the body. Ideally, active sports should have a healing effect on the body. However, participants often get carried away, which leads to unexpected injuries and sprains of the muscular-ligamentous apparatus.

The risk of spinal injury increases when riding alpine skiing, freestyle, jumping from heights. Skiing in winter puts stress on the spinal column due to the need to carry a backpack on your back.

The minimum load on the back is created when the load is localized at the back on belts that are attached to the shoulders. In such situation muscle fibers They do not strain too much, which does not lead to displacement of the spinal axis.

Golf, badminton and tennis are accompanied by sharp turns of the body to the side. When they occur, pain increases and the degree of vertebral instability increases. Displacement of the vertebral segments gradually leads to the formation of hernias.

Walking in the forest, swimming, running for cervical osteochondrosis, swimming help normalize blood circulation and relieve pain.

To improve your back health, you should jog in the fresh air in the evening. It is better to run on a path with sawdust in sports shoes. In such a situation, the spinal column will be strengthened due to the shock-absorbing load.

Swimming and water aerobics for osteochondrosis allows you to relax your back muscles. When practicing these sports, strengthening of skeletal muscles occurs as efficiently as possible.

It should only be understood that any sport for diseases of the spine is contraindicated during pain. It is better to cancel physical exercise until health is restored. Immediately after the pain, even minor gymnastics is recommended. You can hang on the horizontal bar, do stretching, and do breathing exercises according to Sokolova. The main thing is the regularity of physical therapy.

For women, we recommend Pilates or fitness for osteochondrosis, which should be done regularly. These workouts help strengthen the muscles of the neck and lower back. A strong muscle corset will maintain the correct position of the spinal axis. It is advisable to run in the fresh air for 20-30 minutes after a fitness or Pilates class. This creates the opportunity to strengthen the respiratory muscles.

Pilates for cervical osteochondrosis helps prevent brain hypoxia. Exercises prevent compression of the vertebral artery in the transverse processes of the cervical vertebrae. This vessel supplies blood to about 25% of brain tissue. Pathology is observed with instability or subluxation of the vertebrae of the neck.

Let us draw the readers' attention to the physical activity that occurs when lifting heavy objects and sitting at a table. During static movements, the muscles are constantly in a state of asynchronous tone. At work, to relieve muscle strain, we advise you to get up often and make minimal movements.

At home good effect To restore skeletal muscles, an exercise bike for osteochondrosis has a good effect, which will relieve physical stress. The use of such products should be discussed with your doctor.

Lean on the back of a chair while sitting. In this case, the back of the chair should be located higher shoulder girdle. It is advisable to choose a seat that is flat and hard. Its depth should not be less than a quarter of the hip size.

Remember that when lifting heavy objects from the floor, you should squat down a little. At the same time, keep your back straight, straighten knee joints. Make sure that the leg muscles are not in a state of contraction.

Thus, exercise equipment, running, cycling, abdominal pumping are activities that are allowed for degenerative-dystrophic diseases of the spine. Before using them, you should agree with your doctor on the exercises you will use to treat the pathology.

In conclusion, advice to women: high heels are not good for your health. If you can't give it up, limit the time you wear it.

“Chief academician Ioffe proved: cognac and coffee will replace sports and prevention,” Vladimir Vysotsky once sang. True, the true meaning of the song lies on completely different planes, but if we take it literally, the great bard was absolutely right: playing sports significantly improves the quality of life. Any physical activity is beneficial for a healthy body. What if a virus creeps up? What to do: keep the usual rate of exercise, reduce the intensity of physical activity, or completely abandon it?

To understand the issue, let's start with the changes that occur in the body during the period of illness.

You are used to working out regularly, but one day, when you get out of bed, you feel:

  • headache;
  • weakness, despite a long night's rest;
  • nasal congestion;
  • sore throat.

It is clear: some kind of virus has “leaked” into the body, and now the immune system is undergoing a restructuring - all forces from now on will be directed to fighting the “stranger.”

If the body “feels” that the virus is not dangerous, a significant deterioration in well-being does not occur:

  • body temperature does not increase;
  • no desire to lie down;
  • appetite does not change.

Perhaps, a few hours after the protective cells begin to actively work, you will already feel better. In such cases they say: “In the morning I felt bad, and then I went crazy.” Everything can be limited to local reactions: runny nose, mild sore throat, hoarseness. In general, the body functions as usual; the active fight against symptoms occurs at the local level - where the inflammation began. Doctors in such situations diagnose “ARD” or “ARVI”. If there is only redness of the pharynx and sore throat, sometimes with a mild fever for one day, it is said to be pharyngitis. If the voice “sags” slightly and there is a constant coughing, this is laryngitis. All of these diseases are caused by viruses, but, contrary to common misconception, this is not the flu.

In this case, training with a cold is not prohibited. However, there are several limitations:

  1. Don't force yourself to do all the exercises you normally do. Reduce the load to a minimum.
  2. Forget about weight training in the gym for a while. Strength training equipment, weights, dumbbells - all this should be postponed until complete recovery.
  3. Listen to yourself: at the slightest deterioration in your health, stop exercising.

Exercising when you have a cold is not The best way treatment of the disease, because the body is already having a hard time, it spends energy on recovery, and you still require additional effort from it.

But if you are accustomed to a sports regime, have been training for many years and cannot imagine life without fitness or morning jogging, then you can carefully continue your studies.

For athletes who do not want to deviate from their usual schedule, doctors recommend switching to:

  • running at a calm pace;
  • yoga classes;
  • stretching exercises;
  • dancing.

During colds, you can even “boost” your immune system a little by continuing to exercise, since with moderate exercise, blood circulation is activated, which means that the breakdown products of pathogenic organisms are eliminated faster.

Let's not forget: we're talking about only about mild forms of the disease that do not cause sudden changes in the usual daily routine!

Separately, it is worth mentioning jogging. You can continue training if:

  • follow the “neck rule” (that is, if all the symptoms affect what is above the neck: runny nose, discomfort in the throat);
  • outside there is a “plus” temperature, which means there is no risk of taking a breath of cold air due to nasal congestion and thereby provoking an increase in the disease;
  • reduce your jogging time to 15-20 minutes.

In general, if you haven’t given up on tinting, it’s better to move it home from the gym or the street - to treadmill. When running in the fresh air, you will sweat, and then you may become hypothermic, and then the cold will get worse or cause complications. If you go to gym, then you risk infecting your “colleagues in sports” with the virus. It is unlikely that they will be grateful to you.

The above applies to acute respiratory viral infections and acute respiratory infections that occur in a mild form, without an increase in temperature. What if the flu or parainfluenza comes?

Influenza viruses are much more dangerous than common cold viruses. They spread with enormous speed, penetrating all organs and systems. Therefore, the onset of the disease is acute, expressed in a sharp jump in temperature to febrile values ​​- 38.5-390C, or even higher. When you have the flu, it is difficult to even get out of bed, let alone carry out your daily duties.

Important! The body is completely focused on fighting the virus; it has no strength left for anything else. Under these conditions, forcing yourself to do any physical exercise is not just harmful, but can even be deadly! Moreover, you cannot exercise not only in the midst of the disease, but even when the symptoms subside.

Even a low, subfebrile temperature is a contraindication to any exercise! Exercise will warm up the body, and it is already “hot” from the inside, so the temperature can rise sharply, and it will be even more difficult for the body.

During illness, anabolic processes are suppressed (that is, those during which substances needed by the body are synthesized - amino acids, monosaccharides, fats), and metabolism changes. A lot of cortisol, the stress hormone, is released into the blood, which causes destructive processes in the muscles.

The worst thing that can happen if you ignore medical advice and continue training without waiting for a complete recovery is that complications will develop. Any of them is “not a gift”:

  • bronchitis;
  • pneumonia;
  • pyelonephritis (kidney inflammation);
  • myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle).

They are a consequence of the fact that the body, exhausted by the virus, is forced, instead of resting and gaining strength, to spend its remaining energy on doing exercises. As a result, the immune system weakens.

If you don’t need such problems, forget about sports until the doctor gives the go-ahead. Remember how at school you were exempt from physical education for 2 weeks after a cold? Follow the doctors advice - give yourself this release, recover.

Sport as a prevention of ARVI and other viral diseases

If during colds the benefits of exercise are more than doubtful, then as a preventive measure, exercise and any other type of physical activity is what you need. Why?

During exercise, metabolism is activated: all metabolic processes become more intense, which means the immune system is strengthened.

In addition, many sports also involve hardening. So, if you are swimming, then the body experiences temperature changes when immersed in and out of water.

If you run in a stadium or park, you gradually train yourself to adapt to temperature changes external environment. The main thing in this case is to avoid sudden hypothermia. Have you been going for a run and feel like you're short of breath? Under no circumstances should you swallow cold air! Take a step, continuing to breathe through your nose, and walk at a calm pace. Don't stop, don't let the wind get under your clothes.

An excellent way to prevent colds is to swim in open water. Minimal hardening occurs even in the summer, in the warmth, and those who plunge into the ice hole in winter practically do not suffer from viral diseases. Reason: the body is accustomed to temperature changes, so the weakening of the protective forces does not occur at these moments, and the virus cannot “settle” in it and dies.

Note! You need to start any training and hardening from a minimum. A sudden load will not lead to a strengthening of the immune system, but, on the contrary, to a weakening of it.

Walking and exercising in the fresh air as preventive measures is one thing, but trying to harden yourself at a time when the disease has already overtaken you is completely different.

Ideally, you should wait until the condition improves. In the meantime, you feel sick, you just need to open the window at home as often as possible. If it is cold outside, for those 15 minutes while the window is slightly open, the sick person should retire to another room.

Walking when you have a cold is allowed under the following conditions:

  • body temperature is normal;
  • no weakness, nausea;
  • no severe cough;
  • there is no wind, rain, or frost outside.

At the same time, reduce the load as much as possible: do not run, do not walk quickly, reduce the walking time to 20-30 minutes. If you are diagnosed with influenza or a sore throat, and not a simple acute respiratory viral infection, postpone walking until you have fully recovered. Reason: the body is very weakened, and if you get even a little cold or wet, your immune forces will not be able to cope with the virus or bacteria, and the already subsiding disease may return.

IN healthy body– a healthy mind, says the Russian proverb. We agree with folk wisdom: Only by feeling healthy and physically strong can you enjoy all the benefits of life and provide help to those who need it. But when you start exercising, listen to the signals that your body sends you: if it requires rest, you need to give it this opportunity. Only then will physical education and sports be beneficial!