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Strength training is a highly effective method for preventing injuries. It improves muscle strength and also supports bones, tendons, ligaments, cartilage, and other connective tissues. Stronger muscles help to hold the body in proper alignment and protect the bones and joints during movement or impact. Muscle imbalances, where one muscle group is significantly stronger than its opposing group, can lead to fatigue and increased injury risk for the weaker muscles. Strength training can correct these imbalances and reduce the likelihood of injuries. Additionally, stronger muscles can act as padding, providing protection for the delicate parts of the skeleton and organs. Overall, strength training improves the stability and functionality of the body, making it a valuable tool for preventing injuries.
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What You'll Learn
Strength training improves muscle, tendon, ligament, cartilage and bone strength
Strength training is a broad term for exercises that build muscle strength, typically using free weights, weight machines, or resistance bands. It is well known that strength training helps build and maintain muscle mass and strength. However, it does much more than that. Strength training also improves tendon, ligament, cartilage, and bone strength.
Muscle, Tendon, and Ligament Strength
Therapeutic exercises are a common treatment for muscle and tendon injuries. Sports physical therapists often prescribe therapeutic exercises to facilitate an athlete's recovery after an injury or surgery. Resistance training increases muscular strength, endurance, and power, reducing the risk of injury and aiding recovery. Resistance training causes muscular and tendinous adaptations, improving athletic performance and aiding recovery from injury or surgery. The key morphologic adaptation associated with increased strength due to resistance training is the increase in the physiological cross-sectional area (PCSA) of skeletal muscle. PCSA increases lead to increases in muscular strength, which may help reduce the risk of musculoskeletal injury.
Tendons and ligaments provide an elastic recoil response, allowing us to run, jump, and lift heavy objects quickly. Strength training exercises can improve tendon and ligament stiffness, making them less susceptible to injury. For example, eccentric training exercises, such as squat jumps and single-leg hops, may help build tendon strength.
Cartilage and Bone Strength
High-intensity resistance training has been shown to increase cartilage tissue turnover in patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA). Strength training can also slow bone loss and build bone, reducing the risk of fracture due to osteoporosis. Bones become more fragile and susceptible to fracture with age. Strength training can help offset this decline by targeting bones in the hips, spine, and wrists, making them stronger and denser.
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Muscle imbalances can cause injury
For example, if the hamstrings are very strong, the quadriceps may be too weak in comparison, leading to muscle fatigue and the risk of the stronger muscle group damaging the weaker one. The knee is susceptible to overuse injury due to muscle imbalance, with hamstring tightness and quadriceps femoris (thigh muscle) weakness causing anterior knee pain. This can also lead to lateral patella tracking during knee flexion and extension, as the patella's ability to track effectively is altered.
Similarly, imbalances in the shoulder muscles can cause shoulder impingement, which accounts for 44-65% of shoulder complaints. This involves a narrowing of the subacromial space and alterations in shoulder kinematics and muscle activation.
Hip muscle imbalances can also cause disabling muscle strains and affect gait, quickness, agility, and explosive power.
To prevent muscle imbalances, cross-training is recommended, as focusing on only one muscle group can lead to an imbalance. Strength training with free weights and machine weights can help prevent and correct imbalances, as can rotational exercises for the hips.
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Stronger muscles improve stability and body alignment
Stability exercises can also improve balance, which is the ability to stand or sit steadily with weight distributed evenly. Balance and stability work in tandem, but stability adds a layer of complexity, as it involves keeping your alignment and control as your body moves. Stability exercises can be static, such as balancing on one leg, or dynamic, such as lunges, which involve functional movements that relate to daily movements.
Stability exercises can also improve performance in bigger strength training movements, creating a virtuous circle where improved stability and balance lead to improved performance in bigger lifts, which in turn makes you stronger and further improves your stability and balance. Stability exercises can also reduce the likelihood of dangerous falls and accidents by improving your ability to react to everyday situations, such as recovering your footing if you trip.
Stability exercises can also improve your ability to sustain loads for longer, as well as improving your core stability and strengthening the smaller "stabilizer muscles" that bolster the core and extremities during movements without acting as the primary mover. For example, in a squat, the primary movers are the quads, glutes, and hips, while the stabilizer muscles are the smaller muscles around the knees, the abs, and the erector spinae muscles in the back.
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Muscle fatigue and overexertion can cause injury
To avoid muscle fatigue, do not increase the intensity of your workouts too quickly. Instead, pace yourself and gradually push your limits. Taking small breaks when engaging in repetitive motions or a lot of lifting can also help prevent overexertion. Even a 20-second break to stretch the muscles you are using can be beneficial.
Additionally, strengthening exercises not only make your muscles stronger but also support your bones, tendons, ligaments, cartilage, and other connective tissues. As your body improves overall, it becomes easier to control your movements and avoid injury. Strength training, in particular, involves fluid movements that promote excellent body alignment, significantly reducing your injury risk.
If you experience muscle fatigue, rest and recovery can help improve your condition. Staying hydrated and maintaining a healthy diet can also improve recovery time, protect against muscle fatigue, and ensure you have enough nutrients to promote healthy muscle function. Stretching before and after strenuous activity can also help protect against injury.
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More muscle mass protects the skeleton and organs
The human body has about 600 muscles, which can be categorised into three main types: skeletal, smooth, and cardiac. Skeletal muscles, which are attached to bones, are under our conscious control and allow us to move. They also help us perform a wide range of functions, including chewing and swallowing, expanding and contracting our chest cavity to breathe, maintaining body posture, and protecting our joints.
Skeletal muscles comprise 30 to 40% of our total body mass, and this can vary from person to person. Men tend to have about 36% more skeletal muscle mass than women, and taller or overweight people also tend to have higher muscle mass. However, we gradually lose skeletal muscle mass as we age, with muscle mass decreasing in both men and women over time. By the age of 80, we will have lost about 50% of our muscle mass.
Since skeletal muscles play such a crucial role in our movement and daily activities, it is important to keep them strong to prevent injuries. Weak muscles dramatically increase the risk of injury from overexertion, even from minimal activity. Strengthening exercises not only make our muscles stronger but also support our bones, tendons, ligaments, cartilage, and other connective tissues. This improves our body's overall stability and control, making it easier to avoid injuries.
Additionally, strength training promotes excellent body alignment, ensuring that our muscles, tendons, ligaments, and bones work together seamlessly and further reducing our injury risk. For athletes, strength training is particularly important, and it is recommended that they engage in strength training at least two to three times per week, focusing on all major muscle groups. By gradually pushing our physical limits, we can prevent muscle fatigue and perform activities more easily as our bodies get stronger.
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Frequently asked questions
Stronger muscles provide better support to the surrounding tissues and structures in the body, reducing the risk of strain and injury. They also help keep your bones and joints aligned, improving your balance and control.
Strength training ensures that all muscle groups are strengthened, preventing muscle imbalances that can lead to strains or torn ligaments. It also promotes the growth and strength of ligaments, tendons, cartilage, and connective tissues, reducing the risk of skeletal injuries.
Athletes should aim to include strength training in their routines at least two to three times per week. It is important to focus on different muscle groups and avoid working the same group two days in a row to prevent overexertion.
Yes, strength training is beneficial for all athletes, even in sports where building muscle mass is not a primary goal, such as swimming or running. It helps prevent injuries and improves overall performance.
Resistance training, such as weightlifting or using resistance bands, is a common form of strength training. Other exercises like squats, lunges, and push-ups can also be incorporated into a strength training routine to target specific muscle groups.
