In most of the situations we understand the warning signs that our bodies send. But the next 5 signs most of the people who work out overlook and they don’t seek medical help in time.
We will use as an example a young, healthy and active woman. The most unusual thing happened to her while she was walking – her heart started skipping lightly. She concluded that it is nothing serious, she was in a good physical condition and power voltage after all, so she continued. But, the next morning the situation did not get any better, her pulse was still irregular and thanks to a quick doctor’s intervention, heart attack was ruled out as a cause. The problem was actually in her thyroid.
Let this example serve everyone as a proof of how serious can the consequences be if we ignore the warning signs that our bodies send to us.
Even if you work out and you know your body well, you can misread the signs. Essentially, “young, fit women ignore them often”, says Dr. Ed Laskowski, co director of Mayo Clinic’s Sports Medicine Center in Rohester. Some pains and symptoms are more serious than you would think at first.
Symptom: Unintended weight loss
Scenario: Even though you didn’t make any changes to your routine the kilograms melt away.
You think: Yaaay! At last I crossed the plateau.
Expert opinion: You might be thrilled by the suddenly lost kilograms, but the “unexplainable sudden weight loss carries some reasons for worry”, Steve Rosenbaum warns us, a lecturer on Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. One of the possibilities is diabetes, type 1 or 2 and the problem is that one fourth of those that are affected by this disease aren’t even aware of their state. Because the sudden weight gain is often distinguished as a symptom of diabetes, many neglect the other side of the medal. In this case the body loses the ability to transform into energy and it starts to use its supplies. With the sudden weight loss also comes a risk of diabetic coma and even death.
What to do: There are some predispositions for disease development, like obesity and history of disease in the family, but also anyone can get it. So, if you notice that you have started to lose weight fast, 5-10 kg o 10% of the body mass in a period of one month, go to a doctor.
Also, if you notice that you are always hungry or thirsty, constantly tired or you often need to urinate, do a hemoglobin A1c blood test so you could determine if you have diabetes. In the case that the result is positive, your doctor will prescribe a diet, exercises and medication that will help you control this state.
Symptom: Back pain
Scenario: A new exercise for abdominal muscles has given you a firm belly and annoying pain in the back.
You think: It is the new routine, it will go away.
Expert opinion: New routine could develop your abdominal muscles unequally, says Marty Jaramillo, owner of New York City I.C.E. Sports Therapy and fitness advisor. Exercises for core have become very popular and to fulfill the needs of a client, a lot of instructors overstate exercises just for that body part. The result is weakened flanking and back muscles that hold the spine. “Imbalance feeds itself”, says Jaramillo. You compensate with the use of your stronger anterior muscles and the situation gets revolved in a circle up until you injure yourself.
What to do: A lot of things can cause back pain so pay attention to exercises that you do. In general, you should spend the same amount of time (equal number of sets and repetitions) exercising all muscles (anterior, lateral, posterior). If you are focused too much on anterior muscles Jaramillo recommends exercises on a board and its variations to work out the other muscles. Crunches that hold the element of rotation will also help (you don’t need to stop doing crunches, unless you feel pain). You will need 6-8 weeks for the middle part of the body to get even and when that happens “you will feel that your balance got better, your posture, and endurance”, says Jaramillo.
Symptom: Dry cough
Scenario: You start coughing during cardio routine – every time around 20 minutes after you started the exercise.
You think: All this mouth breathing, I need a bottle of water.
Expert opinion: You could have asthma that we also call reactive aspiration disorder (RAD). “To RAD we usually connect wheezing (hard breathing), but dry, constant cough during working out can also be one of the symptoms”, says Elizabeth Paras, physician at ambulance in New York. Actually, cough during working out when your lungs strain can be the only symptom. The unique cause of RAD hasn’t been discovered yet, but irritation of the airways with passive smoking or mold play a large role. If the disorder isn’t treated that can disable you from doing the exercises to the end, or worse, it can send you chugging to ECG.
What to do: Start treating this cough. “If it always happens when you go running, for example 3 km, or when your pulse gets to 160 per minute, tell yourself that it probably isn’t accidental and that you should go to a doctor so you could do a non invasive lung test,” says Dr. Paras. If you have asthma, you will get a cure for allergy that contains antihistamines so it can control your symptoms or if your condition requires an inhaler that will help you control the problem and give you the needed strength when you work out.
Symptom: Knee tension
Scenario: Yoga has done miracles for your stress, but it keeps tightening you in the back of your knee.
You think: I need to stretch more before the class starts.
Expert opinion: Actually, maybe all that stretching had caused yield in the joints. Female muscles and ligaments don’t keep joints equally safe as male muscles do. “Stretching would be too light in this case”, Jaramillo says. As a result of stretching your muscles and ligaments can suffer so you are putting yourself in a risky situation and you expose yourself to an even bigger injury.
What to do: Pay attention to the spot that hurts when you are stretching. “You should feel it in the area of all muscles”, Jaramillo says. If the pain is only in your knee, than you have probably overdid it. The good news is that you might not need a doctor. Just be careful when you are stretching and watch out not to push the knee over its natural limitations, as Dr. Laskowski advises. You are not sure what these injuries mean? Sports physiotherapist can give you guidelines and exercises to help you tighten your muscles and ligaments. A good advice how to improve the stabilization of the knee: sit on the floor with your legs outstretched and lean your body forward stretching your back and knees.
Symptom: Chest pain
Scenario: You run the last kilometer and you feel a strange tingle in your chest.
You think: I am working out. My heart is only beating hard.
Expert opinion: It is not like that. Now we know that when a woman experiences heart attack, sometimes she doesn’t experience the classic chest pain. “Running is like a medical stress test”, says Dr. Paras. If your heart constantly aches during your routine, maybe you will fail the test.
What to do: Don’t jump to conclusions. Dr. Rosenbuam recommends that you press your hand to the area that hurts. If it hurts when you touch it as well, you probably injured the muscle of the thorax. That can happen repeatedly: if the pressure is not right or something gets turned. Two or three days of rest and a hot bath and you will be fine. But if you can’t make a right pressure to the area that hurts or if the pain continues and is of strong intensity, then you need to stop with what you are doing, or if you feel dizzy and you can’t breathe, take an aspirin and go to an ECG immediately.