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Almost any part of the body can suffer an injury during sports or exercise. But, the term ‘sports injury’ is used to describe injuries of the musculoskeletal system. This includes:
- Injuries of muscles
- Injuries of bones
- Injuries of ligaments and tendons
- Injuries of other associated tissues like cartilage.
Traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries are relatively rare during sports or exercise.
Sports injuries are an unfortunate side effect of working out and training. It commonly occurs due to overtraining, improper conditioning, and wrong form or technique. Warm-up and cool-down stretches play a very important role in injury prevention.
Common sports injuries:
- Sprains
- Achilles tendon
- Tendinopathy
- Fractures
- Tennis elbow
- Plantar Fasciitis
- Concussion
- Anterior cruciate ligament tears
- Low back pain
- Ankle sprain
MCT1 gene, also called SLC16A1, encodes the Monocarboxylate transporter 1 (MCT) protein. It regulates the transport of lactate and other substances. It also removes lactic acid from the muscles.
The build-up of lactic acid makes the intracellular environment acidic and degenerates the muscles. Both of these can make a person injury-prone.
MCT1 gene influences the amount of MCT you produce. The more you produce, the quicker is the clearance rate. This reduces muscle degeneration and injury risk.
rs1049434 of MCT1 Gene and Injury Risk
According to a study, rs1049434 AA genotype was associated with a higher incidence of injuries in elite football players. Further, the study also hypothesized that the T allele could play a protective role in the pathogenesis of indirect muscle injuries.
The MMP3 gene encodes the enzyme matrix metalloproteinase 3 (also called Stromelysin-1), which is associated with the breakdown of extracellular matrix during the normal physiological process.
MMP3 is required to maintain the mechanical properties of tendons. An elevated expression of the MMP3 gene is associated with increased degeneration of the matrix, resulting in an imbalance.
rs679620 of MMP3 Gene and Injury Risk
A study explored the potential relationship between the SNP rs679620 and tendon injury.
The G allele was associated with an increased risk of Achilles tendinopathy (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19042922/).
Non-genetic factors can be modifiable or non-modifiable. Modifiable factors can be tuned through specific training methods. Examples of modifiable factors include:
- Body composition (e.g., body weight, fat mass, BMI, anthropometry)
- Fitness level (e.g., muscle strength/power, VO2 max, joint ROM)
- Skill level (e.g., sports-specific technique, postural stability)
- Psychological factors (e.g., competitiveness, motivation, perception of risk)
Some non-modifiable factors include:
- Age (maturation, aging)
- Sex
- Anatomy (alignment, intercondylar notch width)
- Health (previous injury, joint instability)
- Anatomy (bone architecture)
Get the right gear: Wear comfortable clothes that let your body move naturally and breathe freely.
Strengthen your muscles: Conditioning exercises like squats, burpees, resistance training, and aerobics can help strengthen your muscles.
Use the right technique: There’s a ‘right’ form for each exercise. Practicing that form is important to avoid unnecessary strain on the muscles.
Take adequate rest: Getting enough rest aids muscle recovery and prevents muscle injuries.
Hydrate continuously: Sweating results in the loss of essential fluids; they need to be replaced to sustain the exercise
Get stretching: Both warm-up and cool-down stretches are essential to prevent injuries.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monocarboxylate_transporter_1
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26478856
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MMP3
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extracellular_matrix
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19042922/
The heart capacity is a measure of the amount of blood your heart pumps every minute. It is calculated using the following equation:
Heart Capacity = heart rate x stroke volume
Stroke volume is the amount of blood your heart pumps every time it beats. The capacity of the heart to pump enough blood every minute ensures all organs receive oxygen and essential nutrients.
For a normal individual who is resting, the heart pumps 5-6 liters of blood every minute.
When exercising, your muscles rapidly use up oxygen. In order to keep up with demand, your heart pumps faster, and hence your heart rate increases. In order to keep up with demand, your heart pumps faster, and hence your heart rate increases. When your heart rate increases, your heart capacity or cardiac output increases.
Exercising is considered important for the heart’s health. Here are some of the benefits of exercise for heart capacity.
Just like how exercise strengthens the rest of your body muscles, it strengthens the heart muscle too. A stronger heart pumps blood better.
With regular exercise, your body can receive/absorb oxygen from the blood better. This puts less strain on the heart when it pumps blood.
Studies show that with regular exercise, the blood vessels dilate to allow more blood flow.
Blood pressure is a very critical factor that talks about your heart’s health. By exercising, your blood pressure slowly drops down to normalcy without putting excess pressure on the heart’s pumping capacity.
An increase in your Resting Heart Rate (RHR) is associated with increased mortality. Exercise helps bring down the resting heart rate. The RHR for athletes can be as low as 40 bpm.
The CREB1 gene encodes the CAMP Responsive Element Binding Protein 1, which plays an important role in several biological pathways. Variations in the gene are proven to cause various diseases, including memory disorders and Huntington’s disease.
The rs2253206 SNP in this gene causes changes in heart rate while exercising. The AA genotype causes heart rate improvements because of exercises. The AG and GG genotypes show no such positive relation.
Just like how exercise changes your heart capacity, other non-genetic factors increase or decrease your heart’s ability to pump blood.
Hormones - Certain hormones affect the contraction of the heart and hence affect stroke volume.
Stress - Norepinephrine is a chemical released in the body when you are stressed. This chemical right away increases heart rate, which in turn increases heart capacity. Epinephrine is another chemical the body produces when the person experiences fear or anger. This also increases the heart rate and pumping capacity.
Changes in body temperature - Increased body temperature can cause increased heart rate and heart capacity
Sex - Women have a higher heart rate than men, and hence their heart pumps blood faster.
Age - The heart rate and capacity to pump blood is the fastest at birth and reduces slowly as people age.
It is quite normal for the heart capacity to increase during exercise and other external factors. However, when the heart capacity or cardiac output is consistently high, it can lead to pulmonary edema (fluid accumulation in the lungs). This can be a life-threatening condition.
If exercising causes abnormal increases in heart rate and heart capacity, you may have to slow down the intensity of working out and give the body adequate resting time to stabilize.
When the heart capacity is lower than normal, it gets difficult for the other parts of the body to receive oxygen. For maintaining your heart’s pumping capacity, the heartbeat increases to pump more blood with every passing minute.
The adrenaline glands release adrenaline that reaches the heart and pushes it to beat faster. Consistently lowered capacity and higher heart rate can weaken the heart muscles with time.
Start slow
Exercise definitely helps your heart capacity improve. However, start slow and let the heart get used to all the physical exertion. As your capacity improves, you can start training intensively.
Listen to your heart
Does exercising leave you tired, breathless, or dizzy? Get the core problem checked before you continue to exercise. If you are genetically designed to experience high blood pressure or abnormally high heart rate because of exercise, you could feel worse after a workout session.
Moderation is the key
A healthy individual who is not trained by a professional should consider moderate exercises over high-intensive training.
Improve your recovery heart rate after exercise
Aim to improve your heart rate recovery after exercise. Follow a mix of light, moderate, and intense exercises to get your heartbeat to normalcy quickly.
https://wa.kaiserpermanente.org/healthAndWellness?item
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-09-genes-heart.html
https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/what-your-heart-rate-is-telling-you
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6529381/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2575587/
https://www.medpagetoday.com/blogs/skeptical-cardiologist/83528
https://www.uofmhealth.org/health-library/tx4080abc
https://www.theonlinelearningcenter.com/assets/carter/46/course_01/module_04/mod_04.pdf
