The Exercise Binge

Unfortunately, he “worked” himself to a herniated disc and is currently undergoing physiotherapy at a private clinic in Ashok Vihar.

His case is no longer a rare one, as herniated discs and other back injuries such as sprains and sciatica are common casualties encountered during inadequate workouts. Informs Dr Harvinder Chhabra, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon, Indian Spinal Injuries Centre, Vasant Kunj: “Injuries related to working out are increasingly found among young people today; we attend to at least three patients every week with these casualties.”

Back injuries caused by working-out in a wrong manner primarily occur when a large amount of pressure is applied to the muscles and ligaments supporting the vertebral column, resulting in their rupture. These injuries could be minor resulting in pain in the arm, or complicated leading to a herniated or ruptured disc. In rare cases, these injuries can lead to paralysis.

Says Poonam Chandra, Fitness Manager, Taj Mansingh: “There are three main reasons which lead to back injury while working out at a gym: Inadequate managerial personnel, use of faulty equipment and over-enthusiasm on the part of the clients.”

Inadequate managerial personnel primarily refers to inadequately trained instructors employed by several gyms. What adds to this problem is the misconception that most gym-goers have, “My instructor is the best and nothing can go wrong under his guidance!” While on the one hand, it is necessary to follow the guidelines laid by the instructor, the sad part is that most instructors are not trained adequately to set such guidelines.

Says Sanjeev Sharma, owner of the “Feel the Fitness” group of gyms at Siri Fort and Saket: “Many instructors in gyms today have no knowledge of the human anatomy. They have no clue about which instrument puts how much pressure on which muscle.” In these circumstances, how far can the instructor be trusted with one’s safety?

Moreover, most gym-owners themselves have little or no knowledge about physical training and education. Adds Sharma: “Gyms have become like shops today anybody who has money and wants to make more can open a gym.”

According to him, it is more important for the owner to have a background in health science and physical training as it is only then that he is able to appoint adequately trained and experienced instructors.

Unfortunately, there are no recognised or certified courses for gym instructors. This, coupled with the ignorance of most gym owners, makes it difficult to set a standard for appointing instructors. In fact, the only qualification the chief instructor of a newly opened gym in South Delhi holds is “Title, Mr Delhi, 1997” for weight-lifting.

Futher more, even in gyms with well-trained and experienced instructors, there is a lack of personalised service. The average ratio of clients to instructor in most gyms is 75:1. Says Chandra: “While it’s not possible to have an instructor solely for yourself during an entire workout, it’s necessary to have daily interaction with your instructor who should make sure that you’re not overstraining any particular muscle and not doing exercises you are not ready for.”

What actually happens is that as soon as the clients get familiar with the machines, they cease to realise the importance of the instructor and overdo the exercise bit. This makes them extremely vulnerable to injury.

The second set of factors leading to back injuries is the use of faulty and inferior quality equipment. Compromising quality for prices is what many gym owners do. For instance, the treadmill machine, one of the basic equipment, costs around Rs 4 lakh (imported model), while its good quality Indian counterpart costs around Rs 1.25 lakh. In addition to these models, there are several other Indian models which cost much less, depending on their quality. While the well established gyms would buy the expensive and superior quality models, the owners of smaller gyms would rather go in for the cheaper ones, which can cause considerable damage to its users.

The owners alone are not always to blame. Admitting that some of the more sophisticated machinery in his gym is not of the best quality, the owner of a newly opened gym says: “The logic is simple imported and superior machinery means increased costs, which in turn imply higher tariffs. But as the Indian consumer is largely not aware of the technicalities involved and lays great emphasis on the cost factor, he always opts for a gym which costs him less. In short, the use of better quality machinery would actually mean losing clients.”

Keeping the cost factor in mind, it is necessary for the owner to select machinery which is not of inferior quality and doesn’t harm to its user.In the light of the above mentioned flaws which many gyms have, it becomes necessary for the gym-goer to select a gym keeping in mind several considerations so as to ensure his own safety.

The most important of these factors, says Sharma, is the credentials of the owner. He adds: “Only an educated, aware and disciplined owner would be able to employ adequate instructors, good machinery and maintain a healthy environment.” In addition to this factor, first-aid facilities available at the gym have to be checked along with the hygiene levels. Comments Sharma: “Though proximity to your home should also be a deciding factor, it should not be the only criterion for selecting a gym.”

Perhaps the most common reason for incurring back injuries while exercising is over enthusiasm. Starters want to get muscles and trim fat within a week and fail to adopt the required procedures while exercising. Says Sharma: “It’s imperative to follow instructions while working out and not to do as you please.” Most people do not realise the importance of warming up and start exercising at a vigourous pace. Remarks Chandra: “Warming up is very essential before a work out as it prepares your body for exercise.”

Cautions Chhabra: “Most of the injuries occur due to inadequate warming up.” Adequate warming up includes basic exercises such as free-hand stretching exercises, chest expansions as well as jogging for about 10 minutes. The body is adequately warmed up only when the heartbeat rises to about 100-110 per minute and sweat is visible on the forehead.

After warming up, it is essential to follow a “cycle of exercise”. This cycle as explained by Chandra includes starting at a slow pace, moving on to a moderate one, then to a fast one and gradually reversing the cycle before stopping.

After exercising, it is equally important to cool down. Cooling down essentially implies bringing the body temperature back to normal. This procedure would involve a few relaxation exercises.

In addition to these essentials, it is necessary to take some basic precautions while exercising.