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Lifting heavy weights to shed those extra inches of belly fat? Giving yourself difficult challenges to lose weight within a specific time? Exercising more than your body needs or not taking rest even for a day in a week? This article is definitely for you. Did you know too much exercise can cause damage to your bones?
Exercising is certainly good for your bone health, but excessively doing it to achieve your goals can put your bone health in jeopardy. According to a study, exercise in moderation can prevent osteoporosis but doing too much of it can cause osteoporosis.
Before talking about how excessive exercise can harm your bone health, let’s first understand the benefits of exercising for healthy bones.
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Benefits of exercise on bones
Studies say, exercising helps in reducing the risk of fractures by conserving bone tissue. Physical activity increases the blood flow towards bones providing them required nutrients like calcium, vitamins as well as oxygen. To understand more about this, OnlyMyHealth spoke to Dr Sambhav Kumar – Orthopaedic surgeon, Dr VK Gupta Hospital, Agra.
Dr Kumar said, “Everyone suffers gradual loss of bone mass after the age of 30 which is accelerated in females after menopause leading to osteoporosis. If you do progressive exercises and strength training, osteoporosis can be drastically reduced. Similarly, even in young individuals, exercises will lead to increased bone mass.”
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Also read: Avoiding Dairy? 6 Non-Dairy Dietary Food Options For Stronger Bones
How Does Excessive Exercise Cause Bone Problems
Moderation is the key, as too much of anything is harmful. Excessive exercise may not give you the benefits you’re looking for but can cause harm to your bones making them weaker. Dr Kumar said, “Too much exercise can cause problems for your bones, especially if the intensity is not increased gradually. It can cause stress fractures. Stress fractures are tiny cracks in bones. Stress fractures are very common in army recruits during training period which occurs because of sudden increase in the intensity of exercises.”
Explaining further about how improper postures while exercising can also lead to problems, Dr Kumar said, “Not doing progressive loading while working out, can increase chances of injury or muscle strain. Similarly, improper posture during squats can lead to accelerated backache and osteoarthritis. It is of utmost importance to do exercises in correct posture and form with protective equipment.”
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Explaining the importance of taking breaks and rest days, Dr Kumar said, “150 min of moderate to strenuous exercises per week is adequate.” He further said, “If any pain or discomfort occurs, it is important to take rest. If symptoms don’t subside even after resting, you must consult a specialist.”
Consequences Of Excessive Exercising
Dr Sambhav Kumar listed a few problems and conditions that can occur as a result of over exercising.
- Ligament strain or sprain
- Disc bulge
- Hernia
- Excessive cardio can lead to heart attack
- Exertional compartment syndrome can happen to people practising bodybuilding
Bottomline
Weight loss, bodybuilding or body toning is not to be done by keeping excessively difficult goals and then over-exercising to achieve those. Exercising moderately can be beneficial if done in said manner but exerting yourself and body can be damaging. Always, take help of a trainer to achieve your fitness goals.
(Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. We advise you to check with your doctor or expert)