Sports injuries doctor warns about excessive exercise programs

Don't overdo it, as you will end up getting hurt. The warning follows a large number of patients who have presented at his surgery over the past few months with damage to their joints - in particular their knees - after pounding the city's pavements in a bid to get in shape.

Dr. M. Ashfaq Konchwalla, an Orthopaedic Surgeon at Medcare Hospital in Jumeirah, believes that many people who set out with the best intentions to remain healthy simply attempt too much too soon in their enthusiasm, resulting in stress injuries to the weight-bearing parts of their bodies.

"It is great to see that a lot of people are taking their health seriously and wanting to address being overweight, but slimming down should involve a progressive programme that starts off with light exercise first and increases in intensity slowly,"

he said, speaking from his clinic.

"Unfortunately, since September, I've seen a large number of individuals who have presented to me with injuries sustained through excessive work out regimes that have placed far too much stress on their bodies," he added.

Doctor Konchwalla revealed that he had attended to 38 patients over the past seven months who arrived with similar problems.

"The patients I have seen over the last half a year or so all presented with the essentially the same history," he said.

"Four out every five of them were overweight to varying degrees and all had either been running, using the treadmill for long periods, or undertaking other strenuous activities. They came to see me after developing pain in their ankles, backs, or most commonly, their knees," he added.

He also said, "What sparked my concern was that in every single case, the injury had been received in the first week of them taking up training."

The statistics within this small group of patients certainly reveal the knees to be the parts of the body that bear the brunt of such over activity. Of the 40 who arrived at Dr. Konchwalla's clinic, 22 were experiencing problems with knee joints. Seven had back pain, six were suffering discomfort in their ankles and five had shoulder difficulties. In total, seventeen had to undergo exploratory surgery to assess the full extent of their injuries.

"The problem for people in this situation is twofold," he continued.

"Firstly, their bodies are not used to exercise and they haven't taken this into consideration when embarking on their programmes. Secondly, they are carrying significantly more weight than perhaps other people they are training alongside - more weight than their joints can handle over a prolonged period," he added.

Having treated such a large number of patients experiencing the same phenomena, the importance of exercising safely - especially when carrying extra pounds - is something that Dr. Konchwalla is keen to impart. Exercise is certainly something that is close to his heart, having trained extensively in this specialised area of healthcare. He believes strongly that people should seek professional advice before attempting weight loss programmes that involve working out and cites the fact that only ten of the patients he treated had used an instructor.

"I can't stress too strongly the importance of consulting specialists on both exercising and a correct diet before embarking on a weight loss programme. Not one of my patients had been spoken to about eating the correct foods before they started," he said.

"There's a simple formula to weight loss - taking in less calories than you expend will mean that the pounds will start coming off, so a varied and healthy low calorie diet combined with gentle exercise will see you well on the way to losing weight safely. Stretching and doing warm up exercises for at least twenty minutes before a work-out is essential and is something I advise even the fittest athletes at the sports clubs I am involved with to do. Exercise should be conducted at a low level to begin with - even a brisk walk three times a week, or 10 minutes on the treadmill at a low rate is good to start out," he added.