June 22, 2006

Q: I am a very healthy and athletic 32-year-old male. Last weekend, I moved furniture to the basement, packed and boxed more than 300 books and delivered them to my brother’s basement. I was fine on Monday, on Tuesday and Wednesday, my muscles were so sore I could barely move, and it has taken a full week before I have begun to recover. Why?

A: Even the most highly conditioned athlete can come down with severe muscle soreness when he or she engages in unaccustomed physical activity.

You had what is called delayed- onset muscle soreness –– DOMS. It’s not the soreness that comes on the day following exercise. DOMS peaks 48 to 72 hours after exertion.

The usual muscle contraction is one of muscle shortening. When a person lifts a weight, the biceps muscle in the upper arm bulges. It’s shortening. That’s a concentric muscle contraction. Concentric muscle contractions lead to day-after soreness that promptly leaves.

In an eccentric muscle contraction, the muscle lengthens when it is under tension. An example of eccentric leg muscle contraction is downhill running. Carrying and lowering boxes of heavy books involves eccentric muscle contractions. Such exercise tears muscle fibres. It also damages the tissues surrounding muscles. The combination produces muscle swelling and pain that is slow to appear and slow to leave. It can take a week to 10 days to recover from eccentric muscle damage.

Lest you think eccentric muscle contractions are bad, they are not. The lowering phase of any weightlifting exercise is an eccentric contraction, and it should be emphasised by performing it slowly and deliberately. Eccentric exercise builds muscles. The trick is to establish the right proportion between eccentric and concentric exercise.

Q: I am an avid golfer, but I am bothered by a sore back after playing for about two weeks. Is this common? What can I do to prevent it?

A: Golfer’s back is very common. Hours of bending over to pick up a golf ball contribute to it. But mostly it comes from the golf swing. The forward bend and rapid spine rotation involved in swinging a club take their toll on back muscles.

One prevention is warming up. Warming up is not the few leisurely stretches that most golfers perform with ritualistic fervour. Doing jumping jacks and jogging in place for five minutes are examples of warming muscles up. I have never seen any golfer do either. Warming up sends blood flowing to back muscles, and that loosens them much more than do a few cursory stretches.

Equally important is strengthening the abdominal muscles something that has to be done before you set foot on a golf course. The oblique abdominal muscles, the ones at the sides of the abdomen, are the ones most involved in rotating the spine during a golf swing.

Interlace your hands behind your neck in doing sit-ups. While rising up, turn the right elbow toward the left knee and then return to the starting position. On the next rise, turn the left elbow toward the right knee. Keep repeating until you have done 10 to 15 repetitions.

Q: I have taken up judo. I would like your opinion of using a head harness with weights to strengthen neck muscles.

A: Start neck exercise more modestly. Use a hand on the head to resist the forward, sideward and backward bend of your neck. You can increase the hand resistance as you gain strength. Hold off on weights for the present, until your neck muscles are sufficiently strong to cope with neck weights, which can take up to two months.

Dr Donohue regrets that he is unable to answer individual letters, but he will incorporate them in his column whenever possible. Readers may write to him or request an order form of available health newsletters at P.O. Box 536475, Orlando,FL 32853-6475. Readers may also order health newsletters from www.rbmamall.com.

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