Recreational physical activities bring joy to our lives. If we have kids or grandkids, sporty physical activities such as heading out to the field to play catch or getting down on the ground on the hands and knees to interact with a 6-month-old infant, require the confidence, coordination, and strength to bend the knees, move from our torso, and depend on strong upper extremities. Fun weekend recreational activities, such as a tennis match, eighteen holes of golf, a three-hour bout of pickleball, a run with a local running group, or a mountain bike trek through Skyline Park, depend on our health and fitness being at an optimal level.
Recreational physical activities serve as a form of exercise, contributing to fitness adaptations that support our overall health. For example, playing a full point in a tennis match requires a tremendous amount of aerobic capacity, as it involves getting back to the line to serve or return a serve after sprinting in the previous point. Getting done with a round of golf requires an individual to have enough stamina to endure three to six hours under the sun. Riding up and down hills through technical and rocky terrain on steep, inclined trails on the side of a mountain requires balance, coordination, agility, and muscular endurance of the lower extremities, as fast-twitch muscles activate throughout a mountain-biking session. The demands placed on the muscles during these activities put substantial exercise-induced stress on them.
The body’s musculoskeletal system adapts to the demands of physically exerting activities. After three months of practicing and playing consistent tennis or pickleball, embarking on two to three-mile runs a few times a week, mountain biking, or walking the golf course creates adaptations for the body to have an increased amount of lean muscle mass, less fat mass, and the ability to endure longer bouts of physical activity before fatiguing.
While these adaptations are optimal for helping us become physically strong enough to interact with the things we enjoy in life, the body doesn’t just get stronger on its own. The stress imposed on muscles throughout recreational physical activity also affects our joints and connective tissue. Therefore, a plan to mitigate the effects of joint pain through a skillfully designed exercise practice is beneficial for the overall experiences we want to participate in and enjoy the activities we love.
Research supports that consistent compliance with strategically designed exercise practice improves performance in recreational physical activities. A strong deterrent to engaging in physical activity is the perception of pain throughout and after the activity. Who would want to play a few games of tennis if they know the byproduct is going to be a week’s worth of feeling like their knees got hit with a hammer?
To counteract the effects of joint pain during everyday and recreational physical activity, strengthening commonly used joints through exercise is beneficial for greater functional ability, reduced anxiety, and decreased joint pain during the activities people enjoy. The knees, hips, shoulders, and lower back are among the most commonly used areas in recreational physical activities. Therefore, a strength and conditioning plan to reinforce muscles powering those joints can contribute to a more optimal experience in our recreational physical activities.
Exercises that focus on the glutes, hamstrings, quadriceps, and calf muscles support the hip and knee, and ankle joints. Common exercises that activate the lower extremity muscles include squats, stepping, hip bridges, and calf raises. The shoulder joints includes the upper arm, chest, and shoulder blades region. Upper extremity pushing and pulling movements, such as rowing or pressing exercises, activate the trapezius, latissimus dorsi, biceps, triceps, and muscles of scapular stabilization. The spine is a chain of bones that runs from the skull to the hips. Muscles that reinforce the spine include the paraspinal muscles, abdominals, and deep intrinsic core muscles. Exercises that will strengthen posture and core strength include planks, dying bugs, and other movements that maintain an upright, organized spine, such as the cat and cow pose practiced in Yoga classes.
Muscle soreness and pain are two different things. After engaging in physical activity that uses muscles, we might feel a little sore. However, after an activity, we might experience joint pain. If we were to choose between the types of pain, delayed-onset muscle soreness seems more desirable than joint pain. To decrease the onset of joint pain so we can engage in the physical activities that make life amazing, consistent compliance with a skillfully designed exercise practice is a productive habit to ingrain in our lifetime fitness journey.
Sean McCawley, the founder and owner of Napa Tenacious Fitness in Napa, CA, welcomes questions and comments. Reach him at 707-287-2727, napatenacious@gmail.com, or visit the website napatenaciousfitness.com.