Weekend Warriors Play for Love, Risk Injury
It’s just that now, the bellies hang a little lower.
Our love of sports and competing can take us out of the office and into the playing fields. It’s fun and a great way to get some exercise. But what often starts out as an innocent way to blow off some steam can leave us limping back into the office Monday.
Weekend warriors suffer a variety of injuries if they aren’t properly conditioned. Your mind tells you that you can jump as high, run as fast and keep up with the pack like you used to. Heck, you used to be leading the pack. But these days, your body tells you otherwise.
Those throbbing thighs, on-fire pitching arms and weary backs tell you all you need to know. And that’s the only pain you’ll deal with if you’re lucky. Scores of your fellow warriors are struck down weekly with popped Achilles’ tendons, cranky knees, sprained ankles and ripped hamstrings.
“Sometimes it’s tough, but usually it’s OK,” said Rick Wells before his Monday night adult league hockey game.
Wells, 49, said he started playing hockey about five years ago when his son took up the sport “so I could speak the same language with him.”
“It’s a lot of fun,” Wells said. “You get to keep in shape and score goals.”
He said sometimes his knee or back will be sore the next day. Wells says the worst injuries he has seen in his games have been to the knees, bruises and the occasional puck to the face.
A weekend warrior typically is someone who does not exercise regularly during the work week but who participates in exercise-related activities once or twice a week when time allows, usually on days off.
The American Journal of Epidemiology reported the results of a study that concluded weekend warriors were about 60 percent less likely to die over a 10-year period than men who expended less than 500 extra calories per week – a sedentary lifestyle. But the weekend warriors were protected by their activities only if they did not have any significant health risks. That means someone severely overweight, a smoker or someone with other health issues would be placed at higher risk by weekend warrior activity. He or she would be better suited to adopt a pattern of regular exercise to improve their health.
A National Health Interview Survey conducted from 1997-99 found about 7 million people receive medical attention annually in the United States for sports and recrea-tion injuries.
“It’s pretty often,” said Dr. Jeff Kauffman of Rocky Mountain Family Physicians, of how many times he gets a dinged-up weekend warrior in his office. “It probably could be just about any age group. They like to go at it pretty hard, especially males.”
Males accounted for twice as many documented cases as women, and basketball was the most frequently mentioned activity. Strains and sprains made up about 31 percent of the injuries. The most common of the serious injuries Kauffman said he witnesses are knee injuries, such as ACL tears or ruptured Achilles’ tendons.
And the best way to prepare your body for your weekend endeavors?
“Just a good overall strengthening and conditioning program is the best thing,” Kauffman said. “You’re more prone to the serious injury if you’ve lost strength. We lose strength as we get older.”
James Ackley, 34, of Madison, Wis., got a nasty reminder he’s not as young as he used to be. The middle school assistant principal played football, basketball, tennis and ran track in high school, escaping relatively unscathed. But during one of his recent Friday pick-up basketball games, he made a sudden move, and “pop” went his left Achilles’ tendon.
“It sounded like a big balloon that popped,” Ackley said. “I was just going for a loose ball. But when you get in a competitive game . . . “
OK, so he got injured. What’s the big deal; it happens. Well, it’s more than a minor inconvenience when you have a wife and three young boys at home. What that really means is your wife now has to take care of four “boys” because your attempts to maintain your youthful exuberance landed you on the couch with a bum wheel.
“When James went to the doctor, he checked his tendon,” said Angela Ackley, James’ wife. “The doctor said ‘Yup, this is a classic case of a guy 30-35 pretending to be young.’ “
Now, Angela, who has a newborn along with her 4-year-old and 2-year-old, has lost some of the help she normally gets from her husband.
“It’s been awful,” she said. “He’s been getting sympathy cards.
“Why isn’t anyone sending me sympathy cards?” she added, jokingly.
James Ackley said his doctor told him that he should recover to almost 100 percent. It should be noted that Ackley said he does work out fairly regularly and therefore doesn’t fit the profile for those who are most-likely to be injured. Still, this whole ordeal has given him cause for pause.
“The big question is: Will I play basketball again next fall?” he said. “Of course, Angela says ‘No, you’re not playing anymore.’
“Honestly, it’s not really worth it when you’re laid up.”
