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Chapter 5: This Doesn’t Have to Happen to You: Avoiding Common Injuries 65

When you lift weights or use a stair-climber, take care not to lock your

elbows. This is a very common mistake, and the people who do it often fail

to make the connection between their elbow pain and their sloppy form.

If you feel pain in your elbow, stop the offending activity. Ice can help, and

you can buy a brace or slip-on wrap at the drugstore to help support your

elbow. Your doctor may even suggest that you wear the brace while you

sleep, to keep up continuous compression on your elbow joint. To help pre-

vent future episodes of tennis elbow, strengthen your wrists (forearms) and

your triceps, the muscles at the back of your arm (see Chapter 12 for more

information on tricep muscles; see Chapter 14 for a tricep-building exercise).

Strong wrists are particularly important because most elbow pain is caused

by swollen tendons that originate in the wrists and end in the elbow (see

Chapter 14).

To prevent tennis elbow, lift objects with your palm facing your body. Also

try doing strengthening exercises with hand weights: With your elbow cocked

and your palm down, repeatedly bend your wrist, stopping if you feel any

pain. Stretch the muscles in and around the elbow before beginning a poten-

tially stressful activity by grasping the top part of your fingers and gently

but firmly pulling them back toward your body, while keeping your arm fully

extended and your palm facing outward.

Neck pain ..............................................................................................

You may not realize how useful your neck is until you can’t move it, like when

the guy standing next to you asks a question, and answering him requires a

three-quarter turn of your body.

Just about anything can cause neck pain — you may sleep on your neck in

a funny way or spend too much time cradling the phone on your shoulder.

But neck pain is often caused by fitness activities. We’re talking about poor

weight-lifting technique, such as turning your head to the side while doing a

shoulder press, and poor upper-body exercise posture, such as letting your

head droop forward when you walk. If you experience neck pain after a trau-

matic incident, such as getting beaned on the head with a soccer ball, check

with your doctor immediately. Also consult a physician if you have constant

or recurring neck pain.

Neck pain of the non-traumatic kind usually signals tightness in the muscles

of your neck, upper back, and/or shoulders. When you press a finger into the

area between your shoulder and your neck and there’s very little give or

springiness, you have tight neck muscles. One remedy: Gently stretch your

neck muscles; if you feel tightness on the right side of your neck, tip your

head toward your left shoulder and stretch your right arm downward. See