Ease off exercise when sick
Posted on Thursday, August 4th, 2011
By Simon Burley, Physiotherapist
Working in clinics that treat sports people of all levels we often come across the question “Should I train when I’m feeling ill?” Especially recently on the coast when there have been a few “bug’s” going around.
Generally the answer is no. Missing a few days of training won’t be the end of the world and may allow other niggles to settle down. If you train with peers you won’t pass on your germs to them either.
If you are an exercise Junkie and are determined to ‘press-on’, follow these guidelines:
i) If the symptoms are a runny nose, sneezing or sore throat, then exercise
is probably safe. Try a short, easy work-out first and if feeling O.K then carry on.
ii) If the symptoms are more like muscle aches, severe cough, fever, chills, diarrhoea or vomiting then you must rest. If you exercise you’ll feel weak and dehydrated and you may even put yourself at risk of heatstroke or heart failure.
Remember repeated episodes of illness can often be a sign of overtraining due to immune system weakening. Repeated episodes of illness should be checked by your doctor.
This is way more helpful than anhyting else I’ve looked at.