Weekend Warrior Syndrome

Are you a weekend warrior? According to Mark S. DeCarlo, President of the American Physical Therapy Association, Sports Physical Therapy Section, a weekend warrior is "someone who is committed to a sport or activity, but, based on life, work, and family demands, has limited time to participate." A weekend warrior's activities may include organized sports (e.g., softball leagues), recreation (boating, golf, etc.), or even household projects (i.e., gardening and home improvement).

So what is weekend warrior syndrome? It's the various problems that may arise when someone who participates in highly physical activity for a few hours on the weekend works a sedentary or less physical job for 40+ hours a week (Hearnburg Johnson, 2002). Due to the drastic change in physical stress on the body, workweek to weekend, warriors often experience soft tissue injuries (sprains and strains) or worse. Just imagine the possible injuries that could occur to a body that sits behind a desk 40 to 50 hours each week, and then on the weekend is dragged behind a water ski boat at 20 to 30 miles per hour!

According to a 2006 update from the Centers for Disease Control, at least one in five Emergency Department visits result from sport and recreational activities. However, the typical weekend warrior issues are overuse injuries and muscle strains that don't usually send a person to the ER, such as:

What is normal soreness after playing hard on the weekend?

Normal muscle soreness occurs within 24 hours of exercise/activity and decreases within 48 hours. It is characterized by general stiffness and minimal soreness, without loss of joint motion. This results from accumulation of waste products (lactic acid) in the muscle and/or micro-tears in muscle fibers.

Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS)

DOMS begins 24 to 48 hours after too much exercise/activity and is characterized by pain with restricted joint motion, along with muscles that are painful to touch. DOMS may result from muscle spasm, muscle tears/damage, and/or excessive accumulation of lactic acid in the muscles. If you can't walk up/down steps or take your shirt off two days after playing hard, you have the DOMS. This is not good.

So how do I avoid becoming a weekend warrior casualty?

Regular physical activity! Weekend warriors need to follow the recommended advice of the American College of Sports Medicine and American Heart Association, released on August 1, 2007. The new recommendations state:

All healthy adults ages 18 to 65 years need moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity for at least 30 minutes on five days each week or vigorous-intensity aerobic physical activity for at least 20 minutes on three days each week. … Further, adults will benefit from performing activities that maintain or increase muscular strength and endurance for at least two days each week. It is recommended that 8–10 exercises using the major muscle groups be performed on two non-consecutive days. To maximize strength development, a resistance (weight) should be used for 8–12 repetitions of each exercise resulting in willful fatigue."

Many healthcare professionals agree the physical activity one to two days per week has some overall health benefits. However, a recent study noted that weekend warriors may actually be at greater risk for chronic modifiable diseases, such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, depressions, obesity, etc., than those who perform daily physical activity (Kruger, 2006).

Otherwise, the best way to avoid weekend warrior syndrome is to prepare for the specific activity through simple: 1) stretching, 2) strengthening, and 3) conditioning. Also ensure that you remain properly hydrated before, during, and after exercise to help decrease risk of injuries.

Stretching

A few minutes of stretching can decrease the risk of injury and prevents a few days, or weeks of pain.

Strengthening

Muscle facts:

In order to strengthen a muscle it must be overloaded (by lifting weight); however, resistance training does not have to be painful or even difficult to gain positive results. (Folland, 2002). Performing light resistance training using the major muscle groups two to three times a week can decrease the risk of injuries.

Conditioning

Conditioning generally refers to training the cardiopulmonary system. The heart, lungs, and vascular systems provide oxygenated blood to working muscles, while taking away waste products (CO₂ and lactic acid). Increasing your heart and respiratory rates through exercise (e.g., brisk walking) for 30 minutes almost daily greatly increases your cardiopulmonary efficiency to support the musculature.

Water/Hydration

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