• Live: all the news about the coronavirus
  • Epidemic. "The evolution is favorable, it would be very serious to take a step back"
  • Unconfinement. 27 parameters to start de-escalation

If all goes well, next May 2 you can go outside to exercise. This was announced this Saturday by the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, who, within the possible measures for the relief of confinement planned for next week, pointed out the possibility of doing sport individually.

The measure, highly applauded by thousands of regular athletes, may also be good news for orthopedists and physical therapists, many of whom have seen in recent weeks a certain spike in the number of muscle and bone injuries, among other pathologies, for doing inadequate home sports .

One of the most frequent problems, knee injuries, has already been dubbed the 'hallway syndrome' by specialists.

This disorder refers to the breaks and disorders in the meniscus that are produced by the twists and the sudden movement of torsion that must be done continuously when running through a small space, they explain.

"After walking down the corridor and reaching the end, the twists are performed with the foot supported and the knee in semi-flexion, causing a torsion that compresses the meniscus, and may even break it," says sports traumatologist Carlos Gallego Goyanes, who has observed a increase in injuries in these last weeks of confinement in his Galician practice.

His point of view coincides with Murcia sports and children's trauma specialist Juanjo López, who, after even conducting a survey through social networks of around 1,900 people, finds 12% of those injured these days. "I think the real percentage may be higher, because the sample probably has a bias and there is a greater representation among respondents of professional athletes or those with some experience," stresses the specialist, who assures that among the most frequent injuries are muscle and those related to the meniscus.

Precisely one of the groups with the highest risk of injury, the traumatologists consulted agree, is that of those people who led a sedentary life and have started training these days .

In many cases, physical activity begins abruptly, without warming up, and without adapting the activity to the physical conditions that exist, which increases the chances of injury. It also has a great influence, carrying out certain activities in places and with inappropriate materials or instructions.

In this sense, both warn of the importance of having a professional guide the exercises . "We should not only imitate someone doing an exercise on social networks, but it would be very interesting if that person, just as they would do it in person, can see if we do it correctly," says Gallego.

The increase in injuries has also been influenced by the viralisation of challenges that encouraged people to complete long distances without leaving home. "It is outrageous to run 100 kilometers in the hallway of your house," adds López.

In the survey carried out by López, 35% of those surveyed confessed to having done more exercise during confinement than they usually do and 5% had to go through the operating table due to the severity of the injury. "This is not normal considering the moment we are in, that you cannot go outside," confirms the orthopedic surgeon.

To avoid risks, both orthopedists recommend "doing head sports" and adapt the type, intensity and duration of the exercises, both to the characteristics of each one and to the environment in which they are practiced.

"Our house, in general, is not a place to carry out sports activity, so we are going to have to prepare our home and also our activity to carry out, since if we were runners for example, we are going to have to change that type of activity for other aerobic and strength exercises and not running 10 km down the hall of our house, "says Gallego.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

  • Science and health
  • Covid 19
  • Coronavirus

Health Hospital reports confirm the fiasco of tests purchased by the Government

Health'Reconversion 'due to the covid-19

Covid-19 PandemicLombardy's Seven Mistakes in the Coronavirus Crisis