ISSA Bodybuilding Final Exam STUDY GUIDE (Injuries in Bodybuilding ) | Updated 2024 Overloading Parameters Load, repetition, volume, density, and exercise. Load Progression The practice of simply adding weight to the bar. Repetition Progression The act of performing more repetitions per set with the same amount of weight previously used. Volume Progression Adding another set of the same weight and repetitions performed previously. Density Progression A shortening of rest periods between sets. Exercise Progression Advancing from one exercise to a different one that's more demanding. Say our bodybuilder elected to perform front squats instead of back squats for his next workout and decided to use the same load. Inevitably, he'd face a greater challenge using the same load for the front squats, as they tax the anterior core and quads to a greater degree than back squats do. INJURIES Simply stated, but just as easily ignored, is the fact that exercise breaks our bodies down. Rest and proper nutrition make our bodies and muscles stronger and bigger. If we fail to rest and refuel our bodies, we will make ourselves more vulnerable to inju ry. When form is compromised, ligamentous, cartilaginous, and osseous structures, which do not have contractile properties, are called into play to buffer the forces that muscles are designed to resist, which include tension, compression, extensibility, sh ear, and torsion. Injuries most indigenous to strength athletes affect bones, joints and their connective tissue, and muscles. Bones Bones provide the framework for our bodies. They cocoon organs and serve as the crux of our body's stability. Although exercise fortifies bone strength, exercise performed with poor form can slowly chip away at the bone's integrity. Joints function as our body's movement centers. They are an intersection where collagen -based structures, which include tendons, cartilage, and ligaments, all meet as they collectively stabilize the rounded head of the bone within the capsule of the joint. Skeletal Muscle Injuries Muscle injuries, which can be categorized as either acute or overuse injuries, are commonly sustained by active individuals and athletes. Acute injuries can be further broken down into direct trauma and indirect trauma. Direct trauma is typified by a contu sion that damages the muscle fibers and may lead to vasoconstriction or a hematoma. These injuries are commonly associated with contact sports. Indirect trauma disrupts the muscle fibers without contact. Indirect trauma results from excessive mechanical st ress via eccentric overload. Skeletal Muscle Injuries Muscles are at the greatest risk of sustaining injury during an eccentric muscle action. That eccentric muscle action may occur prematurely, when the concentric muscle action is not great enough to resist gravitational and inertial forces. Overuse injuries stem from repetitively performing a movement continually and having an insufficient amount of rest between activities. Consequent adaptations are quite problematic. A muscle that is called on to work frequently may fatigue and require neighboring muscles to pick up the slack and perform unintended roles. Lower Back Injuries Lower back injuries that commonly afflict bodybuilders include spinal stenosis, which is a narrowing of the spinal canal; spondylolisthesis, which is characterized by slippage of the lumbar vertebral segments; and spondylosis, which is characterized by mic rofractures of the pars interarticularis, a section of the vertebra wedged between the articular processes of the facet joint. Finally, avulsion or herniation of the disc can occur, where the disc translates posteriorly, bearing down on the spinal nerves a nd creating unbearable pain. Typically, a lack of anterior core and posterior chain strength begets lower back injuries. If both of these areas are trained, the likelihood of suffering a lower back injury decreases. Knees The knees are two powerful, yet delicate hinge joints that are overlapped by a dozen muscles, many of which share attachments with the hip. When the muscles that cross the knee or run alongside the femur, such as the adductors and IT band, become tight, kn ee alignment becomes altered. Knee injuries Many old -school bodybuilding programs heavily emphasize quadriceps training, practically ignoring the training of the posterior chain musculature. Insufficient hamstring extensibility and a lack of posterior chain strength won't permit a lifter to sit back into a squat properly and will impose shearing forces on the patella. If the hip adductors (groin muscles) are too tight, and if the hip abductors and hip