Should I check my health before exercising?

According to a report from the who of the year 2002, the physical inactivity is one of the risk factors and death cause more frequent in industrialized countries. It is evident that physical activity is healthy and, therefore, the recommendation to exercise is universal, but the indications are not the same for everyone and it should not be practiced in the same way.

Sport adapted to your physical characteristics

Each person has their own characteristics, starting with something as basic as sex and age or the innumerable pathologies that exist today. For these reasons, activity that each one practice must be adapted and individualized. There are many factors to take into account and to value, because nowadays anyone wears shoes and exercises.

Putting yourself in the hands of a professional will always be the first step. In order to establish some guidelines, it is essential to carry out a review prior to the activity that we want to carry outor, because more than one person intends to perform a type of exercise that, in the end, turns out to be not the most suitable for their needs.

It starts with a medical check-up

Currently, reviews are carried out prior to the practice of physical activity in medical centers of clubs and gyms where the health status of the members is evaluated. However, these procedures can also be performed in private clinics, hospitals or center.

The recommendation is that, if possible, the medical examination is carried out by a Sports Doctor, since he is the professional who has been trained for it. He will be in charge of gathering information to determine what is best and most appropriate for each individual afterwards.

1. Clinical history

Before performing any test or examination, it is essential to do a questioning or medical history focused on knowing the background, both family and personal, of the person in question.

• Family background: there are pathologies that, if they have previously existed in the family, can also appear a posteriori. In addition, some of them can become risk factors when it comes to sports. This is the case of heart disease, diabetes, asthma ...
• Personal history: They are also essential and you should not focus only on the cardiovascular system, since although it is one of the most important it is not the only one. It is about finding out if you have suffered an injury, if you have an eye disease, if you take drugs and why ...

Many times it is the patient himself who does not give importance to according to what problem health because she lives with him every day. But when physical activity is performed, conditions change and what we are used to may require adaptations. For example, for a healthy person hydration during activity is very important, but for a diabetic it is even more so, since its metabolic alteration requires greater control of water intake.

2. Physical examination

• Basal constants: those that are had without making any previous effort, such as heart rate, oxygen saturation ... In this way, it will be possible to initially know the conditions that each individual presents.
• Size and weight: two pieces of information that allow knowing the BMI (Body Mass Index = weight / height) that will tell us if we are within the parameters of a normal weight, if we are overweight or obese.
  • Below 18 is considered underweight
  • Between 18-25 of normal weight
  • 25 to 30 overweight
  • Above 30 we talk about obesity
• Resting blood pressure: normal values ​​are 140/90 mmHg. Sometimes in the doctor's office the "" may appear where a person with normal blood pressure registers high values ​​due to the stress of the moment. For this reason, for someone to be considered hypertensive, blood pressure must be taken several times and it must always be high.
• Locomotor apparatus: the natural posture is visualized and it is evaluated if there are alterations or asymmetries (such as one hip higher than the other), as well as limitations when making movements.
• Auscultation and Electrocardiogram (ECG): these are two tests that allow obtaining information that at first glance does not give symptoms and that is not perceptible by the patient. The ECG is a basic, non-invasive and rapid test that provides valuable information on the state of the health of the heart.

3. Stress test

It consists of carrying out a study of cardiac adaptation to effort, to assess this adaptation at the level of the heart rate and blood pressure.

4. Life habits

The habits that make up the person's lifestyle must also be taken into account. The hours when sports are practiced, for example, they are a point to assess when making the correct prescription of exercise. Also the distribution of meals, the type of diet or the terrain on which you do sports (open air gym, in the water ...).

The variables are infinite and that is why it is also necessary to know the habits and preferences, in this way the practice will be more pleasant and the “loyalty” greater.

Who is it recommended to?

To anyone who wants to start a sports practice, whether at an amateur or obviously professional level. Especially in the case of men over 45 and women over 55, since cardiovascular risks increase from those ages.

In the case of athletes or people used to exercising Since they have never had a medical check-up, the recommendation is even more relevant. You have to think that these types of people subject their body to constant physiological changes. For this reason, your state of health must be evaluated exhaustively and by a professional. In all cases, it is recommended to repeat the review once a year.

What you should know:

Sports Medicine Specialist