7.2) Injury and Recovery
The strength of your ligaments, tendons, and muscles varies depending on your genetic makeup. Your genetic predisposition in these areas can help you understand where you may have possible weaknesses, and how you can prevent injury.
Similarly, individuals differ in their length of recovery time. The length of time it takes you to recover depends on your inflammatory and antioxidant responses. Returning to regular exercise before your body is ready can amplify and extend a problem. Be sure to provide your body with what it needs to be at its best.
Injuries can prevent you from getting your daily exercise, causing your overall fitness to decrease. Proactively avoid injuries using knowledge about your genes.
Prevent injuries using resistance and flexibility training. Participate in healthy warmups prior to exercise, give your body the preparation it needs. Consider dynamic stretching. Dynamic stretching utilizes momentum and form to increase the range of movement, blood flow, and oxygen to the soft tissues. This form of stretching has been shown to improve performance while reducing the risk of injury.
7.2.1 Ligament Strength
How well your body maintains healthy ligaments
A ligament is a band of collagen fibers that connects one bone to another to form joints. Ligaments are important for athletic performance, but ligament injuries are common among athletes. Ruptures of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) are one of the most common injuries sustained by athletes and individuals who engage frequently in sport.
Variations in this gene panel may result in decreased overall ligament strength and conditions such as connective tissue disorders, ligament ruptures, and reduced bone quality.
If you have variations in this panel, you may want to consider the following to enhance your fitness:
- Be aware of your body when engaging in high burst exercises and sports such as jumping, sprinting, and lunging.
- Engage in proper warm ups with full range of motion especially when starting a fitness routine.
- Participate in dynamic stretching before exercise to increase blood flow and oxygen to the soft tissues.
- Include resistance and flexibility training to reduce the likelihood of injury.
- Consider taking glucosamine chondroitin supplements.
Some examples of genes that have been associated with maintaining ligament health are:
COL1A1: Plays a vital role in ligament development and strength, regulating the assembly of collagen fiber in the body’s connective tissues, including bones, ligaments, and tendons. Variation is associated with an 85% reduced risk of soft tissue ruptures.
COL5A1: Produces protein that has an important role in assembling collagen to form collagen fibrils. Contributes to soft tissue flexibility during exercise and injury risk.
7.2.2 Tendon Strength
How well your body maintains healthy tendons
A tendon is a tough, flexible band of collagen-based fibrous connective tissue that attaches skeletal muscles to bone. Tendons work with bones and muscles to enable movements and withstand tension. Collagen is the main structural protein of connective tissues. Variations in these genes result in the inability to assemble collagen correctly. This leads to decreased tendon strength.
Achilles tendinopathy and tendinitis are conditions that cause pain, swelling and stiffness of the tendon where it attaches muscle to bone. It is most often caused by repetitive, minor impact on the affected area, or from a sudden more serious injury. These conditions have increased as a result of greater participation in recreational and competitive sports but are also common in everyday activities. As tendons age they tolerate less stress, are less elastic, and are easier to tear, particularly if you have genetic variations that may reduce their strength.
If you have variations in this panel, you may want to consider the following to enhance your fitness:
- Engage in a proper warm up involving full range of motion before starting your fitness routine.
- Do not overuse or do too much when the tendons are not used to a movement. Injuries are common in weekend warriors.
- Speak to your health care provider if you are experiencing pain.
Some examples of genes that have been associated with maintaining ligament health are:
COL1A1: Plays a vital role in ligament development and strength, regulating the assembly of collagen fiber in the body’s connective tissues, including bones, ligaments, and tendons. Variation is associated with an 85% reduced risk of soft tissue ruptures.
COL5A1: Produces protein that has an important role in assembling collagen to form collagen fibrils. Contributes to soft tissue flexibility during exercise and injury risk.
MMP3: Maintains the extracellular matrix —the body’s scaffolding. Encodes enzymes involved in wound repair.
7.2.3 Muscle Strength
How predisposed you are for muscle strength and tone
Muscle tissue consists of hundreds to hundreds of thousands of muscle fibers consisting of myofibrils composed of overlapping thick and thin filaments. These filaments form functional units called sarcomeres that shorten causing the muscle fiber to contract, thereby producing force. The ability of muscle to produce force at a given speed is the basic definition of muscle strength.
Skeletal muscle is an important link to an individual’s health and quality of life. The primary clinical interest in skeletal muscle is muscle strength. Muscle strength is a complex trait, influenced by biological, morphological, psychological, and environmental factors. Muscle strength is highly variable among individuals and has a strong genetic component.
If you have a variation in this panel, you may want to consider the following to enhance your fitness:
- Develop a specialized muscle building program to develop and maintain muscle tone and strength.
- Consider taking amino acid supplements, amino acids are the building blocks of proteins. Specifically supplements for amino acids like glutamine, which cannot be produced by the body and must be gained from the diet.
Some examples of genes that have been associated with maintaining muscle tone and strength are:
IGF1: Has growth-promoting effects on almost every cell in the body. Researchers are investigating the link between IGF1 and aging. IGF1 is a primary mediator of the effects of growth hormone. Variation is associated with decreased IGF1 levels. Low levels of IGF1 are associated with increased insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, and predict development of glucose intolerance and type 2 diabetes. Dietary protein intake increases IGF1 levels.
MSTN: Encodes myostatin, found in muscles and used in skeletal muscle movement. Associated with the ability to produce ‘peak’ power during muscle contractions.
PPARGC1A: Regulates mitochondrial biogenesis, fatty acid oxidation, glucose utilization and thermogenesis. Variations have a negative effect on mitochondrial function. Endurance exercise has been shown to activate this gene in human skeletal muscle.
TRHR: The TRHR gene encodes the thyrotropin-releasing hormone receptor, which is important in developing skeletal muscle.
7.2.4 Muscle Repair
How well your muscles build and repair from physical activity
High intensity exercise, particularly strength training and resistance training, can result in micro-injury or trauma to skeletal muscles. When muscles undergo trauma, the body reacts to repair the muscle, causing muscle cells to increase in number and thickness.
Appetite, energy intake and energy expenditure are key components of the muscle recovery system. Proper energy balance and use of energy stores in the body help maintain the post-exercise recovery cycle.
Genes in this panel help understand your level of muscle repair, linked to the post-exercise recovery process. Variations in these genes may result in decreased muscle repair activity, increased muscle fatigue, and longer recovery time between strenuous activities.
If you have variations in this panel, you may want to consider the following to enhance your fitness:
- Reduce the intensity of your workouts and avoid reaching maximum repetitions.
- Give your body and muscles ample time to recover between workouts, as muscle repair may be slower.
- Ensure adequate fluid replacement and eat well after exercise to replenish energy.
- Consider taking amino acid supplements as amino acids are the building blocks of proteins. Specifically, supplement for amino acid glutamine, which cannot be produced by the body and must be gained from the diet.
- Do dynamic stretches before and after engaging in exercise.
- Perform active recovery with gentle movements.
- Try self-massage techniques after exercise to improve circulation.
- Avoid overtraining.
Some examples of genes that have been associated with maintaining muscle repair are:
ACTN3: Encodes the protein that helps to anchor actin filaments in the muscle and is involved in fast-twitch movements. Plays a key role in power, sprint and endurance. Variation influences the make-up of your fast-twitch muscle fiber.
AMPD1: Encodes enzyme that processes high-energy compounds called ATP, involved in regulation of energy during exercise. Variation is associated with exercise-induced myopathy.
CKMM: Encode proteins that are recruited to damaged tissue which speeds up recovery.
IL6: Regulates the body’s response to exercise, including processes that recruit stored energy in fat and muscle tissue for quick use to assist in muscle recovery processes.
TNFA: Encodes a multifunctional proinflammatory cytokine that supports recovery.