advice from a sports coach for choosing the right sport

After the age of fifty, we can feel more muscle or joint pain which sometimes prevent you from practicing physical activity. However, the less we practice sport and the less we move the body, the more this pain persists and the more likely we are to get injured. A vicious circle into which it is important not to fall, to stay fit and healthy. The solution ? Practical adapted physical or sporting activitywhich does not weaken the painful area but, on the contrary, strengthens its musculature and mobility to make it more resistant and more flexible.

In his book Cooking with Bérengère, Moving with Alexia (Editions Larousse), available from March 13, sports coach Alexia Cornu develops a whole series oftips for doing sports when you have pain. Obviously, always seek the advice of a doctor before starting any sport and consult a specialist if your muscle or joint pain persists.

Muscle or joint pain, the right physical activities to practice

• Knee pain : When suffering from this type of pain, it is important to avoid impact sports (running, dancing). Favor, for example, cycling, moderate walking on flat ground, swimming or even certain strength exercises that target the quadriceps, hamstrings and gluteal muscles.
• Hip pain : swimming is a good option, but also sports that gently work on the suppleness and flexibility of the hips, such as yoga, gymnastics, tai chi or qi gong.
• Shoulder pain : Sports that strengthen the deep muscles can help you improve your posture and reduce feelings of pain in the shoulders. You can practice, for example, pilates but also muscle strengthening exercises on a machine or with light weights.
• Neck pain : neck pain is often the result of muscle tension linked to stress. So, regularly practice relaxation exercises, cardiac coherence, yoga and stretching.
• Ankle and wrist pain : non-impact sports are preferred: swimming, yoga, pilates and moderate walking on flat ground. Remember to warm up your joints before each sporting activity, by doing very gentle stretches.
• Back pain : to improve your posture and relieve your back pain, you need to work the deep muscles of the back and abdominal muscles. The most effective: swimming but also certain bodybuilding exercises to be performed on machines or with light weights.

How to avoid pain when doing sports?

To prevent muscle or joint pain after a sports session, or to avoid aggravating existing pain, it is important to practice appropriate physical activity but also to make the right moves. During your first sessions, be accompanied by a sports coach, who will, if necessary, adapt the exercises to your pain and who will show you the correct postures and positions to adopt.

It is also important to be very progressive in his practice of sport, by gradually increasing the frequency and duration of your workouts. Also consider varying your sporting practice and your physical activities to use all muscle groups. Finally, systematically do warm-ups and stretches before and after each session to prepare your muscles and joints but also to gain flexibility.

Head of beauty/fitness/nutrition sections

After working for the Marie Claire and Prisma Media groups, Inès arrived at aufeminin in April 2022. Responsible for the beauty, fitness and nutrition sections, she likes to decipher the latest…