• ENG

Mirabai Chanu To Bajrang Punia: Know How Olympic Champions Are Dealing With Chronic Pain

Mirabai Chanu To Bajrang Punia: Know How Olympic Champions Are Dealing With Chronic Pain
Mirabai Chanu To Bajrang Punia: Know How Olympic Champions Are Dealing With Chronic Pain

Here are some suggested tips that Olympic champions Mirabai Chanu & Bajrang Punia follow regularly to avoid chronic pain.

Written by Satata Karmakar |Updated : July 6, 2022 7:01 PM IST

Changing seasons tend to severely impact those who suffer from chronic pain. The weather has varied effects on people who suffer from prolonged pain. There are three significant manifestations of seasonal changes in long-lasting pain: Runners cramps, Myofascial Pain, and Migraine. In research from 2007, 80 per cent of Runners with cramps, Myofascial Pain, and Migraine patients said that weather changes aggravated their symptoms, however, the exact weather changes were not specified. This link between weather and fibromyalgia-related discomfort is supported by the National Fibromyalgia Association. Many people with Runners cramps, Myofascial Pain, and Migraine have "temperature sensitivity," amounting to the worsening of symptoms like muscle pain or weariness, in response to excessive temperature changes. However, despite chronic pain, it is possible to enjoy the seasons and all of their associated activities.

Athletes and Olympians of India Mirabai Chanu, International Champion in Weightlifting, and Bajrang Punia, World Champion in Wrestling are constantly on the roll with their hectic schedules that often trigger severe chronic pain in their muscles and joints. Athletes are frequently exposed to sports injuries like muscle soreness and muscle strain which can be further aggravated into a pain disorder triggered by the changing weather.

How To Avoid Chronic Pain?

Here are some suggested tips that Olympic champions Mirabai Chanu & Bajrang Punia follow regularly to avoid chronic pain:

Also Read

More News

Increasing muscle strength, stamina, and endurance

To minimize the recurrence of existing injuries, stretch your muscles and stay active regularly. Maintaining a consistent basic exercise plan along with the application of a pain-relieving spray can help the champions to avoid aggravating an existing ailment.

Physiotherapy

In order to avoid sports injuries from worsening throughout the year, they must be treated right in the beginning. A few exercises like neck rotation, wrist rotation, ankle rotation, hip raise, and leg raise are practiced at home by the Olympic champions to aid in the relief of the body and injured areas.

Good hydration

Migraines and tension-type headaches are frequently triggered by temperature variations. Aside from temperature changes, heat and dry weather can cause dehydration, which can result in a headache or migraine episodes. Athletes have to constantly ensure timely water intake to keep themselves hydrated and avoid feeling dizzy or triggering migraine episodes while practicing on the field. It is better to consume fruit juices and electrolyte drinks to maintain hydration.

Good nutrition

Along with determination, exercise and rigorous training, nutrition play a very important role when an athlete strives for an edge over the competition. Proper nutrition enhances athletic performance, decreases fatigue, reduces the risk of disease and injury, facilitates optimized training, and helps recover faster.

Good sleep

More sleep, or longer sleep, has been shown to help athletes recover and perform better. Athletes should get seven to nine hours of sleep per night. Elite athletes are advised to get at least nine hours of sleep each night and to treat sleep as seriously as they do their athletic training and food.

Increasing mental stamina

Mental toughness is unquestionably important for players to attain the greatest possible performance in sports. Athletes must have the drive and determination to persevere through difficult and pressure-filled situations in order to achieve success.

Strategies For Dealing With Chronic Discomfort

Olympic winners Mirabai Chanu and Bajrang Punia recommend the following strategies for dealing with chronic discomfort amidst changing seasons:

The short duration of rest

It is recommended to rest well and take short breaks when the body becomes strained.

Cryotherapy and Heat therapy

Heat therapy applied immediately after exercise can reduce delayed onset muscular soreness. Following exercise, you can enjoy moist heat therapy through wet heating packs, warm damp towels, or a warm bath. Mirabai Chanu and Bajrang Punia have been strong advocates of heat therapy to cure muscle soreness. Apart from the suggested remedies, the Olympic champions occasionally use pain-relieving sprays and patches which is contains Menthol which provides targeted pain relief for up to 8 hours. Moreover, Cryotherapy has a lot of advantages for people who want to heal rapidly from injuries or minimise general strain and exhaustion from rigorous activities and exercise.

Pain balms

The application of pain-relieving spray or balms is recommended by both the Olympic champions to avoid aggravating an existing ailment.

Physical modalities and massages

When it comes to weather and joint pain, experts believe that temperature and humidity affect how tissues (such as tendons and ligaments) within a joint expand and contract, which can cause pain. Massage after exercise can dramatically lessen pain, and getting massages on a regular basis may improve your body's ability to battle DOMS in the long run. Kneading the muscles after applying natural, herbal oils can help to treat a range of muscular injuries as well as strengthen the bones, improve sleep quality, tone the body, and soothe the central nervous system. However, when the Olympic champions are busy prepping their bodies by training for the global championships and cannot make time for massages, they recommend the use of Advanced Back Pain + Roll-On which is enriched with the power of capsaicin and clove oil whose deep penetrating action reaches the affected muscle and starts acting on pains within 30 seconds.

Nutritious food

Nutrition can help you perform better in sports. A well-planned, nutritious meal should include enough protein to stimulate muscle growth and repair while also meeting the majority of an athlete's vitamin and mineral requirements.

Cognitive-behavioural therapy

Athletes can benefit from cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) to improve their performance by better managing stress. A well-implemented cognitive behavioural approach has been demonstrated to be especially beneficial for athletes who require more traditional therapeutic care for critical stress management, anxiety, or clinical depression treatment.

(With inputs from Experts at Amrutanjan Health Care Ltd)