Posted on November 13, 2017 by Emily Forbes
We’ve all been there, smashing PB’s then BAM! Injury sets in and halts all training. It may be sudden and acute or something that slowly develops over time which you ignore until the pain is too much.
You try to rest for a while but then head to the gym after 3 days thinking a week is too long to wait, its feeling slightly better anyway. Then you push it just to check to see if it still hurts and/or is getting better. You hurt yourself again! So, I thought I’d share my top tips for training with an injury.
Most bone, tendon, ligament and muscle injuries can take 6-12 weeks to heal, sometimes longer. So you need to patient. This obviously can be very frustrating when you want to get back to normal training. I’ve been dealing with an injury for a few months now but rather than thinking about what I can’t do, I’ve focused on what I can do instead, so here are my top tips for training with an injury.
Top Tips for Training With An Injury
- Be kind to your body, it’s the only one you have.
- Invest in your body- we’re all too happy to pay out £500 when we need the car fixing but £50 for a physio is too much but trust me; it’s a much better investment.
- Be patient-it’s going to take time to heal and there is no quick fix.
- Do your rehab, even when it’s not hurting. Especially when it’s not hurting!
- If it starts hurting again when you start training, pushing through won’t make it better, that’s like picking a scab and making it bleed. You’ll only be dragging out healing time. Also bear in mind that endorphins and adrenalin can mask pain when we start to exercise which is sometimes why it feels better when we do.
- Focus on your technique, other areas of weakness or flexibility.
- Be mindful of your movements and build stronger neural connections- too often we perform a movement without thinking too much about it. But our brains are where an action starts from. Our bodies are also lazy and will find the easiest way to perform a movement, even if it’s not right eg. The glutes maybe weak and not switch on when they’re supposed to so the quads take over the action. When you next do an exercise, think about which muscles you want to use and focus attention on contraction there first or add in some activation exercises.
- Be wary of painkillers.
- Don’t cause other injuries/imbalances-by only training one side for example.
- Think about prehab and ways of avoiding re-occurrence of the injury after you’ve healed.
Remember, you train to get fitter and stronger and sometimes that means taking the time out to give your body what it needs too; it’ll give you the best long term outcome.
Ieuan is our onsite sports therapist; why not make an appointment with him to help you with your injury or just for a bit of TLC.