Working [out] with Injuries

I truly think that injuries are the most common frustration of people who make exercise a part of their daily routine. First of all, I don’t know ONE person who hasn’t had an injury - so you can empathize with this post. I’ve certainly had my share of them, and when they show up, I agonize over them. The emotional aspects of injuries are the worst part. But how do we deal with this? Should we rest, and how long? Is our body in fact telling us to stop, or should we be trying to maintain a semblance of routine, especially since it takes so much effort to build it? There are many answers to these questions, and each one depends on the person, the injury and the circumstance. But I think there are some very valuable lessons and wisdom to be learned from injuries. To illustrate my point, I’m going to paint a picture (which might sound familiar):

Imagine, you’re killing your training this year. You’ve FINALLY got a consistent routine, and aren’t fighting against yourself to make it happen. You’ve been seeing great progress - strength gains, you have increased energy, you might even be leaner. You feel unstoppable! Then - BAM. Injury. First, you get the immediate fear response. It’s usually a mixture of complete fear that we won’t be able to exercise for [insert feared timeline here], and then it’s followed by a deep analysis (using google, or our friends) of what could be wrong and how long the recovery time is (when most of us don’t have the knowledge to diagnose anything).

The culmination of your training is often a driver of the fear we experience once injured. All I thought about for years was about the things I’d lost from my hard work.

Then you start panicking about your training. All the hard work you’ve put in, the progress you’ve made. It all looms in your mind - it’s all been for nothing! After the panicking stage comes anger and frustration about what you can’t do. We start thinking about how we’ll have lost all of the progress we made if we can ever heal. We pine over the perceived “loss” of our future selves, which brings sadness, depression, and more frustration. Then, we usually create an expectation around the timeframe and the outcome. When I injured my back in 2015, I had “decided” that in six to eight months, I’d be back where I was. I would rest for a month or three, and then it would take a few months to get back to where I was. For some of us (me especially), I deny the implications of the injury, and create an environment where I prolong the recovery period because I’m in denial and pushing the limits.

Work within your sphere of control - because let’s be honest - focusing on things you can’t control is CRAZY.

That injury was exactly 4 years ago, and I’m not even close to where I was. I went through a depression over that first year, because I kept setting expectations for my body which weren’t being met. I did everything I could, but I couldn’t HEAL myself completely, so it wasn’t enough. I kept thinking that if I didn’t go and lift, then I would continue to lose strength and the “gains” that took so long to build. But then I’d hit the gym and create more pain, probably prolonging my injury.

The cycle of fear, expectation, failure to meet expectation, depression is a cycle that we create ourselves. It can’t be argued that it exacerbates the issue, because how we perceive our situation is everything, and the more we cycle, the more angry and upset we become. If I don’t see my situation as dire, then I won’t feel as sad or angry. If I focus on things I can control, then I have something productive to work with. Plus, if I am distracted from negative thoughts I’m more likely to benefit from the positive reinforcement.

Easier said than done though right? It took me over two years to REALLY understand this - and there was a lot of expectation and failure to meet it, and pain in that process. In an attempt to help you avoid this painful cycle, I provide some recommendations for dealing with injuries:

1. Focus your energy first on what you CAN do. This has to be number one in my mind, because we need to distract ourselves from negative thoughts, which we are naturally prone to as humans. Focus on finding the things you can do to maintain your routine, and what you can do to keep your mood elevated. Walks outdoors in fresh air. Cardio (if you can). Working out areas that don’t aggravate the injury. Work within your sphere of control - because let’s be honest - focusing on things you can’t control is CRAZY.

2. Do the WORK. I mean, work on healing. This means, engaging professionals for assessments and rehabilitation. Don’t fool yourself that you can google your way out of it - trust me, it’s not helpful. Sometimes you might need more than one professional opinion. If your gut doesn’t like what you hear, or it seems odd, ask someone else! Trust me on this.

3. Manage your expectations. This one is the hardest, I think. But you need to realistically look at where you ARE, and then set small expectations for where you could be. This is for your healing process, or your continued physical activity to maintain routine. For example, after two and a half years for me, my expectation eventually became to have one full day without back pain. Then I celebrated that day. Then it became two in a row. And so on. The expectation is the mental game we play with ourselves - and trust me, we almost always lose that game. So you need to manage that, because it doesn’t help you move forward.

Now, my advice doesn’t replace advice from your doctor or physiotherapist - but let’s also recognize that they are human, and sometimes make mistakes. There are many opinions out there, and it can be tricky to know what to do. You need to find out yourself, and test and advocate for your own body. This means being cautious, but not giving up.

What I learned for me, is that I NEEDED exercise, but not for the reasons I thought. I just didn’t want to feel helpless. So I learned that exercise was important for the strength and confidence it gave me, but also for a tool for healing. I had to learn to exercise to my body’s tolerance - meaning backing off before acute pain showed up, and being cautious to add volume or load only slightly, and then waiting a few days to see how my body responded to it. It was slow and frustrating, but it worked. I slowly learned how to work out with my injury, without slowing down the healing. But as I said, this took me two years to learn.

I might not be where I was, but I’m in a new and more wise place. I am so thankful to be moving forward, every day. I have learned for me that it’s more important to be continuously working towards betterment, than to try to get back to where I was (some mythical place), and hurt myself for another few years. I’ve learned it’s not worth it. This life is long, and I’d rather participate in it, than be a helpless victim due to my ego. So hopefully you can take this for what it is, and focus on what’s in your CONTROL.

Now go get ‘em ;)

xoxo

Leigh