Injury can be a major setback to your fitness goals. It seems sometimes that injury strikes at the most inappropriate times. You have just started that 8 week challenge at your gym or you have just ramped up your training for that first marathon.
Most people involved in fitness will experience injury at some point. While it is true that training through your pain can make things worse, training around pain may help you to stay active whilst rehabilitating your injury. This can also keep you advancing towards your goals whilst injured.
Top tips for training around your injury:
1. Ask your physiotherapist for help
Your physiotherapist can perform a full injury assessment to diagnose and provide insight into the severity of your injury and estimated healing time. They can also provide treatment and prescribe a home exercise program to assist in rehabilitating your injury. Your physiotherapist can advise you on which movements to avoid and which exercises are safe to perform.
2. Ensure that you have correct form
Your physiotherapist will be able to assess your exercise form and technique. This may include watching you perform specific exercises and correcting technique, prescribing exercises to help improve your form, or looking at how you run or walk.
3. Don’t push through pain
If an exercise is making your pain worse, STOP. Listen to your body. If you are performing an exercise that increases your pain either during or after, cease that exercise in the short term. It could make your injury worse or delay your rehabilitation
4. Don’t stop training completely
Most times there will be exercises that you can perform safely without aggravating your injury. Performing a modified training program can help you to continue to advance towards your goals during your injury rehabilitation. Stopping training completely can reduce your hard-earned strength and fitness levels. Try performing exercises within your pain-free ranges of motion, reduce the weights you are lifting, or train the uninjured limbs.
If you want advice on training around your injury or returning physical activity after injury, contact us at Brisbane City Physiotherapy on 3301 2345.
We can safely get you exercising again.
