For professional athletes and individuals that compete in elite competitions, injuries are a real pain-literally and logistically. An injury can be a major set back for these top athletes but they usually come up with a quick game plan to heal, recover and get back on the field, road, track, court, etc. They have to because their event is not only their job but it is in their blood.
But what about those of us that are not professional athletes? We love our sports, events, races and competitions but our livelihood doesn’t depend on our performance and our lives don’t necessarily revolve around our workouts. So when we have an injury or a setback, the urgency to get back to 100% is not quite as high.
How do us normal folks deal with an injury, especially if our motivation level is not quite as high as it once was? We’re fine if we occasionally miss a workout because our kids are sick, we have to work late or something unexpected comes up. But once we get out of our routine for a longer period of time due to injury, it can be hard to get back into it full swing. So how do we recover from a sports injury?
There is a verse in the Bible that says, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven…” Even if you don’t believe in the Bible, I think you can agree that this is true. There is a time for intense training, a time for competitions, a time to rest your body and a time to work on improving.
The next few weeks we’ll be focusing on the process of recovering from an injury. We’ll give you real tips and stories on the actual recovery and healing process as well as how to pick a new routine and get back in the game at the right pace.
Let us know if you have any questions about injuries, treatments and how to stay motivated through it all.
Here is the first big tip on your road to recovery:
Figure out why you got injured so you can prevent it next time
Overuse-your body is telling you that it needs a rest
Incorrect form–consider working with a personal trainer or coach when you get back into your game to make sure you have good form habits
Not stretching/too tight–it really is important to work on flexibility to prevent injury and to ensure mobility long-term
Not enough warm up or cool down time–I know it is hard to remember when you’re ready to jump into a work out or move on to the next thing, but a dynamic warm up and muscle cool down are very important
Poor nutrition/dehydration–if you aren’t fueling or refueling correctly or enough, your body won’t be able to function at the level you need it to
Faulty or old equipment–this can be your shoes, resistance equipment, braces, uneven roads or even heart rate monitors
Intrinsic factors–you can’t help it if one leg is longer than the other or if you’re genetically prone to shoulder problems, but you can get corrective equipment like supportive shoes or get to a healthy weight to decrease the load on your knees
Blunt trauma–all is fair in athletics until the ref blows the whistle sometimes, but properly training, fueling and playing smart can help you avoid any traumatic injuries or collisions.