The room is cold and quiet. You shift in your seat, anxiously awaiting the results. Finally, the doctor arrives and utters the dreadful word no exercise fanatic wants to hear: injury.
Have you ever broken a bone, tore a ligament, sprained a joint, pulled a muscle or suffered from chronic pain? If your answer is no, you are one of the lucky few. If your answer is yes, how did you overcome it?
Whether your injury was short-lived or is chronic, overcoming a musculoskeletal injury is no small feat. The comeback requires patience, perseverance and a positive mindset as well as some serious work both mentally and physically. Below are three vital strategies for overcoming injury.
First, you must treat the injury and start the healing process. Luckily for you, your body acts immediately. Most musculoskeletal injuries are quickly accompanied by pain, inflammation and immobility at the injured location. This is the body’s natural response and first step toward healing. Heat and swelling around the injury site are caused by increased blood flow that brings fluid and white blood cells to the area. Swelling also immobilizes the area (or makes it hard to move) to protect it from further damage.
Once your body begins the healing process, you should too! In the early phase of injury, remember PRICE:
- Protect the injury site
- Rest or restrict weight-bearing activity
- Ice until swelling has passed (20 minutes on the hour for the first 48 to 72 hours)
- Heat treatment is recommended for chronic conditions and pain that recurs frequently without the presence of swelling, such as muscle soreness, arthritis, joint stiffness or a past severe injury
- Compress the injury site to minimize swelling
- Elevate the injury site to return blood flow to the body
Second, you must address how the injury affects your psychology. As mentioned earlier, your comeback requires a positive attitude, patience and the understanding that recovery will take both time and effort. Begin by asking yourself these questions:
- How did I get here?
- How can I get back to normal?
- What is my new normal?
Perhaps your injury resulted from over training or not giving your body enough rest or exercise variety. Maybe you attempted to lift a weight or perform a skill that your body was not ready for. Think about what led to the injury and how can you prevent it from happening again. Understand that returning to normal will take time. Accept that your new normal might be completely different than before. Once you address the injury’s psychological effects, you are ready to move on to the last strategy.
Finally, you must work on restoring your body’s natural strength and mobility. The goal here is to stay in a pain-free zone while you regain your range of motion and strength at the injury site. Remember: Your new normal will be different, so strength sessions should be slow-paced and begin with light resistance as you work on proper form and function. Active recovery techniques, such as those listed below, should also be used regularly:
- Foam rolling
- Stretching
- Range of motion exercises
- Yoga
- Light steady-state exercise such as walking, cycling, jogging or swimming
Hopefully you will never need to use these three strategies. However, if you find yourself faced with an injury, don’t let it stop you from reaching your fitness goals. Refocus your energy on the comeback — and keep moving forward.