Fitness Through Injury

Injury is not something that is typically planned for, but it is something that every athlete should expect to encounter. The negative connotation associated with injury tends to overshadow the fact that injury is your body telling your mind that there's trouble on the farm. The typical injury encountered in the gym is not traumatic in nature and therefore does not happen all at once (though there are exceptions). Your body will foreshadow signs of looming injury and the more in tune you are with your body the better chance you have at mitigating an injury from happening. I'd like to be clear that we are talking about being injured, and not being hurt. Being hurt implies the feeling of pain, whereas an injury means damage is being imparted on the body. Often we tend to blur the line between being hurt and being injured but when dealing with a true injury we must come to terms with this fact, and the sooner the better. Though I have been injured for some time now, I am happy to say I have learned a lot about my body and about my mind from the experience. Here are five tips I would give to anyone recovering from an injury:

1. Seek Help

The help required will obviously vary from injury to injury. Help could mean asking a coach to keep you honest by limiting the amount of weight you put on the bar. Help could mean a full week of rest with little to no activity at all while trying to maintain sanity. Help could mean x-rays, physical therapy, or a visit to the chiropractor. Whatever the case may be, getting the ball rolling is the first step. If you are not sure whether a trip to the doctor is necessary, talk to the coaching staff. Often times you may come up with your own answer just by discussing the specifics of the injury (what causes it to hurt more/less, etc.). Maybe your injury can be alleviated by some simple mobility or movement pattern correction. No matter who you are talking to, if that person cannot help they will more than likely be willing to help point you in the direction of someone who can. If you keep the injury to yourself and don’t plan to change anything, there is not much hope for finding the recovery train.

2. Focus on What You CAN Do

So many times over the past year I have found myself completely captivated by my injury. I constantly find myself thinking about the pain and wondering what I am doing that causes the discomfort. This focus directly affects mood in a very negative way and also becomes mentally exhausting. Some of the best advice I have received is to focus on what I can do, instead of what I cannot do. Injuries are just as tough mentally as they are physically. By shifting our focus to goals we are presently capable of, we allow our mind to be occupied. I can guarantee that your air squat is not perfect. Take the time during this shoulder injury to perfect your air squat. Can’t do air squats due to a rib injury? Then I expect you to have the most beautiful pushups by the time you are fully recovered.

3. Being Injured is Not Binary

Don’t think of it as being injured or not being injured. There is a very, very important stage in between called recovery that must not be overlooked. Unless you are a soccer player trying to draw a yellow card, your injury is not going to go away magically. Finding the recovery train does not mean you are automatically 100%; it merely means you are headed in the right direction. Be smart about easing back into the action by scaling weights, movements, intensity, and volume. There is nothing worse than re-aggravating a nagging injury shortly after you have turned the corner to recover.

4. Learn along the way

Take the time to learn and understand what it is that worked you into the injury you’re now dealing with. Step back and take a look at all facets of your life. Do you sit for 8 hours a day at work? Do you sleep on your belly every night? Do you have a head forward posture from staring at Instagram all day? We all have things we can work on that will make us healthier and happier. Wishing an injury away is impractical and ignorant. The more time you invest in understanding the cause, the better equipped you will be at avoiding the mistake in the future. If injury is where you’re at, accept it, learn from it, and remember it for the future. It’s all about the ride.

5. Prehab

Have you ever heard that once you get the sensation you are thirsty, you are already dehydrated? Proper hydration means continual attention to your body’s needs before it involuntarily signals you that it has those needs. Staying injury free can be thought of the same way. The best way to protect against injury is to start before your body lets you know you are broken. CrossFit likes to think of movement as medicine but in reality not every athlete has identical needs. Some people may have a tendency to develop tight hamstrings while another may require an extra 10 minutes of shoulder mobility before going overhead with load. Pay attention to what your body is telling you and act accordingly. Put in the time before or after class to work on accessory movements that will help strengthen targeted muscle groups or help activate muscles you may have trouble loading properly. Don’t be afraid to ask a coach for suggestions!

Being injured is no fun, but the “woe is me” attitude will get you nowhere. Take it as an opportunity to spend time achieving a new fitness goal. If that means spending less time at the box during recovery, so be it. The number one priority is making sure your health is progressing in the right direction. If you have been patient with your current recovery plan and it is just not working, try something else! Make sure you are in control of the situation because no one has more invested in your health than you do.