Training Through Injury, and Why its Important to Work Around It
There is nothing more frustrating than an injury that halts your training and activity schedule. Whether you are well trained and it slows your progress, or, you have made the decision to improve your health and an injury hits the breaks at the start line, a niggle can negatively affect your motivation levels.
However, everything is not lost. Gone are the days of wrapping yourself in cotton wool and waiting out the storm. Through smart, well planned training modifications there are always ways to work around to keep you active, providing ongoing benefits for the mind, body and spirit through the recovery process.
It is important to note that the modification of your training needs to be planned by an experienced practitioner, someone who knows your body and your injury well. The adjustment in your training must factor in the added stress to your immune system through the recovery process. If you exercise beyond your body’s ability to recover, then it becomes pathogenic, and slows your recovery instead of improving it.
Exercise improves your immune system and lowers your stress response. Regular activity and exercise helps the body manage stressful situations. Stress is all around us, but it’s how the body responds that determines the effect it has on us.
With regular activity, your ability to manage the psychological stress of the injury and frustration that comes with it, and the physiological stress and inflammation that occurs to the tissue is greatly improved, thus improving recovery rate and of course your mood throughout.
Exercise improves blood flow which will help speed up the body’s natural healing processes. In simple terms, movement will help to get more of the good stuff such as oxygen rich blood to the areas that need it.
With smart, planned, and supervised modifications, training through injury will help speed up your recovery time, whist helping you maintain physical fitness & strength. Moreover, it improves mood and psychological stress that comes along with setbacks.
To ensure that you are keeping active and doing all the right things to modify your training through injuries and niggles, come on in to see the expert team at Absolute. With the combined approach of multiple sports medicine disciplines, there is no better place to stay injury free, recover from an injury and achieve your health & fitness goals.
Written By Performance Coach David Smith