Episode 29Jan 16, 2026· 6:33
Should You Work Out Injured? 4 Modifications Backed by Yale & Johns Hopkins
About this episode
Think you need complete rest when injured? Ashley's brutal tailbone injury taught her otherwise. Modern sports medicine has completely flipped old advice. Get the 4 key modifications that let you keep training without making things worse: load reduction, range of motion limits, tempo adjustments, and exercise substitutions. Research from Yale Medicine, Johns Hopkins, and Cleveland Clinic shows why appropriate…
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Full transcript
00:10
What's up, you guys? Famous Ashley Grant here.
00:12
Welcome to More Movement, Please, the podcast
00:14
where I hope to inspire you to move your body
00:16
more. Today, I want to talk about something that
00:19
someone actually sent in as a question. I know
00:21
I did a Q &A episode just a couple of days ago,
00:23
but there was one question that came in that
00:25
I felt needed its own episode, and I wanted to
00:28
give it. the time that it deserves rather than
00:31
just making it a quick answer. So one of the
00:33
questions that came in is, what do you do when
00:36
you still want to work out, but you have an injury?
00:38
And it's interesting that this question came
00:40
in because I actually did have an injury that
00:43
was pretty bad for a little while. I bruised
00:46
my tailbone. And y 'all, let me tell you what,
00:48
that was the most painful situation. And basically
00:53
the big thing that I did the entire time that
00:55
I had that injury is I modified, modified, modified.
00:58
That's my biggest answer. That's my best answer
01:00
that I can give. But I thought I'd also like
01:03
do a little bit of research and give a better
01:05
answer than just saying modify, modify, modify,
01:08
even though that's my answer. Let's first bust
01:12
a big myth, and that is that rest is not always
01:16
the complete answer to dealing with an injury.
01:20
According to Yale Medicine, the old school recommendation
01:22
to avoid all activity has actually evolved. Today's
01:25
approach is called load management, and it focuses
01:30
on protecting the injured area, but still incorporating
01:33
appropriate movement. So John Hopkins Medicine,
01:36
they emphasize that exercise actually helps your
01:39
healing process. You just need to make sure that
01:41
you're protecting the injured area while you're
01:43
keeping the rest of your body moving. So basically
01:46
think of it this way. If you have a shoulder
01:48
injury, it doesn't mean your legs need a vacation.
01:51
So maybe you're not moving your arm as much whenever
01:54
you have the shoulder injury, but you're still
01:56
doing all the other movements. For acute injuries
02:00
such as like a sprain or a strain, Cleveland
02:03
Clinic, they actually still recommend the RICE
02:06
method for the first 48 to 72 hours. RICE being
02:10
rest, ice, compression, and elevation. But here's
02:14
the thing that a lot of people don't really talk
02:16
about, and this is from Harvard Health. And that
02:18
is after those first few days, gentle movement.
02:21
actually becomes your friend. WebMD notes that
02:24
if pain and swelling haven't improved in five
02:26
to seven days, then you might need to see a doctor.
02:29
But if you just have a sprain or a strain after
02:32
48 to 72 hours, you might actually want to start
02:34
reincorporating movement back into your body.
02:37
And the other thing is, if you do have an injury
02:40
of some kind, but you still want to get your
02:44
workouts in, There are four key modifications
02:46
for training around your injury. The first is
02:50
to reduce your load. And I am definitely one
02:52
of those girlies that will do this anytime that
02:54
I feel like I'm risking an injury or like I have
02:59
already hurt myself. And that is to lower the
03:02
weight. So I did this a few times. Like whenever
03:05
I was not feeling well, I went from eights and
03:08
fifteens down to fives and tens. The good thing
03:13
about that is you're still getting in the reps,
03:15
but you're just not working quite as hard. And
03:18
so if you have an injury, you can kind of take
03:20
care of yourself a little bit. The second modification
03:23
is to limit your range of motion. Physical therapy
03:26
research shows that most pain occurs at end ranges
03:30
of movement. And so as squats hurt at the bottom,
03:33
you could try box squats to three quarters depth.
03:36
You're still training and you're getting the
03:38
movement pattern in, but you're not aggravating
03:40
your injury. The third modification is to adjust
03:44
your tempo. And so what this looks like is slowing
03:47
down movements instead of having those explosive
03:50
forces on your tissues. According to rehabilitation
03:53
specialists, this also improves your form and
03:56
your muscle memory. And if fast movements hurt,
03:59
slow them down. And finally, the fourth modification
04:03
that's recommended is to change the exercises
04:06
that you're doing. You need to understand what
04:09
you're training, not just the exercise itself.
04:11
So if you can't do back squats, try split squats
04:14
or lunges or step ups. They train the same muscle
04:18
groups and movement patterns, but you're not
04:21
aggravating your injury as much. Or if you can't
04:24
do an overhead press, let's say, try landmine
04:27
presses or incline pressing variations. So basically
04:30
the big thing is. And I would highly recommend
04:32
if you are working out with someone, like if
04:34
you have an instructor or a personal trainer,
04:36
tell them the injury you have and they should
04:39
be. you know, qualified enough to give you a
04:42
modification. Like there's this one gal that
04:44
she cannot get down and do plank jacks. And so
04:47
during plank jacks, you know, the instructor
04:50
tells her, go over and do a wall sit. Or, you
04:53
know, if I can't do my squats, she'll tell me,
04:56
you know, do a wall sit or some other exercise
04:59
that still works those same muscle groups without
05:01
aggravating your injury. So it doesn't mean you
05:05
can't keep working out. It doesn't mean you should
05:07
stop working out completely. It just means you
05:09
need to modify what you're doing. So basically,
05:12
the bottom line with all of this is that maintaining
05:15
appropriate... physical activity during recovery,
05:18
it actually will support your healing. It will
05:20
improve your blood flow and it'll help you maintain
05:23
your muscle function. The key is to train around
05:26
your injury, not through it. So modification,
05:29
it's not weakness. It just is getting you to
05:33
still work out without hurting yourself further.
05:36
Your goal during injury recovery is to maintain
05:38
your gains while creating the optimal environment
05:41
for healing. When in doubt, make sure you're
05:44
consulting either your instructor or your personal
05:46
trainer or physical therapist, whatever, because
05:49
you can create an individualized program based
05:52
on your specific injury. So stay active, train
05:55
smart, and give your body what it needs to heal.
05:58
Onwards and upwards, my friends. Have you worked
06:00
out today?
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