Transcript: Should You Work Out Injured? 4 Modifications Backed by Yale & Johns Hopkins

What's up, you guys? Famous Ashley Grant here. Welcome to More Movement, Please, the podcast where I hope to inspire you to move your body more. Today, I want to talk about something that someone actually sent in as a question. I know I did a Q &A episode just a couple of days ago, but there was one question that came in that I felt needed its own episode, and I wanted to give it. the time that it deserves rather than just making it a quick answer. So one of the questions that came in is, what do you do when you still want to work out, but you have an injury?

And it's interesting that this question came in because I actually did have an injury that was pretty bad for a little while. I bruised my tailbone. And y 'all, let me tell you what, that was the most painful situation. And basically the big thing that I did the entire time that I had that injury is I modified, modified, modified. That's my biggest answer. That's my best answer that I can give. But I thought I'd also like do a little bit of research and give a better answer than just saying modify, modify, modify, even though that's my answer. Let's first bust a big myth, and that is that rest is not always the complete answer to dealing with an injury.

According to Yale Medicine, the old school recommendation to avoid all activity has actually evolved. Today's approach is called load management, and it focuses on protecting the injured area, but still incorporating appropriate movement. So John Hopkins Medicine, they emphasize that exercise actually helps your healing process. You just need to make sure that you're protecting the injured area while you're keeping the rest of your body moving. So basically think of it this way. If you have a shoulder injury, it doesn't mean your legs need a vacation.

So maybe you're not moving your arm as much whenever you have the shoulder injury, but you're still doing all the other movements. For acute injuries such as like a sprain or a strain, Cleveland Clinic, they actually still recommend the RICE method for the first 48 to 72 hours. RICE being rest, ice, compression, and elevation. But here's the thing that a lot of people don't really talk about, and this is from Harvard Health. And that is after those first few days, gentle movement.

actually becomes your friend. WebMD notes that if pain and swelling haven't improved in five to seven days, then you might need to see a doctor. But if you just have a sprain or a strain after 48 to 72 hours, you might actually want to start reincorporating movement back into your body. And the other thing is, if you do have an injury of some kind, but you still want to get your workouts in, There are four key modifications for training around your injury. The first is to reduce your load. And I am definitely one of those girlies that will do this anytime that I feel like I'm risking an injury or like I have already hurt myself. And that is to lower the weight. So I did this a few times. Like whenever I was not feeling well, I went from eights and fifteens down to fives and tens. The good thing about that is you're still getting in the reps, but you're just not working quite as hard. And

so if you have an injury, you can kind of take care of yourself a little bit. The second modification is to limit your range of motion. Physical therapy research shows that most pain occurs at end ranges of movement. And so as squats hurt at the bottom, you could try box squats to three quarters depth. You're still training and you're getting the movement pattern in, but you're not aggravating your injury. The third modification is to adjust your tempo. And so what this looks like is slowing down movements instead of having those explosive forces on your tissues. According to rehabilitation specialists, this also improves your form and your muscle memory. And if fast movements hurt, slow them down. And finally, the fourth modification that's recommended is to change the exercises that you're doing. You need to understand what you're training, not just the exercise itself.

So if you can't do back squats, try split squats or lunges or step ups. They train the same muscle groups and movement patterns, but you're not aggravating your injury as much. Or if you can't do an overhead press, let's say, try landmine presses or incline pressing variations. So basically the big thing is. And I would highly recommend if you are working out with someone, like if you have an instructor or a personal trainer, tell them the injury you have and they should be. you know, qualified enough to give you a modification. Like there's this one gal that she cannot get down and do plank jacks. And so during plank jacks, you know, the instructor tells her, go over and do a wall sit. Or, you know, if I can't do my squats, she'll tell me, you know, do a wall sit or some other exercise that still works those same muscle groups without aggravating your injury. So it doesn't mean you can't keep working out. It doesn't mean you should

stop working out completely. It just means you need to modify what you're doing. So basically, the bottom line with all of this is that maintaining appropriate... physical activity during recovery, it actually will support your healing. It will improve your blood flow and it'll help you maintain your muscle function. The key is to train around your injury, not through it. So modification, it's not weakness. It just is getting you to still work out without hurting yourself further.

Your goal during injury recovery is to maintain your gains while creating the optimal environment for healing. When in doubt, make sure you're consulting either your instructor or your personal trainer or physical therapist, whatever, because you can create an individualized program based on your specific injury. So stay active, train smart, and give your body what it needs to heal. Onwards and upwards, my friends. Have you worked out today?