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