Transcript
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?