If you are an avid gym-goer, it becomes part of your life. You can’t imagine yourself without it. Even something simple like walking turns into a rapid sprint. But if you have this enthusiasm for hitting the gym, there will be times when you do too much, even though you think you can push it that little bit more than normal. By all means, pushing it in the gym is what helps us in the long run, but if we do it too much we could end up with an injury. It’s something we’ve all had on occasion, overdid it and got sidelined for a while. And while we need to give our body the chance to heal, we have to remember that there are ways around exercising with an injury. So, how can we do this?
Listen To Your Doctor
If you’ve been going to a shoulder surgeon, and there’s been a constant issue with this over months, if not years, you must listen to the medical advice. Sometimes your shoulder can feel okay, and as shoulder injuries are one of the most common because the muscles in the shoulders are the least developed, understanding when to cut back is crucial. Your doctor can help to guide you with relevant training to keep you strong while recovering. A lot of people choose not to listen to medical advice. But you have to do the exercises for as long as they recommend.
Make The Relevant Modifications
With a specific injury, you have to learn to train around it. If, for example, you have a knee problem, it may be recommended you avoid any cardiovascular or lower body strength activity. But this doesn’t mean you can’t work on your upper body. It’s about making those modifications to ensure that you are exercising around the issue. You can switch to a workout routine that involves you sitting down, rather than standing up and running around. This means no squats or deadlifts for a while. And while this may sound limiting, consider it to be an opportunity to figure out a different routine so that there is no pressure on the offending muscle or joint.
When There’s Pain, Stop
We can feel that, after a couple of weeks, there are minimal or no pain anymore, so we feel that we can go back to 100% exertion. But avoid the temptation to go back into your normal routine. We are constantly told that pushing through the pain is crucial to building muscle and strength but if the pain starts to get worse before you begin to develop new pains in a related area, go back to the doctor. If the pain carries on while you are doing a modified workout, play around with routines and try something else. But unfortunately, it may be best to stop, especially if you are using the improper form to get the reps.
Reducing pain is crucial, and this means you need a good time to recover as well. It’s worth trying the POLICE principle which can help you to reduce sports-related injuries, but it’s not just about protection. You have to remember that maintaining is as important especially after you’ve made a full recovery.
This post was a collaboration.
