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ForEliteAtheletes toFunRunners
28
We are our own worst enemies when we have
something holding us back. However minor or major
our injury is, there are steps that need to be taken to
get ourselves back to our peak and fully operational
state.
Do you know your DOMS from DOH’S? Delayed
Onset of Muscle Soreness can affect some people up
to a week after they have exercised. It really depends
on how hard you push yourself or how familiar you
are with what you were doing. If you’ve never worked
out before and hit the gym for a beast of a session,
I’m not gonna lie, you’re gonna HURT! And well done
you by the way.
So what do we do when we know we’re not just sore?
The traditional favourite, RICE and I don’t mean a bag
of your locals finest Basmati! (Rest, Ice, Compression,
Elevation) should clear up anything minor so long as
we ACTUALLY do those things. There’s no point icing
if you’re going to go for a run later and elevating alone
will unlikely sort you out either. You must incorporate
all elements of the advised treatment and continue
until the injury is better or you’ll more than likely feel
you’re running up a downward moving escalator and
getting nowhere fast.
Pain, is your bodies way of telling you there is
something wrong and you must nurture it until the
pain has gone. Perhaps whilst you’re resting you can
use your unexpected gap in your timetable to assess
why that injury happened in the first place and take
steps to not repeat it.
So... you’ve RICE’d for a while now and it’s just not
getting better. In fact, you’ve tried to carry on with
normal life as much as possible, so now something
else hurts too because it’s been compensating for
the body part which isn’t fully functional. Before
you know it, the minor injury you had in the first
place has snowballed into something much
bigger and you’re in a real sticky wicket now!
Undoubtedly, you have no choice but to seek
help. Off you go, do it now.
At the other end of the spectrum, you felt something
pop, tear or you’re on the floor in excruciating pain,
go get yourself checked out immediately!
Anywhere in between you can try to self diagnose
what you’ve done but remember the site of the pain
isn’t necessarily the site of the injury, sometimes we
get deferred pain and I, myself am a classic example
of that.
In brief, I believed I was suffering from Achilles
Tendonitis last year and I self treated for almost 2
months, only to then admit I needed help as it just
wasn’t improving. I searched for a local, well qualified
Sports Therapist for help, I explained my symptoms
and she set to work on my poor, over trained, under
stretched mistreated body. I can’t say this experience
was particularly pleasant. She hurt me A LOT! But
in a good way. After just 1 treatment I had an 80%
improvement and after the 2nd I was fully functional.
Turns out I had such a tight calf and a huge build
up of toxins and knots that it was causing pain in my
Achilles every time I flexed my foot. I guess the moral
of the story is: if I had seen her as soon as there was
something wrong, I’d have been fixed a lot sooner.
So… unless you are qualified to diagnose or are
absolutely certain you know what you’ve done then
seek help. The alternative is to do nothing which is
fine if you like being in pain and restricted in your
daily life… I’m not keen on that suggestion either.
HEALTH : INJURIES
ask the expert
When to…
Ask the expert
Injuries suck right??
My advice would be,
IF IN DOUBT, CHECK IT OUT!
