Recovery to Discovery - 10 tips to continue training with an injury
Recovery to Discovery
10 tips to continue training with an injury
Injuries happens - often at the most inappropriate times. It’s Murphy’s Law[i].
Years ago, I had an industrial accident resulting in a tuft[ii] fracture and 20+ stitches. The plastic surgeon did an excellent job knitting my thumb back together. I was encouraged to return to work as soon as I was able, and my regular duties were modified to suit my [dis]ability. It turns out, each state has a ‘return to work’ policy aimed at supporting injured workers get back into a normal routine. Why? It aids physical and mental recovery.
People are far more likely to be sedentary when at home compared to going to your work, school or enjoying extra-curricular activities. While physical therapy is important in regaining strength and mobility, so too is incidental exercise[iii]. By increasing blood circulation and movement through the day you assist in improving stamina and mobility. The isolation and impotence of being stuck at home all day with an injury can result in poor mental health, especially if you have been an active individual. This is sometimes referred to as ‘cabin-fever’.
Then there is the social support you get from returning to training. People often think of family and friends as their support network, but teammates and training buddies can play equally important roles.
I saw the value of this first-hand (pun intended) so I integrated the same principles into my own training and teaching.
“We cannot choose our external circumstances, but we can always choose how we respond to them.”
— Epictetus
These are my 10 tips to getting back to training while injured.
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1. Listen to your medical professionals (not DR Google)
Specialists train very hard. It would be counter-productive to ignore a professional’s advice. Surgeons, doctors, nurses, physiotherapists: hear them out. They want what is best for you. Don’t get me wrong. I’m all about getting second and third opinions and making sure the advice I’m given is consistent and right for me. Some professionals are specialised in certain fields, for example, the hand therapist who helped with the rehabilitation on my thumb. A general practitioner, while a capable medical professional, may not have the specialised knowledge that my hand therapist or orthopaedic surgeon had. That’s where referrals come in. Get the right advice. Then stick to it.
2. Read
Whatever your passion is - karate, rugby, competitive rock, paper, scissors – find books, blogs, articles and research. What are its origins, history, influences, key influencers? How has it developed over time? Etc. Exercise your mind - it is one of your most important organs after all. Remember, knowledge is power.
“To truly master [karate-do] one must embody the entire philosophy; without a strong and virtuous mind, the body is useless”.
— Ohtsuka Tadahiko Sensei, Goju Kensha Saishinkan Japan
3. Watch: Classes/sessions.
You’ll be surprised what you can pick up from simply watching others train. How people move, their posture and technique. You are looking for what is being done correctly or different and comparing it to how you do it. I’m not talking about being judgmental: simply observing. Listen intently to the trainer give a student advice or correction. The guidance could also apply to you. A word to the wise – don’t give unsolicited advice. Some people don’t know they need help, or they don’t want it. You do you.
4. Watch: YouTube/Instagram/Vimeo.
You will need to filter. Flashy introductions are not necessarily an accurate representation of quality. There is danger with inexperienced people picking up bad habits from poor quality resources. There are some amazing gems amid the thousands of videos online. Sadly, there is also quite a lot of questionable content. If you are an experienced athlete in your selected art/activity, then this filtering process will be swift.
5. Go slow
“Katatsumuri, soro soro nobore, fuji no yama”
“O snail, Climb Mt. Fuji, But slowly, slowly!”
— Kobayashi Issa (小林一茶)
Excitedly rushing into training can cause more injury. I remember arriving at the dojo after having a suspected melanoma removed; three stitches. It was all going well until I got a little too eager and POP - two stitches.
It is ok to go slow. In fact, I’d argue that going slow is essential for developing the appropriate technique. You create the correct neural pathways and muscular control by deliberately practicing slow. If you can do it slow perfectly, you can do it fast perfectly.
Don’t think that you can hide poor technique in speed from an experienced instructor *wink*. The military use the saying “slow is smooth and smooth is fast”.
6. Work with what you have… left
Hurt a leg, you’ve still got two arms and a leg. Hurt an arm and you’ve two legs and an arm. Basically, work with what you have that still functions, providing that it does not cause referred discomfort. Listen to your body. Never push through a trauma-based pain. If it is hurting, do not do it.
Experience and intelligence mixed with determination is the perfect formula for innovation. If you have a skilled and qualified trainer, they will be able to create exercises and strategies that enable you to train risk free. This is the hallmark of a true master of their craft.
7. Immobilise the injury
You can’t be trusted: trust me. Those reflexes you’ve spent hours honing - they’re dangerous. If you immobilise the injury you reduce the risk of an automated unconscious response that could exacerbate your injury. Wrap it, strap it, and be cautious. It is your body and your responsibility to ensure you have it in great working order for life.
8. Basics
These are the fundamentals of your training. They are essential and, in most cases, be practiced independently. These skills are important to keep up so long as they do not cause you pain. Dribbling a ball, kicking a footy, punching; do what you can to keep active, slowly and carefully.
9. Pair and group activities
Avoid spontaneity. Only through carefully planned activities can you hope to train alongside others without injury. Your goal should be risk free training in a safe, supportive environment.
Do not compete, period. We are hardwired for survival. The sympathetic nervous system responses can create the right biochemical results to do well in the moment, but after will leave you in a much worse position than when you started. Keep things simple. One on one is ok but adding more people to the mix creates unnecessary complexity.
10. It is ok to not be ok
“An injury is not just a process of recovery. It's a process of discovery.”
— Connor McGregor
Having an injury can be hard work, physically and emotionally. Reach out to your coach and team-mates. This could be as simple as starting a small conversation about training or confiding how you are feeling. There are great bonds of friendship that develop within genuine health and wellbeing communities. These people will want to help, even if it is to lend an ear or shoulder to cry on. Showing emotion is never a weakness, in fact it is our greatest strength - acknowledging our vulnerability rather than pretending to be strong.
Your injury will help reveal some great things about you.
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A final word from one of the five great emperors of Rome and prominent Stoic philosopher, Marcus Aurelius. This wisdom is applicable to many situations and is about developing emotional resilience and adaptability to life’s challenges.
“If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment”.
Written by Peter Zarb, Goju Ryu Karate Do Shihan, Karate Community
[i] Murphy's law is an adage or epigram that is typically stated as: "Anything that can go wrong will go wrong".
[ii] Tuft Fracture: A fracture (break) of the tuft of your finger. There are three bones in each finger. The tuft is the end of the last bone in the finger.
[iii] Incidental exercise, refers to any small form of movement that accumulates throughout the day, resulting in an increased level of daily activity.
Image from https://www.itftaekwondo.com/blog/injuries/