Don’t Let An Injury Slow You Down!

Don’t Let An Injury Slow You Down!

This has happened to all of us at some point – you are training hard, seeing great results and boom…out of know where comes an injury. Completely frustrated our instinct may be to hang up the gym shoes and take some time to rest and recover. But, if you’ve been training hard and seeing some great results, you probably don’t want to stop exercising altogether right? The truth is, often you don’t need to take much time off! By modifying your training routine, there’s no reason you can’t find alternative ways to stay fit while recovering and resting after athletic injuries. Just ask some of our Catalyst clientele who have continued in the gym while on the road to recovery. That being said, it’s always best to first seek advice from your healthcare practitioner.

Lower Back Injuries

Unfortunately, back injuries are very common and can disrupt our ability to perform not only in the gym, but also in our day-to-day routine. After consulting your healthcare practitioner to diagnose your exact injury and receive approval for exercise, you can focus on numerous exercises to maintain your fitness while you recover. Actually, the vast majority of back injuries are actually the result of muscle imbalances and improper motions over a period of time. That being said, exercise should often be part of the prescribed treatment plan in order to help speed recovery and aid in prevention. Take this time to strengthen your core musculature and correct improper mechanics.

For example, core stabilization exercises through Pilates can be a very effective way fire your core muscles and take the load off injured areas.

Lower Body Injuries

Ankle and foot injuries may make training for that Spartan Sprint, Tough Mudder or 10 km race very difficult, but you still have plenty of strength training and cardio options. By focusing on low-impact, non-weight bearing exercises, you’ll be able to continue to exercise and maintain your strength and endurance. Alternate forms of cardio can be swimming, stationary bike and the rowing machine (a Catalyst favorite!)

Knee injuries can often be quite serious. They can be very frustrating injuries to deal with as they limit your ability to exercise and perform many movements. Most endurance training requires the use of our knees, so focusing on high-intensity resistance training is a great way to get your heart-rate up without using your injured limb. Skip the jump squats and focus on a high-intensity upper-body circuit to increase muscle tone as you shed body fat.

Upper Body Injuries

Injuries to shoulders and wrists are quite common in athletics. This is the perfect time to drop the heavy bench press and work on some cardio! If your lower body is healthy, you can get a great workout by raising your heart rate and burning some extra calories by focusing on high-intensity interval training (HIIT). Jogging, sprinting, spinning, or the elliptical trainer, are all great ways to build endurance and initiate a cascade of hormones resulting in fat loss! It is also essential to rehab and strengthen muscles in your legs to aid in recovery and prevent muscle wasting.

While you can maintain and improve your fitness levels by working your healthy muscle groups, it’s important not to overlook the importance of rest and treatment to fully recover from your injury. At Catalyst, we offer the unique ability to treat and train, essentially not losing any of your hard earned work while on a speedy recovery. Make sure to stop in and ask one of our therapists or conditioning specialists on how we can help you!

Dr. Craig McNamee