Whether or not you are a Marathon Runner, P90X graduate, digging deeper with Insanity, or HIITing with TurboFire, or just walking. Unfortunately, you can be prone to injuries. While physical activity will make you stronger, just a small step in the wrong direction, lift something incorrectly or to heavy, and ouch!
First, you should always contact your healthcare team immediately if the injury is serious, don’t be a big shot and try to finish a workout. Let a professional assess and exam you to determine the severity of the injury. Again, if you cannot bear weight on the injured limb, don’t be a hero; go to the doctor as soon as possible!
Unfortunately, most stubborn athletes tend to hobble away and start talking to themselves on how stupid we were for lifting that extra 10 pounds or running way too fast. Sometimes, you step in the tiniest potholes, and you are out of commission weeks before a marathon. Most of the time, we rush back into training and end up re-injuring ourselves.
For me, my injury occurred when my ankle bent too far after landing on the side of an eroded street training for the marathon. Unfortunately, the accident occurred one month before my first New York City Marathon! However, I did my best to heal
Here are some tips to help you heal,
The most common therapy for strains, sprains and other injuries is the use of cold. Ice therapy constricts blood vessels and reduces the fluid, which in turn reduces inflammation. In addition, the cold decreases ability of the nerve endings to contract muscles, thus reducing muscle spasm, which in turn reduces pain. A bucket of ice water, bag of ice or reusable ice packs can be applied to the injury. Typically you apply 15 minutes of cold then remove the cold and wait about an hour to reapply the therapy. Your doctor may recommend different times depending on your injury. Most importantly if you leave the cold on too long, you may become frostbitten. Another method to reduce inflammation is to take medicine, such as Ibuprofen or Advil. Sometimes, you need a strong prescription such as a narcotic to reduce the pain. After the pain has been reduced, you are on the path to recovery. Again talk to your healthcare team. Getting enough rest will aid in a full recovery. Giving yourself enough time to heal will give your muscles, tendons and joints proper healing. Also, avoid jumping back into your workout routine as soon as you feel better, the injured part may still be weak. In addition, scaring can occur if you rush the healing process. If you do not provide enough time to heal, most likely you will re-injure the same area. In turn, it may take longer to heal this time around. Eating good and highly nutritious food will help heal your body faster. Your body is looking for the right combination of food that contains the vitamins, minerals and protein needed to heal, and will respond accordingly. A shake like Shakeology provides 70 highly nutritious ingredients.
Be smart, plan your workouts, and be careful. Being healthy is for the long run! For more information and inspiration, please visit www.runwithnoah.com