Injuries

I pulled a muscle on my inner thigh this week. Not a serious injury but I did need to treat it immediately and find ways to work around it during my workouts to give it time to heal. Was I still able to make progress? You betcha.

 Results? I've lost 3.2 pounds (0.5% body fat) since last week for a total loss of 19.2 pounds (5% body fat)

But the important part is that my injury had only minimal negative effect on me because I took care of it properly, right away.

When you first realize you are injured, ice! The best thing you can do for it is get off it and take the swelling down as soon as possible.

Many people say ice and then moist heat. NOT WHEN YOU FIRST INJURE YOURSELF. I apologize for the all caps but this drives me crazy.  If you apply moist heat to an acute injury that is still swollen, all you're doing is adding to the swelling and making it harder for you to heal. Once the swelling is down, and depending on the severity of the injury this could be 20 minutes or a couple of days, then cycles of alternating moist heat and ice can be very helpful to loosen the stiff muscles in the area and take down resultant swelling after you loosen them.

Seriously, it's logic. Understand the logic behind your treatment. Apply these things at the right time for optimal results. And of course, if you decide you've always done it a different way and it works for you, feel free to ignore me. Above all, consult your doctor.

Also, know the difference in your pain relievers. I use ibuprofen (which can be Advil or in other brand name over the counter pain relievers). It is an anti-inflammatory in addition to the pain relief so it also helps in reducing the swelling. Acetaminophin (Tylenol) is a pain reliever but NOT an anti-inflammatory. Know what you are taking and what it will do for you.

Also, I know plenty of people who disregard the dosage instructions because they feel they are special and the drug dosage needs to be extra high for them. Consult a doctor if you're going to do it. Besides, aside from level of efficacy of the drug, realize that ibuprofen and other drugs are harsh on your stomach – you could end up burning a hole through your stomach lining if you decide to tough it by swallowing the drugs with no water or taking high dosages. The drugs are made to dissolve in 8oz of water and become bioavailable. If you don't take them with water, all the drugs have to dissolve in is your stomach acid. Really, imagine what that's doing to your stomach lining.

Just because you are injured doesn't mean you have to stop working out. Depending on the injury, get creative and find ways to get your heart rate up without aggravating your injury. A personal trainer can help with this. Props to my friend, Mona, on FB for talking to her cardio instructor and proactively asking for suggestions as to what exercises she could do on not one but two injuries.

Don't let your injury be the excuse to quit your fitness program. Too many people get injured and then "It's  sooooo hard to get back into it after being hurt." or "I was doing so well and then I just got out of the habit of working out." or "I've been out of it so long and now I'm too busy to go back to working out." Rest and stay off the injury but don't let it completely take away your momentum.

I call it inertia. Things in motion tend to stay in motion. Things at rest tend to get lazy and quit.

Personal Trainer and Ifbb Pro Michael Stuart, photo by Luis Rafael

Quote from Michael:

Pain is temporary, it may last a day, a month, or even a year, but eventually….it will subside! Remember "The pain you feel today, will be the strength you feel tomorrow" now get off your ass, and do work!

 

Interested in training with Michael Stuart?

Find him on Facebook  or Twitter (@MaxfitTraining1) and tell him I sent you, he'll hook you up with a great training packa