What is Your Injury Actually Telling You?

July 14, 2016

For most of you, you know how much I love being in the water. In fact, my aquatic therapy patients truly get to see a different side of me when I am working with them in the pool. This doesn’t mean I don’t love working with my patients on land 😉 But since I have been a “water baby” for most of life, my life on land has been quite interesting, especially when it comes to my running.

I love the adrenaline I get when I run for long periods, ie: 20 minutes or more. To me, it’s an escape from my current busy life and a way to simulate my laps in the pool.

Recently I tried gearing up for the ½ Ironman, which was this past June in Coeur D’Alene. However, back last year when I started training, I tried getting into a good running routine, but quickly came across a couple hurdles…

I began training on a treadmill, which at first was a struggle to break the barrier of the first 10 minutes. But then the 10 minutes became a blur. I ended up finding a good and decent pace to maintain, along with increasing my distance of miles within a couple months.

3 weeks before Christmas, my husband, “fiancé” at that time, wanted to go for a run/hike up the Liberty Lake Hiking Trail. Now at this time of the year, there was a little bit of snow on the ground, which for me being a Californian native, is a gorgeous sight to see! But then again, we don’t have snow down in Southern California. So I took this as a challenge and really tried to stay ahead of my “fiancé” as we climbed up the hill.

Forgetting the fact that I was running on a different terrain than I was used to and not to mention having to really engage different muscles to avoid falling on the snow patches on the ground, I ended up in a lot of pain after the run.

My right ankle was so sore to the touch! So being a good PTA, I ended up using the “PRICE” method: P for Protection, R for Rest, I for Ice, C for Compression, and E for Elevation. However, what I didn’t know is that I was actually losing my strength in my legs due to taking the time off. I ended up taking 2 week break, but in fact, it ended up causing me to be deconditioned.

When I returned to my running routine on the treadmill, I thought I could get right back at the distance and pace that I had previously had trained at before I went on the hike/run with my “fiancé”. But what I found was that I ended up re-injuring my right ankle again.

SO what is this telling me? And better yet, YOU?…This is basically telling us that since I was used to training on the treadmill, a black rubbery strip vs. training outdoors on various other terrains such as snow patches, my body wasn’t prepared for this. I also jumped right back in and pushed things a bit too quickly on the treadmill by thinking I was at the speed and tolerance to the distance of when I stopped at prior to getting injured.

So what do we do to prevent this from happening to US again? Here’s a few hints:

-At the beginning, start slow and ease the distances and then your speed

-Avoid the 3 “TOO” mistakes: 1. Too Fast, 2. Too soon, and 3. Too much.

-Focus on what your body is telling you. If you are getting tired, don’t push on and increase your speed. Instead focus on your running mechanics and slow down your pace if need be.

-Focus on how your body feels after your workout. Do you need some extra time in the ice bath? Or do you need to focus on your stretching a bit more? Do you need a day off to give your body more rest due to over working your muscles that day?

-Focus on injury prevention and be open to learn how to avoid changing your overall gait mechanics in order to not hit that specific spot that’s currently hurting you.

 

In the meantime, it’s summer time, so GET OUTSIDE and have some FUN! And Be SAFE! And know what your body is telling YOU! J

–Danielle

P.S. If you’re struggling with training due to issues with pain affecting your performance, call us today to schedule your free “Discovery Visit.”

In only 30 minutes you’ll discovery what’s causing your pain and what specific type of treatment can help you be pain-free again.

Just call us at 509.892.5442!