Don’t let injuries bring you down. Try these 10 ways to stay positive, and fit, when you’re out of action.
Let me clarify something right away. This article isn’t going to be a sympathetic, touchy-feely treatise on getting in tune with the five stages of grief when you’re injured and unable to run. If you’re looking for compassion, don’t come to me.
The easiest thing to do when you’re hurt is to get bogged down in funereal gloom and the unfairness of it all. Which, of course, does you no good at all – just the opposite, in fact. Recovery is your goal, and what you need is an effective way to bridge that depressing gap between the day you’re forced to stop running and the day you can start again.
It’s your choice. Wallow in self-pity, lose your aerobic base, put on weight and make yourself and everyone around you miserable – or get a life. Here’s the plan…
1. No whining
The gain: You’ll stay positive during the lay-off, thus speeding your recovery.
2. Be patient
The gain: You’ll give the injury adequate time to heal.
3. If you have a routine, stick to it
The gain: By sticking with some semblance of your exercise ritual, you’ll reap many of its mood-boosting benefits.
4. Do it outdoors
Especially when you’re injured, you need fresh air. You can scoop up a lot of it on a bike ride. If it’s winter, or if the weather is too terrible to cycle, I just walk. Processing lungfuls of oxygen is one of the things that make you feel good when running, and you’ll get a similar effect by doing just about any other vigorous outdoor activity.
The gain: Checking out the world around you will take your mind off your injury, and you’ll get your accustomed dose of fresh air and sunlight.
5. Sweat
If you normally run 45 minutes a day, make sure you do some activity vigorous enough to keep you aerobic for 45 minutes. This is critical for hanging on to your sanity, not to mention your aerobic fitness. It doesn’t matter too much what you do, as long as it doesn’t aggravate the existing injury.
The only problem with things like fast-paced walking is that I don’t sweat. Working up a big sweat is so ingrained in me that I desperately need the feel of a wet T-shirt after a workout. If only from an emotional standpoint, I must do something to jack up my heart rate and work up a lather every day. If I do I’ve accomplished something. If I don’t, I can feel myself slipping into that dark, gloomy abyss of worthlessness. Swimming doesn’t do it for me. Neither does running in a pool. If I could play tennis without aggravating my strainedhamstring, I’d do that. But I can’t. So I’ll hit the exercise bike. Therefore, it doesn’t seem to aggravate any of the common injuries associated with running.
The gain: You’ll end up with a puddle of sweat and a saturated T-shirt – tangible evidence that you’ve done something to burn kilojoules and maintain your aerobic base.
6. Lift weights
The gain: You’ll burn kilojoules and maintain overall fitness and muscle tone.
7. Stay connected
For me, one of the worst aspects of being injured is not being able to run with my friends. The only time I see some of them is when we run together. So when I’m out of action, I make an effort to stay in touch and at least feel like I’m part of the running scene. A good way to do this is to volunteer to help out at races.
The gain: Instead of becoming too self-absorbed, you’ll keep lines of communication open with your friends, family and the running community.
8. Do something every day to get your health back
While injuries can be markedly different, most of them respond extremely well to rest and self-treatment. If there are things I can do – see a chiropractor or podiatrist, have a massage – I do them, even if they seem like a lot of hassle.
If all I need to do is ice the injury or take anti-inflammatories, I do it religiously. If muscle inflexibility or imbalance may have contributed to the problem, I make a point of stretching carefully twice a day.
The gain: By taking action, you’ll speed recovery and achieve peace of mind.
9. Eat properly
The gain: Staying lean will keep your self-confidence up.
10. Focus on today
The gain: By not setting strict deadlines, you won’t get frustrated when you miss them. More important, you won’t start running before you’re ready.
Back In Action
Keep the following in mind when you’re ready to start running again:
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If a serious injury prevented you from running for more than a few weeks, start like a beginner. That is, intersperse slow running and walking, and, as weeks go by, gradually reduce the walking breaks. Run every other day for the first two weeks.
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If the injured area hurts or you are limping then stop. You’re doing further damage and are not ready to resume running.
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Original article written by Bob Wischnia.