Aug

20

Training while injured

Posted by Sarah R

August 20, 2008 |


Creative Commons License photo credit: IntangibleArts

Last week I tore a tendon in my left foot. Since then I’ve been on & off crutches (mostly off because a) they make me sore and b) they make people stare at me), resting ice on the foot and keeping it as elevated as I can. The part of this that’s killing me though is that I’ve not been able to exercise. I’ve been told to stay off the foot as much as I can so that I don’t tear it even more, and that’s driving me batty.

What can you do if you’re stuck on your bum after you’re used to training pretty hard?

1. Limited upper- or lower-body exercises. Use your free/hand-weights and work on your arms, shoulders and back while your foot is resting above your heart. If you can stand it, do some rowing while your lower body is stationary. If your shoulders are bothering you, ride a stationary bike and keep your upper body as stable as possible. Even while running, you can keep your upper body relatively stable if you concentrate on it.

2. Use your stability ball. Work on your abs while your foot or your shoulder heals. Use it to strengthen your core while your other muscles get a bit of a break.

3.  Swimming. Swimming is relatively easy on all of your body parts, and even just “walking” in the water can be easy on your legs. While my back was healing from a previous injury, I wore a floaty-belt and “walked” around the 8-foot-deep pool for an hour. I was more fit after healing than I was before being injured!

4. Try some extra stretching. See how flexible you can get your lower body while your back heals. See if you can relax your back and neck enough that you’re pain-free while your rolled ankle takes care of itself.

There are definitely options for physical activity if you’re injured, you may just have to be creative with your ideas. Have you ever been injured and wanted to continue working out? What did you do?


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