Fighting Through Nagging Injuries While Training

Sometimes it’s really hard to decide if you should train through these things or if you should stop doing everything to see if they get better. In some cases, stopping for a few days may be all you need to do to let things calm down and reduce inflammation. But in most cases, stopping everything might be the worst thing you can do. 

Now, if you go see a doctor, physical therapist, chiropractor, or a running buddy who thinks they know stuff, they may all tell you to just rest, ice, compress, and elevate. When in reality, this may not be what you need to do – this may actually make it worse in some cases. 

I say all that to say this. All injuries are different.  They need to be addressed with an individualized approach.

Some injuries happen because of overuse. Some injuries happen because of tightness. Some injuries happen because of instability. Some injuries happen because of accidents. So because all of these injuries are different and happen due to different circumstances, why should we treat them all the same? We shouldn’t. 

I’ve had a few nagging injuries in this training cycle. The first one was a fall onto my elbow trail running so it wasn’t that bad as far as running goes. But it took about a month to heal. The second one was another fall while trail running onto my knee. At first this one was not bad, but a few days later it decided to start talking to me. It lasted 2 to 3 weeks, but I knew it was due to a bone bruise from falling and not an overuse injury or any other of the causes. I reduced mileage and intensity, but kept running and avoided irritation as much as I could while running. I also focused more on mobility strengthening to ensure things were still moving well and doing their job correctly.

 The latest problem was hip flexor tightness. My hip flexors on the right side got really tight after the Monte Sano 15K road race and then again after the Wade Mountain Half Marathon trail race. This is a totally different kind of injury and is more of a fatigue/overuse type pain. Therefore, it is much different in the way we should treat it, as well as the way in which it gets better. When it is hurting, we do a lot of mobility work to the area, but once it calms down, that’s the area that needs a little bit of strengthening and focus for stability. 

Sometimes these little injuries or micro traumas just need the perfect treatment and they will go away as if nothing ever happened. The hard part about this is that we don’t always know exactly what to do. Having someone to help you diagnose and realize what is going on and kind of quarterback your health and wellness can sometimes be exactly what you need so that you don’t lose any progress and can still achieve your goals. 

If you’re looking to hit a goal and you don’t want these things to get in your way you may need to reach out and get a little guidance to keep making positive progress towards that goal. 

Being a goal-driven person, I know the importance of being able to get to the start line of whatever it is that you want to achieve; but if you can’t confidently get to the start line that makes achieving those goals very difficult. I would like to offer you the help, the motivation, and the keys to success to help you make your dreams possible.