I'll be the first to admit that I'm unclear on a few things in life, though I do know I'm not the only one. No one sets out knowing exactly what questions we'll be asking over the years and knowing the answers before that moment arrives. As humans we seem to learn through mistakes, when placed in a situation that forces us to learn quickly, and through stumbling onto new and interesting things that piques our curiosity. Given that, WHY is it that when injuries happen we fail to treat them properly?!! Injuries fit all three (albeit broad) categories of learning....they arose from a mistake; they should be taken seriously enough to be solved relatively quickly; and we should all be curious enough to look into why something happened and more importantly how to prevent it from happening again. Just because something isn't gushing blood or falling off doesn't mean that it isn't serious.
Take the case of broken ribs for example. They don't look like much from the outside though unfortunately they are placed in such a way that when broken, they are no longer protecting your vital organs and are instead putting them at risk.
Now, I do realize I'm using a slightly more extreme example but it is one that I've seen happen to a couple friends. Thankfully it only took them a few days to seek treatment when the pain and bruising progressed instead of subsiding.
When you start to feel pain in a joint/muscle do you:
a) Ignore it for a few days
b) Take anti-inflammatories and a couple days off your regular workout
c) Wrap it up, ice it consistently and don't do anything with it for a few days
d) Assess exactly what is injured and seek medical advice as to how to treat it.
e) Take an extra rest day then get back out there
f) Google your symptoms and try to follow the most commonly "prescribed" advice.
Now here's what I see as wrong and right about the above options:
A: Everyone does this at some point. Being stubborn is ok in some situations but not in this one unless you wish to prolong the injury.
B: Anti-inflammatories are not wrong to use in principle but a lot of people use them as a cover...and that's exactly what they are; A.Is don't treat what's injured, they just make it feel a little better.
C: When in doubt, RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation) is the best thing to do for sprains and the like. It is less beneficial when the injury should have heat applied to it or when it's a break. One of my friends went two days with a broken (melon-sized)ankle before figuring out he should probably get an x-ray.
D: I'm not suggesting that you should rush to the hospital whenever you get injured but if RICE is having no effect then you should certainly speak to your doctor.
E: This one is obviously not great and it happens more often than not (guilty as charged). If you don't take steps in figuring out what's wrong and fixing it then taking an extra rest day or two may not do the trick and the chances of the injury re-occuring are high.
F: There is a lot of good and bad advice out there. I'm not going to touch on this one.
Over the years I've worked with a lot of runners, "joggers", and generally active people who complain of various aches and pains. Although they may ice, rest, and stretch out the muscle or joint in question, most won't do much beyond that unless they took the steps to go to their doctor or physio. I know we are all busy and scheduling an appointment is not always the easiest thing to do, but it SHOULD be at the top of your priority list. As with anything else in life, when something is left unattended it can develop into something much worse or quite simply never get better. Too many people I've encountered let this happen with their own bodies. If you have chronic pain then it needs to be treated; it's that simple. I've heard all the excuses in the book on why clients and friends of mine haven't taken care of chronic injuries and I don't care. At the end of the day they're excuses and they only hurt your body further.
Here are my rules on the matter:
If an injury becomes chronic and doesn't produce acute and marked swelling or bruising, you need to vary the way you respond to it. In other words, if it keeps happening, change something! Rocket science, right? 97.84% of the time chronic joint-related injuries are a result of repetitive excessive negative stress (or loading) on the joint, otherwise known as a repeptitive stress injury (RSI). 99% of joint-related injuries could be treated with the right strength training exercises (NB: as much as I love stretching, it is NOT the same thing as strength training. It is, in fact, the exact opposite). 99.99% of those who continue to experience pain are doing nothing about it.
Yes, I ballparked those statistics but I'm simply trying to make a point. Listen to your body; pay attention to your symptoms; do whatever you can to recover quickly and safely; and try your best to learn from your "mistakes". In short, go back to being curious and open to new things. If you're injured it's your body's way of saying it needs something new anyway :)
TTFN,
F
