Listen to your body (Part 3) – Lessons I still need to learn about injuries
I alluded to this last week, but I’m currently dealing with an elbow injury that came from overworking it. It’s not serious, but it is enough to sideline me from many of my favorite activities, and there’s a lesson to be learned here, not about overcoming setbacks, but about avoiding them.
My obsession with rock climbing and the progress I was making went a bit too far. Too much upper body work at the gym three days a week combined with going to the indoor climbing wall as many as five days a did not give my body time to recover -- yes, just getting to those eight workouts takes two-a-days especially since those were not my only ones each week. That said, for a while, I believed I was killing it. I gained muscle and was climbing better, but that was the start of the problem. Yet the bigger one came from how I handled the injury as it started to creep in.
As I mentioned, last week’s post was somewhat of a transition into more of the real-time feed of this journey. Parts where I don’t have the answers yet. Responding to injuries sure feels that way now.
When I felt my elbow getting sore a few weeks ago, my instinct was to ignore that signal and push through it. As I write this, it seems so obvious what happened next, yet I was blind to it at the time. Of course the injury worsened, but as it did, I still couldn’t stop. I had scheduled a day to go climbing outdoors, so I put a brace on and pushed through the pain every time I had to pull up with my right arm. I noticed it was much weaker too. But for a day climbing outside, the struggle and pain was worth it. I only have so many opportunities to do that.
Where I failed to take advantage of that opportunity to climb outside was that I undoubtedly could have lessened the problem by listening to my body when the soreness first started – and at several other points both before and after that day outside. So, here’s what I am learning:
Anticipate – Obviously you cannot predict every injury that comes along the way, but certain things we do warrant some extra attention. Taking on something new can raise a caution flag simply because the body is not used to it. When I got back into running, I started slowly, with shorter runs as I tested my body’s reaction. I try to take baby steps with each new activity, but sometimes the enthusiasm takes over and I get caught up in wanting to do more, faster. There’s nothing wrong with that, in theory, so long as I pay attention to what my body is telling me. With most new activities, it will surely say something! Look for those signals.
Get rest – Sometimes I can go 30 or 40 days in a row, other times I can’t. Any time I go longer than even four or five days, I need to start paying more attention to whether I need to take a rest day. In fact, I need to start thinking more in terms of whether I should take one. My recovery routines certainly work, but one of those methods is rest. I can’t ignore what I have already learned and wrote about. But there’s more to it. I really need to be more aware of when one rest day may not be enough. Rest days are not just for when there’s an injury, but when there is one, then one rest day is likely not enough. Right now, I’m looking back on days I thought I won by working out – even twice – and I realize that I lost them. Rest would have won the day.
Get treatment – I’m really good about using the stuff that’s already part of my regimen. I used my air compression arm attachments; put on my favorite CBD balm, used cold wraps and cold plunges, and stretched it. But when it wasn’t improving – even if it hadn’t gotten so much worse – I neglected to turn to other options. What those options are is an individual decision in each case. Go to a doctor? Get physical therapy? Get an injection? Go for acupuncture? The only point here is that when something doesn’t go away, it needs to be treated. Otherwise, doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity.
Be patient – I had two weeks before I went climbing outdoors with that injury. I used that time to focus on training to get better at climbing, yet everything I did only prevented myself from improving. I also had time after the outdoor climb to give it a break and treat it. Of course I did take a rest day or two, but as mentioned, injuries need more rest. I failed to fully listen to the signals, and I made it worse.
Trust the process – If you’ve been reading this blog, you know I’ve preached this as the foundation for my fitness and weight loss journey. I just didn’t apply it to my climbing journey. First, over the past year or two, I’ve gotten used to faster results. Then I came to expect them. I should know better, and I plan to be better with this climbing journey. It probably sits in my subconscious that started doing this at 50, and I am trying to make up for lost time. Looking back is never the right direction. All I can do is what I am supposed to do today.
For the past week, I’ve approached this injury by adding acupuncture, hyperbaric oxygen, and most importantly, rest. I can feel the treatment working, but the signals to rest it remain. That doesn’t necessarily mean taking an entire day off from working out, just that I don’t get to do some of the workouts I most want to do. But that’s good! The time has taught me to get more creative about my workouts – just the other day I spent a short workout climbing the stairs of my 32-story building twice. It has also renewed my appreciation for the diversity in my fitness routine.
Thankfully, the example I’ve illustrated here about my elbow is a relatively minor one — enough to set me back but something that undoubtedly could be worse. But the lessons I’m learning and sharing here can and should be applied to the bigger things – whether physical or mental health. At work, one’s body may be sending signals of stress, fatigue or burnout that could similarly result in being less effective — or even ineffective — if one fails to pay them the proper attention. The point is, no matter what the circumstance — we should all do our best to recognize the signals our bodies send to us, listen to them, treat them, get help, be patient, and trust the process.
Blog note: Next week, I will be listening to the signals that my mind and body are sending me by taking a week off from blogging. After 21 posts in 23 weeks, I’m going to take a much needed break during a busy time at work.
Aaron