Getting Back in the Swing of Things
Getting Back in the Swing of Things
By Shane Sauer
Did you know that previous injury is the #1 indicator of future injury?
It’s sad but true. And, I believe it is true for a couple of different reasons:
Injured people jump back into activity too quickly
Rehabilitation of the injury was incomplete
As I mentioned in last week’s blog, the time frame that your doctor will give you for injury recovery is often for tissue healing, not when you’ll be back to full strength. This misunderstanding could lead you to push yourself too hard, and too quickly. The key to getting back to full strength without a setback is to slowly increase your activity.
A simple way to think about it is in the image above.
For instance, as my sprained ankle was healing, I increased the stress I put on the ankle progressively and paid close attention to how it responded. I started with small, isolated movements and added resistance (bands) with a compression wrap to maintain stability. Next, I taught my predictable (choreographed) classes with a brace on my ankle. After success there, I transitioned to sports with a brace. Now I am in the process of weaning off the brace.
I pushed my ankle’s limits, but only incrementally, and resisted the urge to get back to the things I love doing before it was ready.
This progression is a great way to rehabilitate range of motion and strength, but there are other factors that also need to be included, like sensation and high-speed control.
Most people fail to recognize the importance of sensation to movement. Consider that when someone suffers a stroke to the part of the brain that affects their ability to feel a body part, they also lose their ability to move that body part.
Fortunately, sensation can be retrained just like strength and mobility. And because it is so important, I’ve even made a video about how to do it!
While many people retrain their movement skills after an injury, they fail to do so at multiple speeds. To see where I’m coming from, try this:
Draw a big circle in the air with your arm straight and elbow locked (shoulder circle)
Notice how smooth the movement is
Then slowly increase the speed until you’re moving as fast as you can
I’m willing to bet your movement got a lot smaller and sloppier.
It’s much easier to work at speeds you are comfortable with, but life doesn’t always happen at one speed.
Even if you don’t play sports, there are times when you are forced to move quickly. For example, consider how fast your body moves when you slip, or try to stop something from falling. You may have even hurt yourself doing these things and not understood why.
Whew, that was a lot of information. If you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed, you’re not alone. There is a reason that therapists and trainers do this work professionally. So, if you think you would benefit from some help with an old or new injury, don’t hesitate to reach out to one.