3481: [Part 2] How to Train if You Have an Injury (7 Steps) by Steve Kamb of Nerd Fitness on Smart Training

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[00:01:00] This is Optimal Health Daily. How to train if you have an injury. Seven Steps. Part 2. By Steve Kamb of Nerd Fitness. And I'm Dr. Neal Malik, your very own personal narrator. Hey there, happy Tuesday and welcome back to Optimal Health Daily, where I simply read to you from the best health and fitness blogs for free. I cover fitness, nutrition, stress management, weight management, and more. This is kind of like an audiobook, but with articles from a bunch of different authors.

[00:01:30] And always with permission from the site. And always with a bit of my commentary at the end. Now, today's post is part 2 from yesterday. So, if you're new here or skipping around, I'd recommend listening to yesterday's episode first. But if you're all caught up, let's jump right in and hear part 2 and continue optimizing your life. How to train if you have an injury. Seven Steps. Part 2.

[00:01:57] By Steve Kam of NerdFitness.com. Step 6. Staying active while injured. If your doctor has okayed it, stay active any way you can. This is often the opposite of what many people will do, which is to completely stop using the injured area. We want to move pain-free, of course. But any light movement is often going to be more beneficial than just stopping movement altogether, since it gets the blood flowing through the area and helps recovery.

[00:02:28] This might mean lowering the weights used, or doing an assisted or even unweighted variation of an exercise, like by busting out a resistance band. But if you can still safely move the injured area without causing added pain or setbacks, then it's often a good idea to do so. If that's not an option, consider different ways to move while injured. Like if you can't run, how about using an elliptical or stationary bike? If you can't use one leg or the other,

[00:02:58] can you work out your upper body? If you can't use an arm or your shoulder, can you still do lower body exercises, like lunges or squats or step-ups? If you can't do any resistance training, can you still go for walks? Let's dive into this point a little more. Step 7. Getting creative while working out with an injury My dear friend, it's time to get creative. When you get injured, start thinking outside of the box

[00:03:27] to find the opportunity in the obstacle. A shoulder injury may make back squats incredibly painful, but holding the bar for a front squat instead could feel fine. And perhaps it just so happens that you've neglected the front squat lately. So instead, try to look at an injury as an opportunity for you to focus on a weakness. Strengthen your weaknesses, become more well-rounded, and better equipped to deal with rigorous activity. That's how you become anti-fragile.

[00:03:58] But enough of the generalities. You want some specific recommendations on how to train around your injuries. Here are some tips for training around common injuries. Number 1. Training with lower back pain When thinking about working around back injuries, look for lower body exercises that increase knee movement and keep yourself vertical. This often feels safer to many when navigating a tweaked back. For your upper body,

[00:04:26] you're free to do anything you're comfortable with, like push-ups, pull-ups, and bench press. If it doesn't hurt, have at it. Number 2. Training with an injured wrist Wrist pain is most commonly complained about when doing the traditional push-up. You might be able to alleviate this pain by using push-up bars and even, believe it or not, knuckle push-ups. This is because you might be dealing with a flexibility issue and not an actual injury.

[00:04:55] Front squats and power cleans done in the Olympic rack position may also lead to complaints of wrist pain. To eliminate wrist pain in the front squat, try the more common crossed arm rack position. For the power clean, concentrate on getting the bar on top of the front of your shoulders. If the bar is touching your throat, you're getting there. Number 3. How to train with a knee injury Knee pain typically comes in a fitness setting as a result of one of three things.

[00:05:24] Deep bending, such as with a squat or lunge. Impact that corresponds with landing from jumping. Or, lateral or side-to-side movement, especially for participants of sports like soccer, rugby, basketball, and any other sport that requires quick lateral movements. When thinking about working around knee injuries, look for lower body exercises that reduce the amount of knee movement and increase the amount of hip movement, like a kettlebell swing.

[00:05:53] A properly executed kettlebell swing does not involve much bending of the knee. In my experience, most people who can't squat can handle swings without screwing up any pre-existing knee conditions. Just remember, when testing out these movements, the goal is to pick variations that put less pressure and stress on the knee joint. Number four, can I lift with a hurt elbow? You're out of luck on this one, unfortunately. Sorry. Nearly any

[00:06:22] upper body exercise, push or pull, will hinder your recovery time. Instead, focus on lower body work, such as barbell squats, sprinting, and lunges. Number five, can I exercise with an injured ankle? Avoid any high impact movements with a hurt ankle, and all that means is do not jump. And other movements that involve more subtle ankle movements, such as squats, may also have to be put on the back burner as you heal.

[00:06:52] It is possible or likely that you may have to focus on upper body movements and use seated versions of movements, such as rows and overhead presses, instead of standing. This will help let your ankle heal. And number six, what should I do with shoulder or hip pain? Test test, test. These ball and socket joints can be the most unpredictable when it comes to training options. Start slow, start light, and back off the second you feel any pain.

[00:07:22] Moving forward with an injury. Next steps. Injuries are always frustrating when they happen, but I don't know anyone with any significant amount of training time under their belt who hasn't had to deal with one. When injured, seek a medical opinion, be smart with your exercise selection, dial in your nutrition and sleep, stay active, and be aware of training opportunities that you would not have considered without the injury. If you want

[00:07:51] any more help along your journey, know we're here for you. You just listened to part two of the post titled How to Train if You Have an Injury, Seven Steps by Steve Kam of nerdfitness.com and I'll be right back with my commentary. Right now, get up to 15% off select storage solutions. Put heavy-duty HDX totes to good use, protecting what's important to you. The solid, impact-resistant design prevents cracking

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[00:09:20] the premium status it deserves at Indeed.com slash podcast. Just go to Indeed.com slash podcast right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Indeed.com slash podcast terms and conditions apply. Need to hire? This is a job for Indeed sponsored jobs. Dr. Neil here with my commentary. Early in today's post author Steve Kamb said that when we experience an injury

[00:09:50] many people will stop using the muscles and joints associated with the injured area but this is not ideal. As Steve explained light movement often helps. This is because even light movement gets the blood flowing to the injured area and since blood is filled with nutrients it will help heal the injury. This same rule applies to sore muscles too. Often when our muscles feel sore especially when it feels painful to move them we want to incorporate

[00:10:19] some light movement. Now nothing extreme light movement is key. This will force nutrient rich blood to the areas that are sore and help speed up the healing process. So your muscles may be screaming no more but in this case we need to fight that feeling and move those sore or injured muscles with a healthcare provider's approval of course. That will bring nutrient rich blood to those muscles and hopefully help you heal faster.

[00:10:49] Alright that'll do it for today. Thank you so much for being here. Thank you for listening every day. I hope you have a great rest of your day and of course I'll see you back here tomorrow where your optimal life awaits.