Oct09Ways to exercise with common injuries/issues
All of us at some point will get some injury, ache, pain or discomfort. What tends to happen is people get injured and they think they can’t exercise and won’t be able to do anything. We all have to know how to deal with these injuries when they do happen. The following are some common injuries and how you can train around them. Of course you should always get a doctor’s permission to start exercise after an injury.
Shoulder issue
At H4 our programs are heavy on upper back work to help avoid such injuries but they still can arise. The shoulders are involved in numerous exercises which can make it seem hard to still exercise with such injury. The best bet is to focus on core, lower body and upper back exercises. This will allow you to still train and build up other areas.
The key is if something gives you pain to not do it instead of just pushing through it. If you are always just pushing through the pain it will never go away. Aim to stay away from exercises such as push-ups, bench press, overhead pressing, and other upper-body pushing movements to keep the shoulder healthy. Instead, do exercises such as cable rows, dumbbell rows, and TRX rows to focus on keeping the upper-back strong, which will also help improve your posture. Keep the focus of the workout on core and lower-body work, and choose exercises that don’t irritate your shoulder.
Low-Back Pain
Almost everyone at some point has had back pain, just some more than others. There are some strategies you can do to help.
If you don’t already, start using a foam roller. Helping loosen up your muscles especially the glutes and hips will do wonders for you. To learn how to properly foam roll watch the video below.
You should also focus on strengthening your core. Start different types of planks, carries, pallof presses and rollouts. These exercises will help improve the stability of your core and get the proper muscles fired up.
The core is important, but the glutes are key. Glute training needs to be in your training program. Perform exercises such as glute bridges and mini band walks.
Avoid loading the spine and doing any movements that could cause pain. Do most of your upper body exercises in a seated or lying position.
Tennis Elbow, Elbow pain, Wrist pain
Even if you don’t golf or play tennis you too could find yourself with joint pain in these common areas. Inflammation of the joints can happen to anyone.
Avoid upper body exercises that bothers that area. You can also avoid locking out the joint during upper body movements. For example, if you did an overhead shoulder press don’t finish the movement with your arms perfectly locked and straight.
Another thing to keep in mind is to work on your shoulder mobility. This can help with future compensation. You can find one exercise to do by watching the video below.
Knee Pain or injury
We see all types of knee injuries and pain.
Generally you can do all core and stable upper body exercises. Posterior chain exercises such as mini band work, glute bridges and hamstring work might be ok depending on what the issue is.
Keeping your core and hips strong will help increase the stability of knee. Often by keeping clients focused on these areas their knee issues have subsided.
Plantar Fasciitis
This is a issue you must nip right away to avoid further damage and even surgery which could knock you out for half a year if not more.
A common cause is bad footwear. Check your shoes to make sure you are not weight training in running shoes or vice versa.
Go to a doctor or a good shoe store and get their advice on what works best for you.
During a workout avoid impact exercises and anything that could put strain on the area such as pushing sleds or step ups.
Final thoughts….
Just remember that having a nagging injury or issue doesn’t mean you have to become inactive and drop your favorite workout routine. It simply means void movements that cause pain and do the ones that feel totally fine.