Why Physical Therapy?
Aches, Pains and Injuries
The other day, I read a blog post from CrossFit Roots entitled, ‘What to do when a tweak becomes a nag’ and it made me think about what an important issue to address with athletes and coaches. As a Physical Therapist, Masters Athlete and Coach, I get asked by many as to how they should manage aches, pains and injuries.
First, it is important to recognize a true injury from occasional aches and pains (tweaks and nags). Think of a “injury” as a trauma to the body, a single, definable incident. For example, coming down off a box jump and twisting your ankle. The pain and discomfort are immediate and stops you in your tracks. The result is a red, warm, swollen joint (or muscles). The initial treatment should be based on the RICE principle – Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation. Medical attention should be sought if the pain is uncontrollable, the joint or body part is deformed, the limb cannot bear weight or if you are not sure of the degree of injury. An injury like this may take a few days for the red, warm, swollen joint or muscle to improve and it will typically be painful, stiff and prone to re-aggravation if pushed. It will take 4-8 weeks to “heal” and feel normal. When an injury like this occurs, you might take a day or two rest from working out but, your workouts should not stop for more than a few days. Importantly, your workouts need to be adapted and modified (not scaled) around the injury to allow you to continue making progress in other areas of fitness. As a Physical Therapist and CF Level 1 Coach, I can help you through this transition and speed your recovery with specific programming to allow you to continue working out with your class and not miss out.
What about those tweaks and nags? Sure, those are injuries too but often time related to “overuse”. The pain may come on suddenly during a specific movement, for example shoulder pain with dumbbell snatches, but you can work through the movement with a low to moderate level of discomfort. Other times, pain may become evident following a workout where you get home or wake up the following day and your knee just aches. “Overuse” is an indication that either the joint or muscle needs some recovery time or more commonly, you have an underlying movement issue that is placing stress on the joint or muscle and it is creating irritation – inflammation.
In both cases, the need for recovery and inflammation control, should involve workout adaptation or modification to “offload” the joint and muscle and allow you to continue training. While time off from the gym may seem most indicated, it’s not the answer, and often times results in a cycle of feeling like you have “healed” and then a re-aggravation of the joint or muscle. Over time, this cycle worsens the underlying anatomical/physiological cause of your pain and your brain begins to identify that pain as a normal condition. This is a reason why many people stop training all together. Overuse injuries need to be investigated and a determination of root cause needs to be made. A quick movement screening can help do so and put you on the path to success. Tweaks and nags can be corrected in 8-12 weeks using prehab and recovery techniques. Here too I can help by providing you with a program that addresses your movement issue while teaching you how to adapt and modify your exposure to movements that place undue stress on your system and increase your risk for pain.
To learn more about taking control of your injuries, tweaks and nags, contact me directly at info@TherXPhysicalTherapy.com or book your Mobility Check-Up at https://TherXPTAppointments.as.me/.
First, it is important to recognize a true injury from occasional aches and pains (tweaks and nags). Think of a “injury” as a trauma to the body, a single, definable incident. For example, coming down off a box jump and twisting your ankle. The pain and discomfort are immediate and stops you in your tracks. The result is a red, warm, swollen joint (or muscles). The initial treatment should be based on the RICE principle – Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation. Medical attention should be sought if the pain is uncontrollable, the joint or body part is deformed, the limb cannot bear weight or if you are not sure of the degree of injury. An injury like this may take a few days for the red, warm, swollen joint or muscle to improve and it will typically be painful, stiff and prone to re-aggravation if pushed. It will take 4-8 weeks to “heal” and feel normal. When an injury like this occurs, you might take a day or two rest from working out but, your workouts should not stop for more than a few days. Importantly, your workouts need to be adapted and modified (not scaled) around the injury to allow you to continue making progress in other areas of fitness. As a Physical Therapist and CF Level 1 Coach, I can help you through this transition and speed your recovery with specific programming to allow you to continue working out with your class and not miss out.
What about those tweaks and nags? Sure, those are injuries too but often time related to “overuse”. The pain may come on suddenly during a specific movement, for example shoulder pain with dumbbell snatches, but you can work through the movement with a low to moderate level of discomfort. Other times, pain may become evident following a workout where you get home or wake up the following day and your knee just aches. “Overuse” is an indication that either the joint or muscle needs some recovery time or more commonly, you have an underlying movement issue that is placing stress on the joint or muscle and it is creating irritation – inflammation.
In both cases, the need for recovery and inflammation control, should involve workout adaptation or modification to “offload” the joint and muscle and allow you to continue training. While time off from the gym may seem most indicated, it’s not the answer, and often times results in a cycle of feeling like you have “healed” and then a re-aggravation of the joint or muscle. Over time, this cycle worsens the underlying anatomical/physiological cause of your pain and your brain begins to identify that pain as a normal condition. This is a reason why many people stop training all together. Overuse injuries need to be investigated and a determination of root cause needs to be made. A quick movement screening can help do so and put you on the path to success. Tweaks and nags can be corrected in 8-12 weeks using prehab and recovery techniques. Here too I can help by providing you with a program that addresses your movement issue while teaching you how to adapt and modify your exposure to movements that place undue stress on your system and increase your risk for pain.
To learn more about taking control of your injuries, tweaks and nags, contact me directly at info@TherXPhysicalTherapy.com or book your Mobility Check-Up at https://TherXPTAppointments.as.me/.
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