Site navigation and social media links
Dealing With Injuries
Health | December 27, 2014
Injuries happen. If you’ve been working out long enough or have trained as an athlete, minor tweaks, even major pains are often an inevitable part of the game. There are, of course, things we can do to prevent and provide some definite insurance against injuries – properly warming up, focusing on mobility, stretching, foam rolling, etc. Still, they happen. Pain aside, the mental toll is often the worst part about getting hurt. Suddenly, we feel at risk of losing our hard fought gains – whether it’s muscle built or pounds shed. We are forced to begrudgingly battle that fatiguing, favorite word of parents, teachers and nuns around the world: patience!
The following suggestions are not meant to take the place of an actual doctor’s visit, but can provide some guidelines to getting back into the ZGym sooner rather than later if you find yourself injured in a minor or major way!
Google Is Not Your Friend! – Do not, I repeat, do not start googling your symptoms after suffering any kind of injury! Not only do you run the risk of misdiagnosing yourself, you also run the risk of freaking yourself out. For example, say you tweak your ankle doing a set of burpees. You then decide to limp over to Google for an immediate answer. You anxiously enter your symptoms into the search engine. Five hours later, bathed in cold sweat, you’re certain that not only have you suffered an inoperable torn ligament that may require some kind of amputation. Worse, that nagging seasonal cough you get every year is actually Black Lung Disease even though you’ve never stepped foot in coal mine. All that to say, don’t do it! Go to a doctor. Even better, go to a sports doctor!
Take Time Off and Rest – Depending on the advice given by a doctor or by the severity of injury, take some time off. It’s okay. I promise. A few days or weeks here and there will not drastically affect you.
Lighten The Load – Again, depending on the diagnosis and severity of injury, less is more. For example, let’s say you rolled your ankle, but your doctor says it’s okay to work out after a week of rest. Don’t go crazy and try to do what you were doing before. Ease back into it. Instead of working out five days a week, try working out for three days instead. Be smart about it also. If you have a hurt ankle, obviously you don’t want to be skipping rope or performing jumping squats until you’re fully healed.
Don’t Test Your Injury – A great way to reinjure yourself is to test the injury before it’s had time to fully recover. Sure it may be feeling better, but often this does not mean it’s fully healed. Don’t throw caution to the wind and insist on working out knowing that your injury requires more time to heal.
Stick To Your Physical Therapy – If the injury is severe enough, don’t skip out on your physical therapy appointments. This is another great way to reinjure yourself. Certain injuries – knees, back, neck, etc. – demand proper therapy to fully recover.
Do you have any nagging injuries lately? How are you dealing with them?
Private Member |
As a matter of fact I do.
Private Member |
green bay, wi, usa
I’v been battling bicep tendonitis of the long head…months! So frustrating 🙁 I have lost a lot of muscle mass and definition that I worked so hard for. Two steps forward, one step back. So sick of this crummy arm!
Private Member |
Achilles tendonitis and lower back pain. No running or skipping for the achilles
Private Member |
Hi Z.
Thank you for this post. I pulled my right hamstring last night while warming up to do one of your workouts.
I am loathing myself right now for being so careless and performing some violent kicks that my body wasn’t warm enough for.
The thought of not being able to keep working out (I’ve been following you for years, since your very first videos) has devastated me. Especially 2 weeks before my Caribbean vacation.
I will rest today but I still need to Google “workout for pulled hamstring”.
If you have any recommendations I’d be more than happy to hear them.
Thank you for your hard and awesome work. YOU ARE THE BEST TRAINER.
Love, Mel
Private Member |
nyc, ny, usa
Yes, I ingured my knee when I was in high school… actually, we thought I tore my MCL. So it’s always been a nagging thing, plus I never went to physical therapy. Which is why it’s taken me so long to master a pistol squat or anything that puts too much pressure on my left knee. But it’s been 3 years since then, it’s stronger I just have to be careful and take my time when I’m feeling a strain. I push myself as hard as I can, but I am easy on it when I feel I need to. I want to be stronger, not break myself!
Hey, Zuzka, do you have any injuries or nagging old ones?
Private Member |
lake tahoe, nv, usa
I don’t have any old injuries, but I’ve had scoliosis ever since I was a kid, so I do suffer with back pain here and there. I had a herniated disk last year, but now I believe that it happened for a reason. If it wasn’t for that I wouldn’t have found the Egoscue method that helped me to fix my back by myself at home with exercises. So now I’m studying the method so that I can help others.
Private Member |
Hi Zauzka. I was wondering what kind of corrective exercises you would recommend for this disorder. Your posture is so straight no one would ever guess you suffer from this. I too have this illness and I struggle everyday with body image and sometimes it even gets me down emotionally. I constantly seek out new advice on how and what I could do more. So any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for all your hard work.
Private Member |
lake tahoe, nv, usa
Like I said, I use the Egoscue method. Look up Pain Free book from Pete Egoscue. It’s full of great corrective exercises.
Private Member |
Thank you for your reply, I will check it out.
Private Member |
Oh yes Zuzka I for one have a ruptured tendon that I’m healing from and yes the best way to deal with it it’s patience! ! I’m dying to join you again in jumping rope which I’m so addicted to…can’t wait, right now still wearing a steal booth but I’m personally doing a lot of stretching. Patience it’s a virtue and I’m really being tested lately. Thanks for being so supportive and posting this, it means a lot. Ciao Angelina
Private Member |
I am very careful with pistol squats because when I go down too fast on my weaker leg, the knee makes cracking/popping noises and then aches for a few days. It’s funny, now that I am 29 I am much more cautious with certain exercises because I notice recovery from injury takes longer than it used to. I’ve so far never dared to do a ninja jump out of sheer fear of injuring my knees. I hate the thought of having to sit out weeks and weeks of training while waiting for an injury to heal.
Private Member |
I injured a muscle or something in my low back on just one side a couple of years ago. If I try to squat with heavy weights and my form is not pristine , it flares up and makes me miserable. I’ve learned to rest and ice it but it’s still frustrating because exercise is my outlet. But better a few days of resting it than having it get worse! Great post Z! Thanks for the reminder to be good to myself when injured.
Private Member |
Jill: i threw my back out getting out of a car! Ha! I was obviously too tight from overtraining legs. (And sitting too many hours at the computer!
When my inner glute muscles get so tight – it hurts my knees but this lower back thing took me by surprise!! I couldnt get up… Needed assistance to do anything. crazy. Learned my lesson!
Private Member |
Yes, I pulled my piriformis muscle back in August water skiing. This is by far the worst injury to heal from I have ever experienced. I am told it ranks up there with plantar fasciitis as far as time to heal. I have been to a chiropractor and physical therapist, neither of which said anything to me about continuing to strengthen the inner/outer thigh area and rotators, which is CRUCIAL to healing. This condition affects your low back, all the way down into your foot, and sitting for long periods can be excruciating. I have wasted a lot of time just through sessions without proper strengthening technique given because I wasn’t told, and only found out about doing it via googling YouTube for ‘piriformis sydrome’. That said, there are times when the ole internet comes in handy.
Also, Zuzka, although I love your workouts, they do tend to center around forward motion/quad work – squatting, jumping squats, and pressing the hips fwd and squeezing your butt at the top of a squat (KB swings, and most of technique videos give), which is NOT good for this condition. If you could incorporate more plie/lateral inner/outer thigh strengthening, it would help prevent over training of the primary glute muscles. Hopefully none of the rest of you will ever get it. It’s much better than it was, but this has been a very slow healing process, especially when excercise of any type flares up the pain.
Private Member |
Good point; I have noticed that as well. Not many, if at all of her workouts work your hamstrings, biceps, and upper back.
Private Member |
bad oldesloe, schleswig holstein, germany
Hey Zuzka, I´m actually suffering with my Back and my Ribs after an Accident with my Motorbike with two broken vertebra an 4 broken Ribs, little damage to my lung and some other smaller injuries. I´m starting now working out again after nearly three months of doing nothing because I wash´t allowed to. It is really hard because I lost my strength and there are some exercises I can´t do any more because my lower back is completely stiff an it is frustrating if you want to but you can´t. I try some other variations for these exercises but it´s not the same and I´m sad about it. I try to be patient and be happy that I´m alive and that I can walk an working out again but it´s not alway that easy. But you are right and to be patient is very important so I will try furthermore to be patient, I think this is not only important for injuries, to be patient is important for every part of our lives. Maybe this is a good intent for the next year 🙂