It’s not if, it’s when.

I can’t remember the exact cause this time. It may have been moving a landscaping rock, or maybe just an enthusiastic sneeze.

Thanks to yet another back tweak, my “Workout of the Day” was a measly walk of a few hundred meters. I gingerly placed one foot in front of the other as I made my way around the block in my neighbourhood. Any quick or sudden movement could send a sharp jolt of pain through my lower back.

“I can’t do that” is a persistent thought when we have an injury. It can be hard to think about much else. When it seems to take forever to heal, we start thinking, “I’ll never be able to do that.”

It can leave us doing very little, even when there are useful things we could still be doing. Here’s the simple reframe:

“What can I do?”

With most injuries, there is a surprisingly long list of things your body can still safely do. Sometimes an injury creates the perfect opportunity to work on a few neglected areas. 

When my back is angry and unwilling to cooperate with my normal training, I can often still do the finger exercises that improve my climbing strength, the mobility and strength exercises for the shoulder that sometimes bothers me, or the calf raises for my Achilles. As my back begins to settle, it’s usually not long before I can add swimming to the mix.

When I sit down and make a list of what I can still do, it is often so long that I couldn’t fit it all into my training time even if I wanted to.

Here are three questions I ask to keep making progress with an injury:

1. Can I modify the exercise without causing further injury? Much can be done to modify an exercise by changing the range of motion, the weight, or the tempo. 
2. Can I train the neighbouring muscles or joints without causing further injury? When one muscle or joint is out of commission, there is great benefit in working the neighbouring ones. 
3. Can I train the opposite side of my body without causing further injury? This is a strange concept, but research suggests that training the opposite side of the body can even help preserve strength on the resting side!

Rest has its place, but so does stimulating an injury, and resting an injury doesn’t always require resting the entire person.

As recovery progresses, the injured area will need gradually increasing amounts of work to regain its strength and tolerance, often more than you think. Finding the right balance of activity and rest, not too much, but not too little, takes some patience and sometimes professional guidance. 

Discomfort can be an expected part of rehabilitation and isn’t always a signal that you are off track. Just be mindful that your baseline level of pain isn’t worse a day or two after your training, which could be a sign you overdid it. 

My sad-looking trudge around the block wasn’t much compared with what I would normally do, but it takes on an entirely different dimension when I shift my focus to what I can do.

Instead of spending the whole walk frustrated by everything I couldn’t do, I began to notice how this slow walk was similar to learning to slackline – a fun activity I enjoy – where a sudden movement could send you flying. I pay attention to the sun on my face and the satisfaction of moving my body with coordination and skill. 

In spite of whatever is off with my back, I get home with the satisfaction that comes from finishing a productive workout.

Homework

When you’re injured (it’s not if, it’s when), turn “I can’t do that” into “What can I do?” 

Make a written list of the things you can still safely do. Think about exercises you can modify, areas you can still train, and the work you tend to neglect when everything is feeling good. Use that list to plan your next workout, even if it takes twenty minutes to get around the block.

If you aren’t sure how to program for and around that injury, book an appointment with a physiotherapist, athletic therapist, or other professional to keep things moving.