Coming Back From an Injury
I have a confession to make. I did gain a little weight back over the summer. I still haven't gone back to my highest weight but my clothes definitely got a bit tighter. Why? Because I spent most of the summer on the couch with my poor foot propped up on a pillow.
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| The culprit |
It happened on a typical morning in early June. When I reached the fridge to grab my lunch for work, I knocked over a large cooler full of water on my big toe. Did I break it? I don't know. The doctor said the treatment would be the same either way so I opted out of an x-ray. For a couple months I could only wear open toed shoes because anything touching the nail hurt. To make matters worse, putting all my weight on the other foot caused a flair up of plantar fasciitis in the other foot. I felt like I could barely walk and avoided it at all costs.
I'm much better now, but getting back into the swing of things has been a challenge. I developed the bad habit of not exercising when I was hurt, and it has been a challenge getting myself to start working out again on a regular basis. I got used to sleeping a little later and had to remind myself why I needed to wake up earlier to work out.
It was hard to determine when I was ready to start working out again and how to ease back into it. I remember the first time I tried to work out with the girls again I had to take my shoes off half way through because my tennis shoes hurt my toe.
The plantar fasciitis took longer to heal. I had to do a lot of walking before I could start running again. Now that I'm finally up to running, I feel like I am starting from ground zero.
So what did I learn from all this? (Note: This is not advice. Please consult your doctor before you begin exercising after an injury. )
1. If I'm hurt it's ok to allow myself to rest. I have trouble with this one. I usually want to plow ahead despite an injury, but taking the time to rest will allow your body time to heal.
2. Listen to your body. Pain is your body's way of saying "Stop!". If you start working out and it starts hurting again, ease up or stop entirely.
3. Start slow. Starting at a low intensity will give you a chance to test your body and rebuild your muscles while lowering the risk of reinjury.
I'm much better now, but getting back into the swing of things has been a challenge. I developed the bad habit of not exercising when I was hurt, and it has been a challenge getting myself to start working out again on a regular basis. I got used to sleeping a little later and had to remind myself why I needed to wake up earlier to work out.
It was hard to determine when I was ready to start working out again and how to ease back into it. I remember the first time I tried to work out with the girls again I had to take my shoes off half way through because my tennis shoes hurt my toe.
The plantar fasciitis took longer to heal. I had to do a lot of walking before I could start running again. Now that I'm finally up to running, I feel like I am starting from ground zero.
So what did I learn from all this? (Note: This is not advice. Please consult your doctor before you begin exercising after an injury. )
1. If I'm hurt it's ok to allow myself to rest. I have trouble with this one. I usually want to plow ahead despite an injury, but taking the time to rest will allow your body time to heal.
2. Listen to your body. Pain is your body's way of saying "Stop!". If you start working out and it starts hurting again, ease up or stop entirely.
3. Start slow. Starting at a low intensity will give you a chance to test your body and rebuild your muscles while lowering the risk of reinjury.
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