the HRUNGRY KITCHEN

Injuries are frustrating, what’s more frustrating is the inability to go back to our previous level after the injuries. But, WHY is that the case? 

1. Tissue health

Any kind of injury, both acute and chronic, indicates damage to certain body structures, which in turn make the tissue weaker. However, our body repairs the structures over a period of time through different stages of scarring and tissue rebuilding. A common misconception is that as long as the tissues are healed, they will be able to have the same strength, endurance, flexibility etc as the original tissue does. In fact, new tissues from an injury are like newborn babies, they were not born to be strong and flexible, we trained them to be. This is why rehab is important at this stage, as they provide a safe environment for us to optimally challenge and load the tissues. Before we get a full recovery of the tissue, our performances are likely to be altered. Relating to that, if a person is forced to go back their previous performance (eg. entered a race too quickly), they risk re-injuring the tissue as they are aggressively overloading the weaker structures. 

2. Deconditioning 

The damaged structures are not the only thing that’s getting weaker from an injury, our lungs and hearts will be affected as well. Oftentimes, the initial management of an injury requires resting (as part of RICE), or activity modification. For example, a fracture requires non weight bearing for weeks (Depending on the healing process and severity), a runner’s knee indicates reducing the amount of running/ training etc. All of the above activity adjustments make us less active, as compared to before. Don’t forget that our lung capacity and endurance were trained too, once we don’t need it, we lose it. This is why we often find ourselves ‘unfit’ or getting out of breath sooner than we did. 

To prevent losing our hard trained lung capacity, we can maintain them by adjusting our ways of exercises! For example, instead of running, use an exercise bike, a rowing machine, or even an arm bike (when our legs are in total immobilisation/ non-weight bearing). 

3. Psychological impacts

One thing that’s really common, but always neglected is the psychological impact an injury brings. It is not surprising to be fearful of re-injuring, and it doesn’t only happen on people who had a more ‘severe’ injury, the severity does not necessarily correlate with the mental burden that a person suffers. Our performances are affected as we consciously or subconsciously alter the way we exercise, which may also increases the potential stress to our bodies. 

A tip to regain confidence is to gradually expose ourselves to the environment that gave us fear. For example, a trail runner who fractured their ankle may try running on a treadmill after their tissues healed, then on the road, after that an easy grade trail, then slowly make it harder. The key here is to listen to your body and follow your own pace. It is also beneficial to have physiotherapist input in designing and progressing the programmes.

**These are all rehab principles from a physiotherapist point of view. However, if the mental stress is too high that you find it disturbing, you might want to consider seeking professional psychological help, these situations are more common than they seem to be! I don’t know where this blog will reach but for whoever is struggling,I want you to know that it is a long journey and I hope you get better!!!