You’re in the middle of training for a race, competition, or tournament and you start to feel pain in your knee when you put pressure on it. For the first week, you power through but it starts to get worse and you decide to see someone about it. That’s when they tell you those dreaded words;”You need to stop for a while” and just like that, everything you love to do is put on hold until you’re feeling better.
While working in a health and wellness clinic, I see this alot and with this comes many discouraged people who want so badly to overcome their pain and lace up their sneakers again.
You may have noticed a lack of running and workout posts on my instagram (and an increased volume of food posts…opps). That’s because at the beginning of the summer I developed some low back pain that doesn’t seem to want to quit. With every sprint, my back tightens. If I want to go for a run, I’ll be sacrificing a few days of walking straight. I’m currently on a very boring (but effective) exercise plan that isn’t worth sharing on instagram.
In this post, I wanted to share my story along with the four main ways to stay positive in the healing process:
- Trust your body: Know that your body is not betraying you. This relationship is a two way street and sometimes you need to slow down, listen, and make a few changes before it’s ready to take on the world with you.
- Find a new way to move: Never give up on your body. Most people, including myself, get discouraged with their injury and use it as an excuse to give up. If you have a sore ankle, try some seated stretches. If you have a shoulder injury maybe try taking a long walk or body weight squats and lunges. Don’t forget your body has many uses.
- You are more than your injury: You have a purpose and just because your life is consumed by your pain remember you are a good parent, artist, musician, co-worker or facebook creeper. There is more to your life than your injury and if not, try a new hobby that will remind you of that.
- Keep at it: Even if you’re not seeing progress, keep trucking through your physio exercises. Never give up on your body. The pain you have is temporary! It will pass and you’ll be back to yourself soon.
I’m struggling now since my race is getting closer and my back has yet to get better. But this week I was reminded that the best thing I can do is to slow down so that I am ready for next year’s running season!
If you need any encouragement, I’m your girl! We can get through this process together! I would be happy to help you keep positive through the healing.
Or maybe you just want to stay on the couch and complain, in which case, invite your friends over and open a bottle of wine! You’ll soon forget about the pain and be reminded of your beautiful life.
“Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you’ll start having positive results.” — Willie Nelson