Recovering from a injury.........

[Gymgurl]

Whether you are a competitive athlete or a recreational exerciser, recovering from an injury can present a challenge. How you understand and respond to the pain and limitation is a very individual experience based on many factors. There are, however, certain responses and psychological skills that can help most people take an active role in their own recovery.

Where do I begin?
People often initially feel overwhelmed by an injury. Your ability to cope will greatly improve if you work closely with your doctor and other healthcare providers to develop a clear plan for recovery.

Successful rehabilitation begins with becoming informed about your injury. It's important to know the extent of the injury, what your anticipated recovery time will be, and what you must do to recover safely and effectively.

It's important that you see yourself as an active participant in rehabilitation planning and treatment. You may not understand the scientific aspects of recovery. But you are the expert on your own experience—a reality that may either help or hinder rehabilitation.

What psychological effects can I expect?
How you respond to your injury is also very important. Although certain sports or activities have greater risk for injury than others, an injury is generally not expected and never planned or welcomed. We train to prevent an injury, but we rarely prepare for our emotional response to an injury.

Injuries have very different meaning for different people. For some, an injury might be life threatening or career ending. For others, an injury might take them away from a team or social structure that gives them a sense of identity and community. An injury can also interfere with a job or responsibilities at home. It's important, therefore, that you acknowledge that this requires coping skills to help you work through this loss—with professional help if necessary.

What type of mind-set is helpful?
Directing or redirecting your response to the injury may aid recovery. At the very least, it can help you maintain a positive outlook as you heal. A few suggestions:

Consider your pain and injury as something that will go away and will heal. Speak to yourself positively every day about your ability to cope with and recover from your injury. Mentally and physically befriend your pain as a guide to recovery. Pushing too hard may cause reinjury, but fearing the pain may lead to a too-passive approach.
Use your desire to recover to help integrate your sense of self and your mental and physical healing power. Connect with your emotions and let them guide you through the healing process: When you feel emotionally overwhelmed, nurture yourself by doing enjoyable things; when you feel emotionally strong, use that energy to progress in recovery. Women may have an especially intense response to injury but can use their feminine ability to connect with their emotions to help guide recovery.
Try to maintain your sense of identity and importance through activities that help you feel good about yourself. Express your needs and concerns to your healthcare team. Identify any negative mental responses to injury, then reframe them to promote a positive approach to healing. Be aware of your current level of function and what function you have lost, then move beyond those limitations to envision your future level of function.
Allow yourself to ask for and receive help. Surround yourself with emotionally and physically supportive people, and limit your interaction with those who hinder your healing process. By all means, be creative, humorous, and positive in your approach to the daily inconveniences caused by your injury.
What techniques are useful?
Several specific mental techniques can also aid in your recovery:

Progressive relaxation. Your mind and body need to know what tension and relaxation feel like. Starting with your head and working down, alternate flexing the muscles in each body part (producing tension), then relaxing them. Mentally and physically memorize the feeling of relaxation. Try to incorporate that feeling whenever possible throughout your recovery. This technique also helps you readily recognize tension so that you can then work through it.

Breathing. Breath control can help modify stress and your response to pain. Pay attention to your breathing during times of pain. Try to breathe freely and stay relaxed. Allow your lungs to fill completely by extending your stomach as you breathe and by feeling the air move in and out of the bottom of your lungs. Visualize healing, relaxing energy entering your body as you inhale, and a release of any negative thoughts as you exhale.

Visualization. Using imagery can enhance healing by creating a positive internal atmosphere. Focus on a scene you find positive, nurturing, and healing. As you practice this technique, you may also want to listen to music that you find peaceful. Use your progressive relaxation and breathing to facilitate this process.

Once you are totally relaxed (or as relaxed as your injury will allow), begin the visualization. Some people concentrate on total-body healing and visualize a color or sound that represents healing as it moves slowly through their entire body, cell by cell. Others prefer to focus on the injured area and create a healing image (such as "blood vessels sending out healing roots" or "particles of calcium forming like snowflakes") and hold the image and "see" the area healing. Some people combine these techniques and images.

Use visualization to create a meditative, self-hypnotic state focused on healing. Practice this daily, as often as possible throughout the day. Some people prefer to visualize only, while others like to combine visualization with mental statements like, "I am healing," "I am calm," or "I will get better."

Visualization is also helpful as a form of distraction from pain. Use your imagery to pull yourself away from your body to a scene or favorite experience. Finally, you may find this technique helpful to facilitate sleep. Bring yourself into a very relaxed state, feel drowsiness come into your body, and allow yourself to fall asleep.

 

[Gymgurl]

ATHLETE STRATEGIES FOR COPING WITH INJURIES:

#1 BE SAD - Allow yourself to mourn and feel whatever loss you are experiencing. Being "macho", "strong" or "brave" by burying or hiding your feelings in this situation is not only a WASTE OF ENERGY, but will interfere with you effectively coping and recovering. Feeling is an important part of the healing process. Remember that! Feeling is part of healing!


#2 DEAL WITH WHAT IS - Injured athletes have a tendency to focus on the "could 'a beens", "should 'a beens" and the "way it was" IF ONLY they hadn't gotten hurt. The fact of the matter is no amount of wishing upon a star will change the reality of your situation. Yes it sucks that you got injured. Yes, it’s thrown a monkey wrench into all your plans and dreams. Unfortunately, this is your reality right now and you have to allow yourself to deal with where you are, right NOW!


#3 SET NEW, MORE REALISTIC GOALS FOR YOURSELF - As you begin the recovery process, you may very well have to learn to measure your successes very differently than ever before, perhaps in millimeters now instead of meters the way it was before your injury. It may mean that you also have to start all over again back at “square one” to build up arm or leg strength and endurance. Keep focused on your NEW goals and leave the old ones in the PAST for now where they belong. Once you’ve come all the way back from your injury you can start entertaining your old goals.


#4 MAINTAIN A POSITIVE ATTITUDE, NO MATTER WHAT – As difficult as this will be, try to stay as positive as possible. Understand that “IF IT IS TO BE, IT IS UP TO ME.” In other words, your attitude and outlook is ABSOLUTELY EVERYTHING! When positive, your attitude can speed up the healing process and lessen the emotional pain that you have to go through. However, when you’re negative you’ll slow the rehab process down to a screeching halt and make yourself miserable in the process. It's all up to you. Avoid being negative because nothing good ever comes from negativity. Negativity will only bring you and everyone else around you down.


#5 TAKE AN ACTIVE PART IN YOUR HEALING – Be conscientious about your physical therapy. Follow the doctor's advice closely. Don’t cut corners. Work as hard with your rehab as you did in your training. In addition, practice using healing imagery on a daily basis. If you're recovering from a broken bone or separated shoulder, spend 5-10 minutes imagining that bone or shoulder beginning to heal. "See" in your mind's eye a healthy supply of red blood cells surrounding that area and facilitating the mending process. I can't scientifically guarantee that this will speed up your healing. However, I can promise you that this will make you feel less helpless, more in control and much more positive. These attitudinal changes in themselves will speed up your healing.


#6 CONTINUE TO "PRACTICE" AND "WORK OUT". If your injury allows you to still continue any part of your training, do so! If not, "practice" mentally. Use mental rehearsal on a daily basis (5 -10 minutes at a time) to see, hear and feel yourself performing in your sport, executing flawlessly with perfect timing. Take this time to also mentally work on your weaknesses. You might even want to show up for some of the regular practices and mentally rehearse what the team is doing while they’re working out. Regular mental rehearsal of your skills will keep the neuromuscular connections activated so that when you are able to actually begin physical practice, you will not have lost as much.


#7 SEEK OUT THE SUPPORT OF YOUR TEAMMATES - Participate in team functions. FIGHT the urge to isolate yourself. You may feel worthless and suddenly different, but chances are good that you're probably the ONLY one on the team that shares that opinion. The worst thing for you to do when you’re in a vulnerable state is to separate yourself from your group. Make a serious effort to reach out rather than pull in!


#8 THINK ABOUT HOW TO USE YOUR SPORTS LEARNING AND EXPERIENCE IN OTHER AREAS OF YOUR LIFE - If your injury forces you into permanent retirement, you may feel that you have little to no skills or expertise that you can transfer from your sport to other endeavors. NOTHING COULD BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH! To excel as an athlete in your sport you have gradually developed over time some pretty powerful success skills like dedication, commitment, persistence, motivation, the ability to manage time, “reboundability” from setbacks and failures, as well as a whole host of other valuable LIFE skills. These success skills can be readily harnessed to other challenges that you pursue in your life outside of sports. Don’t think for a minute that much of what you’ve learned and mastered is irrelevant to the “real world.”


#9 IF NECESSARY, SEEK OUT A COUNSELOR- If you are really depressed for an extended period of time, have lost interest in things that use to excite you, have noticed that your sleep and eating patterns have changed and/or you are having suicidal thoughts, seek professional help! Don’t fool around here. If you’re having these kinds of symptoms this means that you have really lost perspective and you are in need of some qualified, outside support. Seeking out the help of a professional therapist or counselor is NOT a sign of weakness. On the contrary, it’s a sign of strength.


#10 BE PATIENT– If your injury is temporary, allow yourself enough time to heal properly. If you're over anxious to get back to the court, field, course or pool and rush the healing process, then you may set yourself up for another, more serious injury which may cost you even more time. Rushing the healing process so that you can get back a week or two earlier is “penny wise, pound foolish.” That is, you might get back a few days earlier, but because you didn’t wait those extra days to heal properly, you may end up developing a chronic injury that could keep you out for extra weeks and even months. Remember, sometimes the fastest way of coming back is the slowest. GO SLOWER, ARRIVE SOONER!

 

[lightemup82]

Yeah that sucks. I too have a injury that I think will not ever go away. It's a very tight kinda feels like a pinched nerve in my arm when I'm curling

 

[Squirt2X]

Yeah that sucks. I too have a injury that I think will not ever go away. It's a very tight kinda feels like a pinched nerve in my arm when I'm curling

Hello,

I have experienced a severe nerve issue that has changed my life completely since 2003. My job was at times rather stressfull physically and eventually things got very bad and (long story).. But I have found a Chiropractor locally that has what is called ART training. ART or Active Release Therapy has helped me tremendously this year after seeing him now for about 1 year I am Slowwly starting to train my upper body. Just thought you may want to try that route as it deals especially with Nerve issues as well as body alignment.

Good Luck.

 

[Gymgurl]

Staying Motivated During Rehabilitation
Try to view your injury as another athletic challenge and an opportunity for personal learning and growth. Identify the skills that help you succeed as an athlete.


By Helen Iams, MD, MS
Member AMSSM




Injuries are part of sport. Any athlete who competes seriously can expect to get an injury as some point. Dealing with an injury, and possibly the surgery required to fix it, can be devastating. It is very difficult to watch others continue training while you feel that you are losing ground. This can make it hard to stay motivated during your rehabilitation, since the therapy itself can be boring and disheartening. How you perceive the injury is the key to a successful and short recovery.


Try to view your injury as another athletic challenge and an opportunity for personal learning and growth. Identify the skills that help you succeed as an athlete, such as personal responsibility, orientation towards achieving goals, training with intensity and precision, and willingness to take your mental and physical skills to a higher level. You can use the same skills in your recovery. This perspective will help you stay motivated to work hard during your rehabilitation.

Normal responses to injury
When athletes have injuries, they can become very upset, getting depressed or angry. They may be tempted to give into anxiety and hopelessness. They might even have trouble seeing themselves as worthwhile. These attitudes are normal but can make it difficult to work hard on the healing process. The trick is to try to focus on the positives. This may sound artificial but it really makes a difference in your rehabilitation. The attitudes and views you have about your injury will determine how you view your rehabilitation and how well you do with it.

Finding the positives
Believe it or not, you can come out of an injury a smarter and better athlete. Finding the positive implications of injury is not a false optimism or lying to yourself. A positive approach will significantly improve your ability to cope with injury. An injury, and the down time involved in recovery, can be a time of personal growth. It gives you time to clarify your priorities. You can develop psychological skills that you can use later in competition. The discipline involved in maintaining a physical therapy regimen improves your mental toughness. You can use the time to study more about your sport and improve your technical skills.

Education
Educate yourself about your injury and the rehabilitation process. Learn as much as you can from the internet and your therapist. The more you understand the treatment, the more you will believe in it and its ability to help you. This will allow you to provide useful information for your therapist. It will alsohelp you to be an active participant in your therapy and let you become involved in the decision making process. People who are more involved in the therapy process work harder and have better results.


Make sure you thoroughly understand your rehabilitation plan. Know exactly what is being done and why. Often, athletes cannot accurately describe the home program they are to do. Have your therapist give you the plan in writing. This will help you get the most out of your rehabilitation efforts.

Get support
You need to surround yourself with people who will support you through this process. Seek out your friends that can listen well. Try to maintain normal contacts as much as possible. Don’t cut yourself off from your training partners. Find someone who has recovered from a similar injury. They can be an invaluable source of inspiration to you to continue your therapy. Just knowing someone else got back to competition can ease the fears you may have.

Learn sports psychology
There are specific sports psychology techniques that can enhance your recovery: goal setting, positive self-talk, and imagery. These same skills are often used in training. Athletes using these techniques during rehabilitation experience a number of benefits, including faster healing, earlier gains in strength, greater increases in function, and a reduction in pain and anxiety.

Goal setting
Setting specific goals helps you focus your energy and allows you to measure your progress. You should set both daily and long-term goals. The daily goals need to be small but realistic, concrete goals. Your physical therapist can be a great help in deciding what goals would be appropriate. To set long term goals, you will need to know when you can be ready to return to training. Your doctor and therapist can help you with these goals.

Positive self talk
Monitor your internal dialog and what you say to yourself. Are you assuming that this injury will end your season? Your career? Are you being overly harsh on yourself? These thoughts can undermine your progress. Stop negative thoughts and replace them with positive thoughts. Educating yourself about your injury helps you maintain a positive focus. You can then know what to realistically expect.

Imagery
Your imagination can be a great asset during your healing process. However, you may not be using it to its best advantage initially. You may be imagining the worst that can happen. This will undermine your faith in the rehabilitation process. Re-focus your images on positive outcomes. Visualize returning to competition and performing well. Think about how good it will feel when you do return to competition. Imagine any obstacles and how you might deal with them ahead of time. These images will help motivate you to maintain your therapy program.

Healing imagery is another way your can use your imagination to heal yourself. Imagine your tissues getting healthier. Picture the tissues actually growing together. Imagine the area is bathed in white or yellow light. These types of images have been found to actually speed the healing process. The more you have educated yourself about your injury, the more precisely you will be able to picture the healing.

Summary and references
You can find ways to motivate yourself to stay with your physical therapy program. The more you invest yourself in the process, the better your outcome will be. You can use the two books below to learn more about injuries in athletes and the sports psychology techniques that can help during rehabilitation.