Fall? What Fall?
At some point in everyone’s athletic career, there is an injury. For those that are working towards world championships or the Olympics, there is likely a staff of therapists and doctors around you giving you guidance on what to do once an injury occurs. But what if you just run a few days a week? What if you play pick up volleyball or lift weights at the local gym? Do you know what to do when something doesn’t feel right? When injury occurs?
The recently popular Mark Twain once said, “it is not what we know that does us harm, it’s what we know that just isn’t so”.
Let me tell you about a client of mine that runs half marathons recreationally. She slipped on the ice a few days ago while running in the snow. At the time, just her pride was hurt, and she was able to run home. After she had sat down for a while, she realized that her back was quite stiff and there was a pain in her glutes. The next morning the pain was a little worse and it changed the way she moved around the house and around the office that day.
What could have been done differently to prevent such stiffness and pain? What does she do now that the pain is there?
First to address the idea of prevention. After such a fall it is a great idea to get home and stretch. Get onto the floor and stretch anything that might already be sore, or areas that you think could get sore later. When you have a fall, usually your back takes a lot of stress and impact. Lying on your back and hugging your knees, pulling your legs across your body, and stretching your glutes will help minimize any spasms. If you think you might have sustained an injury, put ice on the painful area right away. Keeping the swelling down is important and this will promote healing.
Second, if you find that you do get stiff and sore after a fall, or even after playing a game of basketball with your friends, you can keep the pain and damage to a minimum. On the onset of pain and /or swelling apply ice. If there is only pain, put the ice on for about 15 minutes. You can do this once every hour if you have the time. If there is some swelling, you can add ice for 3 minutes, heat for 1 minute and repeat 4-5 times. Ice baths also help reduce pain and swelling. Sitting in a cold bathtub with ice cubes is a great delight I encourage you to try! The circulation of the water and the movement of your limbs helps to pump waste products out of your injured area and into your lymph system.
Stretching and icing before the pain starts and before swelling has a chance to clog up your joints, really helps. If it doesn’t, you need to get checked out by a professional. I find those that “wait to see what happens” always end up with a longer lasting injury. Getting treated right away may mean one treatment. If you wait and the problem persists, you may need weeks of treatment.
Think of the money you’ll be saving by taking care of your body right away. You’ll be back running, back dunking the ball, and back tobogganing with your children faster than you know it! Get to know your body and stop any injuries from getting in the way of life.
Back to my client that fell – we adjusted her pelvis levels and put her back into alignment. One day later she was doing a Zumba class at the local gym! Fall? What fall?
Jen Mark BSc., CAT(C), CSCS
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