How To Cope With Injuries

As a lot of you may know if you follow me on Instagram, I am currently injured and only just getting back into the swing of things. After feeling pain at the back of my ankle in early November which progressively got worse, I eventually saw a physiotherapist who told me I had achilles tendinitis. I did absolutely no running for 8 weeks and I am currently in a very slow phase of building myself back up. It is hard being injured for sure, but I had a few requests on how to stay positive and what has helped me through this period! This applies to any sort of injury, and I hope it helps some of you out if you’re suffering with similar things.

---

• Put things in perspective
  • It has helped me to remember how many years I have left in my life (hopefully) that I will be able to run, a short period now really is nothing!
  • It’s worth resting and recovering now in order to not risk further damage in the future.
  • There is plenty of people in the world who have disabilities and can’t even dream about what I can do right now, let alone do what I can when I am running. My situation is still incredibly lucky and this has helped me to stay grateful for what health and ability I still have.
  • In reality, your fitness is going to decrease. But, you will be able to get it back! You started from somewhere and you can build things back up again for sure, but you need to be fully healthy and recovered in order to do this. Remember that also muscle memory and base level fitness is an amazing thing and it will mean that things come back much easier than you expected too.

• Cross or strength train
  • If you can, try and do cross or strength training to stay active, keep mentally happy and occupy your time!
  • I have done some swimming and some low impact strength training and it has helped me feel like I’m working towards something. It’s nice to feel tired and like you’ve done physical activity from time to time, so I’ve enjoyed these activities a couple of times a week.
  • Yoga, pilates, walking and cycling are also popular things you may be able to do depending on your injury.
  • Remember not to go overboard with these even if they feel pain-free, as resting in this recovery period will really do no wonders of good for your body and brain in combatting the strain you have previously put it under while doing exercise. Doing some lighter exercise a few times a week to suit you may be beneficial for you, but don’t feel like you have to constantly do lots in order to make up for lost training. Make sensible decisions on an individual basis.

• Stay involved and support others
  • I have found it really beneficial to stay involved with my running club, through volunteering at races and supporting at runs, as well as meeting up with running friends and going to the same pilates classes as other runners I know. This has helped to help keep me mentally involved in the sport, and it’s actually great fun and very fulfilling to cheer on and help others. There is no better feeling than seeing your friends succeed after you’ve watched them work so hard!
  • If there is opportunities for you to go along to training every once in a while to help out a coach, or to support at a race/competition, then it may help you to go along!
  • For some people though, I understand that they may not want to do this! Again, it’s an individual decision but definitely consider it.

• Set new goals
  • Set goals in your recovery to keep you motivated and positive. For me, I know I will be celebrating when I first get to run 1 mile, run 3 miles etc.! I can’t wait to achieve all of my smaller goals on my way back to full fitness, and I think it’s important to have these alongside just having your one goal being your old fitness levels again.
  • It may also help to think more long term and about what you will be able to achieve once you’ve rested and recovered. Try not to get too hung up about things that are unrealistic or that would force you to compromise the recovery from your injury, however keeping in mind a very long term goal that you want is an interesting way of keeping you sane.
  • For me, I know that one day I want to run a marathon. By resting and letting this injury heel fully, I am actually kind of working towards that long term goal as I would never be able to achieve it if I have achilles trouble for years and years that I never let fully heal.

• Follow your sport
  • This is a similar point to the earlier staying involved, but I have found that being engaged in running on TV/social media etc. has really helped me stay positive! I have an interest and passion for running, so I enjoy watching and learning more about it.
  • In particular, since being injured I have discovered the Running4Real podcast with elite international marathon runner Tina Muir as a host which is super informative and also entertaining. Additionally, I have been loving the hilarious Youtube channel of NCAA Division 1 Cross Country runner Emma Abrahamson where she shares her experiences, races and random behaviour in vlogs and other videos.
  • Doing this sort of thing, as well as staying up to date with professional races/games or researching the science or history of your sport can be a great way to keep you feeling like you’re still engaged with your passions.

• Think about how you’re feeling
  • Blogging, writing in a diary, or even just talking to others about your emotions/struggles/positive moments can be really beneficial!
  • Don’t keep all your emotions to yourself, and you may be surprised how much even just writing things down can help.
  • An outlet is sometimes a nice way to release suppressed feelings of sadness, anger and frustration that you are feeling because of the situation.

• Enjoy the rest!
  • Take this extra time you have for this period to follow other interests and do things you didn’t have time to do before! Since being injured, I have been learning to code and I also started this blog, both of which are things I’ve wanted to do for a long time but just was too busy to do before. I have also been doing a lot more reading and just relaxing, both of which are things I really enjoy. Appreciate your injury and make the most of the extra time.
  • Following on from that previous point, you could also take your time and rest period to connect with others either online or those already in your life who you don’t see enough/see often. Without training schedules, your life can be much more flexible so enjoy being more social and just enjoying yourself without any limitations!
  • Also, just enjoy doing nothing. I have had days where I’ve not left the house and spent the whole day just watching films and reading, and that’s ok! Especially for athletes who are injured, your body really has worked so hard in the past and so it will really appreciate you using this break to have a good sit down and chill out. I found it difficult at first to ‘just rest’ as I am someone who loves being on the go and feeling like they’ve accomplished a lot, but I have come to terms with just doing very little and I’m not going to lie, it is pretty amazing.

---

I hope those things give you guys some food for thought, and that you find it beneficial to consider them! I’m obviously not a sports professional or psychologist, and my injury is only very minor and short-term compared to others who are dealing with much more serious struggles, but this is just my personal outlook and experience so far and if you guys get anything out of it then that’s brilliant.

Let me know if you want more running/sports related posts or if I should stick to the food theme. I am happy to focus on one or do a bit of both, depending on what the demand is like!

Lastly, make sure to follow me on Instagram and like my Facebook page for updates. If you share my blog or posts, make sure you tag/message me to let me know so I can thank you. It really does mean the world to me!

Until next time!!

Hannah