injuries

Injuries: 4 Keys to Adjust Your Training Plan

Injuries are a great issue for runners. They spoil runners’ sports seasons, workouts and their humor.

Even though most of injuries are caused due to inappropriate habits or mistakes in the way of training and moving, many other injuries may be by chance (accidentally).

Therefore, in this article, we will give you a four keys to adjust your training plan in case an injury prevents you from running.

INJURIES: 4 KEYS TO ADJUST YOUR TRAINING PLAN

1.- DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT

The first step to define the type of adjustment you should apply to your training plan, is to visit a physician and obtain a correct diagnosis of the injury and the definition of the treatment.

This essentially means learning about the type of injury you are suffering from, its cause, risks and the treatment proposed by the physician. Without knowing what type of injury you have, it will be really hard to adjust your training plan.

2.- REST

The first thing you should take into account to adjust your training plan is to determine if you need to rest. Is rest going to be total or partial (will you be able to perform other low impact activities)?

When making a decision, it is important to use the information furnished by your physician, your common sense and your body signals. Asking for a second medical opinion is always a valid alternative.

Your priority should always be to recover from your injury, controlling the anxiety and the nerves it may cause. It is important to know that not all injuries require rest so you can recover.

3.- MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR TIME

Being injured and being unable to run does not mean that you cannot do other things that can help you to recover and/or to go back to physical activity in a better way.

Keeping your physical condition (doing some cross training) while you are injured is an alternative. Reading and learning about the injury you are suffering from and discovering alternative treatments is advisable. Strengthening the rest of your body is extremely advisable.

4.- COMEBACK IS IMPORTANT

When running again, never let anxiety defeat you. Return slowly and test your physical condition gradually. If you quit your workouts for a short period (less than a week), the return should not pose difficulties.

flickr photo by aiaraldea.com http://flickr.com/photos/aiaraldea/24187679362 shared under a Creative Commons (BY-SA) license