As I mentioned in my previous posts, I have been dealing with not only stomach issues over the years but physical ones as well after enduring injury after injury.
But how did I end up here? How did this happen? With all the injuries I had from 2023 till today, that it was the
last big injury (bicep/shoulder injury) that brought me to this realization. The sports medicine specialist told me after I asked if my injury could be from the severe lack of activity that after an injury or a period of time with no activity, you need to begin from where your body is now as opposed to before the injury/accident or surgery. The ultrasound then showed the bicep tear, tendonitis, bursitis, shoulder impingement and, what I had started to suspect after feeling the pain in my arm. Muscle atrophy…which I now know is the case for a majority of my muscles.
Working from home since the pandemic, I had already become pretty inactive even while exercising a few times a week. Experts say that when you are living a sedentary lifestyle, even walking or exercising 10 to 20 minutes a day won’t undo the damage this kind of lifestyle brings. When you take into account the fact that I was only going out 2 or 3 times a month even after the pandemic, it’s safe to say that my body was not going to bounce back as I thought it would in my mind. I was exercising a few times a week, practicing Vinyasa Yoga and DDP Yoga to start building muscle, but when all of that stopped, the little muscle I was starting to build withered away.
The signs were there, my arms could not hold down dog for 1 long breath, let alone a count of 5 deep breaths. But I continued on the mat anyway with DDPYoga on a few other days, some kettle bell squats and felt the tightness everywhere. My feet were also beginning to give me some pain, but I figured this would go away and then POP goes the plantar fascia. I thought my foot just cracked but then I couldn’t walk. I also had no strength in my legs to hop on one leg, so out the walker my mom had from her past foot surgery came and I was shocked and disappointed.
Had I listened to my body and maybe done a little research, I would have known or figured out that taking it easy was the best course of action to get back to a regular exercise routine. After all, when athletes get injured or have surgery, they don’t immediately step back in the wrestling ring or the pitch. They have physical therapy and start things slow before getting back to where they were.
10 helpful tips to exercising after injury I now know are:
- Consult a doctor to diagnose your injury if you haven’t done so already, or in my case to see what exercises can be done to get the strength back without causing any injuries.
- Go to physical therapy if you are able to. They will start you with some great, simple exercises that really will help you along.
- Listen to your body. Sometimes we forget to do this and push ourselves too far and then we undo the little progress we have made.
- Start small, start slow and increase your intensity and length of time gradually
- Do other exercises or activities to keep fit while your injured body part heals
- DON’T RUSH! This one is a big one and goes back to #2 to listen to your body. If you want to get back to your old self quickly, but doing so can cause an injury, or if you already have an injury, it can make it worse.
- DON’T push past the pain. Had I listened to my body, I would not have pushed through the workouts that caused the tear in my bicep to begin with.
- BE PATIENT. This is something many people, including myself, have a hard time with. As it is, it will be almost a year in July since I started with the arm pain I ignored and 8 months since I had the ultrasound that confirmed the extent of my injuries.
- Set realistic goals for yourself. If you want to take that dance class, run a race or in my case teach Warrior Tai Chi Yoga, talk to your physical therapist or doctor to get a timeline how long it will take to get there
- CELEBRATE the small stuff. It’s been months since I was able to raise my arm and I did a little happy dance when I was finally able to reach my arm over my head without pain. And when I was able to do arm circles? Holy Hannah I did the Al Bundy shuffle!!!!!
All of these tips are really helpful and while they may seem like common sense things we’d know, your mindset can be different when you’re in pain and don’t even realize you are injured or you think it will go away.
Through all of this, keep you head up and remember you got this!!!
Mind Body Synergylia 