Posted: June 10, 2005

Sportsmedicine: "Training Through Injuries"

By Dr. Kiper

You’re hurt? You can’t find a magic bullet cure? The one who loves you most says, “give it a rest,” but nooooo, “I am an athlete, I’ll get better on my own.”

If that sounds like you, you may need more help than anyone can give, but I’ll do my best. First of all, 2-3 days rest will not impair your conditioning; in fact you’re probably run down from over-training anyway, so give yourself at least that much.

In all likelihood, you will eventually get better; nature is so kind that in spite of ourselves we will heal. But repetitive use of every step (walking or running) is antagonistic to the healing process, and depending on the type and severity of injury, that repetitive stress can lead to more critical injury e.g. a stress fracture or at the very least slow down your healing process even to the point of disabling you so that you are forced to heal.

To maintain a training regimen following an injury:

• -Continue daily stretching.
• -Cross train--it is the single best thing you can do.
• -Massage and heat the area daily. There are some topical anti-inflammatory and deep heat creams, (apply ice only when the injury is fresh).
• -If you feel you must run, keep it to 25%-33% of normal or run in a swimming pool (this happens to be an excellent training adjunct, even if you’re not injured)
• -Elliptical trainers or “Versaclimber” are excellent.
• -Maintain upper body strength (you should have upper body strength to run too).

Remember, your pain is a pronation injury secondary to arch movement, so at the very least, get a good over-the-counter support to use as much as possible. Most of them are good; as with anything, some are better suited for you, so trial and error may be necessary. I like “Sof Sole,” “Superfeet” and my personal favorite is a “Spenco”- ¾ length orthotic.

Use some kind of anti-inflammatory in the evening (not before you run, if your body wants to warn you of something, don’t mask it)

AND once you feel better, do not just start in full blast again. Give yourself another 1-2 weeks before going back to 100% pre-injury. Injury and inflammation are like boiling water, it doesn’t take as long to bring water back to a boil if it’s still warm.

Dennis N. Kiper, D.P.M specializes in Podiatric Sports Medicine. Visit his website at: DrKiper.com.