Acute Injury Guidelines
Respect the injury
-never dismiss an acute injury, as they are usually warning signals to bigger and greater problems. Treat it with much respect, and learn from each injury.
Don’t live in denial
-athletes tend to deny the very existence of an acute injury. Nature and physics, however, will force you to acknowledge all injuries. Address each injury at the front end of the injury (on your terms) rather than at the back end of the injury (nature’s terms).
Create a plan & follow it
-create a strategy to address the acute injury. Do not abandon your plan thefirst day the injury feels better. Follow your plan until the injury is fully healed.
Make the injury your #1 objective
-do not force the schedule you designed prior to your injury. Once injured,let the injury become your new #1 goal, and address this goal until the injury is healed.
Recognize, injuries take time
-let your body tell you when you’re ready to return, not your calendar.
Alter your training/racing schedule
-let your injury become your new #1 goal and be willing to alter your calendar (even if you’ve already paid for participation in an event).
Focus daily on what you can do to accelerate the healing of your injury
-do everything you can on a daily basis (ice, nutrition, rest, tape, stick, etc.) to heal your injury.
Look beyond the injury
-the acute injury is typically the most stressed area of the body. Look to address the underlying biomechanical imbalances to take the stress off this area.
Address the root issue
-learn your biomechanics (Structural Fingerprint Exam®) and take action to improve your biomechanics.
Return to activity with a “Test Workout” prior to actual training workouts
-get the word “training” out of your vocabulary until you’re ready for it. “Test workouts” are needed initially, and they are shorter and much less stressful.
Build training slowly to return back to normal
-be willing to come back slowly. Too much too soon, and you’ll be right back where you started. The greatest cause of sports depression is spelled “R-E-L-A-P-S-E”.
