Injury prevention and management is the effort to reduce the risk or severity of an injury. This can be done by going through good practice such as proper warm-ups and cool-downs, nutrition and sleep. Athletes face the risk of getting injured every single training day, regardless of whether one is a bodybuilder, powerlifter, MMA fighter, or weekend warrior.
A research study done by Keogh & Winwood (2016) found that out of the most common weight-training sports, bodybuilding has an injury rate of 0.12 to 0.17 injuries per year, while powerlifting has an injury rate of 1–2 per year. Hence, it is extremely important for athletes to gain knowledge on the prevention and management of an injury should one suffer from one.
Types of Injuries
The types of injuries include sprains, dislocations, fractures and tears. These could be caused by sport activities during training, competition, or even while performing activities of daily living.
For athletes, the two most common types of injury will be located at the lower back and the knee. Lower back pain caused by ligament or muscle sprains, or herniated discs, is common for powerlifters due to the heavy loads used in training — even when a proper warm-up is being prescribed and executed. ACL tears are extremely common in runners, footballers and basketballers, where lots of stress is placed on the knee when sprinting or running up and down the court, field or track.
The Psychology of Injury Prevention & Management in Sports
Having the right mindset when managing an injury is extremely critical. The truth is that no athlete likes to or wants to get injured. Not only does it cause pain and discomfort, but it also prevents an athlete from going back to training and progressing.
Especially when an athlete gets injured prior to a major competition, it can be extremely hard on the athlete to focus on managing the injury due to emotions such as dissatisfaction, anger, regret, etc. Such emotions can affect the recovery of an athlete, mainly due to being in denial and trying to go back to training with an injury.
Recovering from an injury does require patience and proper progressions that can be integrated into the rehabilitation programme. However, even with the best rehabilitation or strength training programme, an athlete with a poor mindset will not be able to recover effectively.
For example, consider an athlete who just recovered from a lower back injury from deadlifting. He is currently no longer experiencing any pain and decides to return to deadlifting. However, he immediately goes back to where he left off at 210kg as his top set. He then experiences pain after the set and finds himself re-injured again.
This is a great example of poor psychology affecting the management of an injury. Despite the athlete not experiencing any pain from his past injury, he did not take the proper steps to progress — probably due to some sort of emotional attachment to his old numbers (ego). Therefore, being able to stay objective and having the right mindset when managing an injury is extremely crucial.
Phenomenal Steps to Take to Recover from ANY Injury
Recovering from an injury is rarely a straight line, but there are proven steps you can take to give your body the best possible chance of healing fully and returning stronger. Here are the five steps we recommend.
1. Warming Up
Prevention is always the best medicine. The simplest way to prevent any injury is doing a proper warm-up before a training session. A study done by Fradkin et al. (2006) found that simply elevating the heart rate before a training session reduces the risk of injury.
Hence, hopping on a cardio machine for 5 to 10 minutes to elevate the heart rate slightly before training can reduce the risk. Therefore, the first step is to always conduct a proper warm-up before any form of exercise.
2. Emotional Attachment
Secondly, when injured, do not ever get emotionally attached to past performance. For a sprinter, it could be his 100-metre timing. For a powerlifter, it could be the weight of his lifts, and so on. Emotional attachment to past performance, as mentioned earlier, causes nothing but a higher risk of re-injury or further injury.
Hence, being disciplined enough to slowly progress, instead of jumping right back to one’s original training intensity, is crucial.
3. Change Goals
Thirdly, be able to switch up goals when injured. For example, a powerlifter who gets injured can focus on hypertrophic movements with lower weight and higher time under tension, for example. This can allow the powerlifter to train without pain and direct himself to a different set of goals, allowing the athlete to not get distracted by his past performance (emotional attachment).
Not only can the athlete maintain some strength doing this, it can in turn help him achieve a better physique in the meanwhile, instead of focusing on the big three (Bench Press, Squat, Deadlift).
4. Recovery Gear
The fourth step is to be careful with recovery gear such as foam rollers or massage balls. Many individuals believe that they can roll out of an injury with the use of a massage ball or foam roller. However, it is always best to look for professional guidance and treatment. Improper foam rolling can cause an injury to worsen, such as nerve irritations, bruising, etc.
Another example is weightlifting belts and knee sleeves. These pieces of equipment are not designed to allow one to train with an injury, but to stabilize and potentially improve an athlete’s performance. Hence, if one needs to rely on this equipment to train without pain, it is a better idea to step out of the gym or training ground and opt for longer recovery or slower progressions before returning.
5. Rebuilding Confidence
Lastly, an athlete needs to rebuild confidence in himself. Once an athlete is fully recovered and is able to train without pain or discomfort, scaling performance can happen. As much as an athlete needs to progress slowly, one should not be limited and held back on progress.
Being able to rebuild self-efficacy and being confident in training without pain, through movements that used to cause pain or discomfort, is extremely important. For example, a long-distance runner with patellofemoral syndrome can get back into training by taking shorter distance runs for weeks or months to rebuild confidence in being able to run without pain, before getting back into the original distance.
References
Keogh, J. W. L., & Winwood, P. W. (2016, June 21). The Epidemiology of Injuries Across the Weight-Training Sports. Sports Medicine, 47(3), 479–501. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-016-0575-0
A. J. Fradkin, B. J. Gabbe, P. A. Cameron. (2016, May 6). Does Warming Up Prevent Injury in Sport? https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2006.03.026
Get Professional Guidance for Your Recovery
Recovering from an injury is a journey that requires patience, discipline, and the right guidance. If you are currently managing an injury and want to return to training safely, our team at RAW is here to help. Personal training at RAW is flexible to fit into your busy schedule. Feel free to contact us for details.
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