Baby Stepping To A BIG PR!
Injuries don’t scream and announce their arrival. There isn’t always rhyme or reason… (but maybe you shouldn’t have been skipping your mobility 😉). For most of us, injuries can be intimidating! If it hurts now to bend over and put your socks on in the morning, you might even wince at the thought of a deadlift.
As unfortunate and unpredictable as injuries can be, we want to get you baby stepping back to new PRs ASAP! Baby steps are an important part of the rehabilitation process because they help get you STARTED. For many, getting started is the hardest part.
Let’s say you’ve assessed your situation and have come to the conclusion, this is in fact an injury and not any typical delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS). When that’s the case, we suggest getting on track with these baby steps. And guess what? They ACTUALLY WORK! Go ahead and check out the tips below on walking, hydrating, sleeping, nutrition, and pain relieving strategies.
Walking: Get your steps in! Walking = movement = lotion for your injury. Set an obtainable step goal or time goal. Depending on severity, we recommend trying to hit 6,000 to 8,000+ steps/day for most clients after an injury that still allows them to walk. This can be broken up into multiple walking sessions throughout the day. If a step goal seems daunting, walk for 5 minutes. Now do that 3x/day. Great, it’s a start. Now can you do that 5x/day. You get the idea, work towards getting back to 8,000+ steps/day pain-free!
Hydration: Drink water. Drink electrolytes. Don’t bust out the gallon jug of water if that’s not typically your style. Drink often and drink when you’re thirsty. We recommend trying to get anywhere from 16-32 ounces of water upon the first 30 minutes of waking to kickstart your day. Carry an average sized water bottle, and try to refill it 2-3x/day. If you find yourself drinking more, fantastic; keep it up! If you’re an overachiever from the start, aim for half your bodyweight in ounces of water for a daily goal!
Sleep: It’s restorative and arguably the best thing you can do after an injury. We recommend 7-9 hours per night. If you usually sleep 5 hours, try for 6. Good sleep is unmatched in how healing it can be for your body. For that reason, sleep in whatever position seems to be the most comfortable for you. Side, back, stomach—your body will tell you what doesn’t feel good and odds are, you’re going to move in your sleep anyways.
Nutrition: Adequate fueling to recover from injury is key. And protein is king! We suggest eating a diet composed of mostly whole foods to fill your macro- and micronutrient requirements. However, place an extra emphasis on healing your body with adequate protein intake after injury. Shoot for 2 grams of protein per kilogram (kg) of bodyweight. ~2.2 pounds = 1 kilogram (kg). So, take your body weight and divide it by 2.2, then multiply that number by 2 for total grams of protein to target per day.
Pain Relieving Strategies: Find “the good stuff” that makes you feel better, or at least a bit better. Early on, this is a great starting point to break the pain cycle and have moments of relief. Start with the low hanging fruit readily available to you in the first 24-48 hours like hot/cold packs, compression, massage, voodoo floss, and gentle range of motion. After the first couple days, strategies can change, like maybe ditching the ice so you can let your body’s natural healing process kick in. But where do you go from here? No worries, take advantage of your favorite Performance Doctor here at Training Nation! We use our skill sets on the daily, to help clients break their cycle of pain and get back on track to crush PRs! We do this in a variety of ways including manual therapies, individualized coaching and home exercises on DAY 1, all after a thorough assessment and explanation surrounding the injury/performance deficit.
We can’t wait to help you transfer these baby steps into long, effortless strides away from injury and into new PRs!
Dr. Gaige
PS. Still curious if we have what it takes to make a difference for your pain or injury, click the link to book your free DISCOVERY call. If Not in pain but you’re looking to elevate your performance? No worries, still click on the “DISCOVERY” call above. We can help you there too!
