I am at that point in the recovery process where my PT is telling me to increase my mileage and I start to overanalyze every little twinge in fear that I am overdoing it. For the past three weeks I have kept my run/walks to about 30 minutes, working up from 3:1 intervals to about 7:1 (run:walk minutes). This has meant covering distances of about 2-3 miles, and I have been doing those 3 days a week.
I feel good about saying that I have no pain on any of these runs. If I notice anything, it’s usually at the end of the day, or when I am walking barefoot on my hardwood floors. Some days everything feels 100%. Occasionally my foot will feel a little achy or tight in random spots.
I guess that is probably a normal part of the recovery process. However, I have had so many injuries that I felt like lasted forever, that I live in fear that this one will do the same. As I type this out it sounds ridiculous, but it’s so hard to find that balance between being cautious and overdoing it. It made me feel better to come across this article: Setbacks and Mind Games During Injury Recovery
There are so many aspects to injury recovery other than the actual pain from the injury that can be confusing to manage. For example, if I start to build up my mileage I would expect to feel a little sore just because my body is not used to that. I’ve also been working on my form, so other muscles may be starting to work that I haven’t felt before. There is also a lot of research out about how pain can still exist even after an injury has healed if you haven’t addressed the fear and anxiety related to your injury. I like how this article from Runners Connect distinguishes between “healing” and “recovery””
“Healing” is the body’s natural process of repairing damage. It is complete when the damaged tissue has been repaired. “Recovery” refers to the ability to return to your level of activity pre-injury, in our case running. It is a product of function and emotion, in other words being able to not only run again but to do so without fear.
Interesting, right? I guess my next step is going to be working on the mental part of recovery.
So, overall I would say things have been going pretty well. I saw my PT on Monday and I go back again in 2 weeks and that is supposed to be my last session. As I said, he wants me to start to increase my running so we can see how I am doing when I go back for my last appointment. I mentioned how I sometimes get SI joint pain after sitting and he gave me a new core routine to include to work on activating my transverse abdominis. Even though I include core work into my routine, I don’t have very good lumbopelvic control, which was very obvious from a couple of tests he did. I think improving that will be an important supplement to the other PT exercises I am doing. This article explains it well, although it is referring to CrossFit, the same idea applies for runners.
Here is how last week’s workouts looked:
Monday: 2.5 miles (5:1 run/walk intervals), PM: Went to PT and worked on some new exercises
Tuesday: Total body strength training + core work
Wednesday: 2.75 miles (6:1 run/walk intervals) + PT exercises
Thursday: TRX workout
Friday: PT exercises + core work
Saturday: PT exercises (just a few to get all the right muscles activated) + 2.8 miles (7:1 run/walk intervals)
Sunday: Rest
[Tweet “Recovering from injury involves overcoming mental barriers too! @runningoutowine #weeklywrap #injuryrecovery #physicaltherapy #running”]
Does your mind hold you back from recovering from injuries?
How do you find balance between being cautious and overdoing it when returning from an injury?
How were your workouts last week?
cautious is probably much better in the long run – if you were to do too much too soon, for sure you would end up injured. I think you are doing great! my friend’s daughter had lingering pain in an ankle injury and every time they went to the dr, they saw nothing! they said it was healed but for a long time, she thought she still had pain there after soccer even though nothing was really wrong.
Isn’t it so weird how that can happen? Our minds really can play tricks on us sometimes.
Yes, my mind pyches me out so much when recovering from injuries. You are not alone. What are you going to ultimately do? Increase a bit, or play it safe for a little while longer?
I think as long as Im feeling good Ill really slowly increase a bit. I am planning to do the same amount of time on my feet (30 minutes, every other day) but gradually spend more of the time running and less time walking. Maybe I will do a little more on Saturday if everything feels good to just test things out before I go back to PT the following week.
There are definitely HUGE mental barriers in injury recovery. You start to hyperanalyze every little thing. And the stress and anxiety can also affect your recovery! It goes away over time, but also never truly goes away–you’ll keep wondering if each little titch and tingle is a harbinger of doom.
Yep I totally agree! I definitely want to be cautious but I also need to keep this part of the recovery process in mind.
Caution is good when returning from injury! There are definitely ghost or even healing pains after an injury. I felt weird aches on my sprained foot for weeks, even when it was all better.
It can be tough to distinguish between the pain returning and those other pains! So it definitely is better to come back very slowly.
It’s definitely a mental game when I come back from injury. I over-analyze too, so every twinge sets me off. I know being more consistent with my running will help, and I hope to move from running two days a week (like I was training for Tink) to three days a week.
I definitely think it takes time. And Im sure consistency will help as your body gets used to running more regularly!
I get this. After my hamstring injury, Sean kept telling me I was ready to run again but I just didn’t feel like I was. I think it’s really natural to still “feel” the injury even though it’s basically healed. It’s better to be cautious but eventually you start noticing it less and less. I was just thinking about how it’s been months since my hamstring aggravated me, but I can’t remember when that officially went away.
I think thats pretty normal to all of a sudden realize you no longer notice your old injury. I’m hoping that eventually happens for me!
I like how healing and recovery can be differentiated.Know what you are capable of and pushing yourself further can always be a bit scary. Years ago when I had IT problems and I wanted to run again for the first time I was so scared it was going to come back again. But luckily it did not.
It is definitely scary to start building your mileage again when you are worried that an injury might return!
I’m reading that lumbo-pelvic control article and it’s really good. I struggle so much with that area, and it’s not the first time that I’ve been told that Pilates would really help stabilize those deep core muscles. I wish a) there were pilates classes close by and b) Callum would be okay with going to the child care! (he screams and hates it).
I know I would benefit from pilates too but it seems to be my least favorite class. I do have some DVDs that I should try again. I also don’t have a pilates studio (that I know of) close by.
While I wouldn’t say my mind holds me back, I will admit that my running future flashes before me whenever I get injured and I wonder if I’ll EVER be able to run again. Sounds to me like things are coming along nicely. I think it’s very “normal” for you to have reservations. Hang in there.
I think we all have those feelings of doubting if we will ever run again when we are injured! I have been through this enough to know that it will work out ok, but it’s still hard to get through this initial recovery period.
We are literally like the same person right now! I’m easing back into my runs too and I still feel the aches or stiffness at the end of the day and definitely more so when barefoot on the hardwood floors. But I don’t feel it when I run, which is good! I’m finding that Pure Barre is helping SO much because it’s basically 55 minutes of core work with glute work included, which I totally needed.
I was wondering how you were doing! I think its normal for us to still feel those little aches and stiffness at night (or at least I hope so!) Pure Barre is such a great glute and core workout. I should really pull out my Pure Barre DVDs one of these days!
You have done great with your recovery. I would take comfort in the fact your PT thinks you are ready to increase your mileage. But, I do understand that fear completely. I still have random pains in my foot (metatarsal stress fracture last year). Barefoot walking is definitely a trigger. I think once you get back to your normal running routine and mileage that worry will ease off. Thanks for linking, Lisa!
Thanks! I agree that with some time and getting back to a routine that these feelings will slowly go away.
I can totally see he feeling this way. I tend to extremely conservative and think I’d be having the same thoughts if it were me. But you are clearly progressing and in a good place. I’m sure those pain-free runs feel amazing!
Over the years, I have had my fair share of injuries and those especially bad/chronic ones will make you paranoid for a long time – sometimes even years later. I’ll often go out on a run, feel something not quite right, and get such an overwhelming sense of relief when it works itself out. They say that a huge part of running is mental, so one would have to believe that returning to running would also have a huge mental component. I just try to be as kind and generous with myself as possible. Sounds like you’re doing great and I know you’ll come back stronger for it when you’re fully recovered!
You are so right and I can definitely relate to being paranoid for a long, long time after dealing with an injury. It can be a stressful process!
It is always so hard to come back after an injury. It’s almost like you have to forgive your body to say, okay, let’s give this a try – but at the same time you have to listen to your body and what feels right as people on the outside can only know so much.
You are so right though – our minds really are our own worst enemy with everything!
Exactly! It’s so tough to find that balance between listening to your body and testing things out just enough.
I can definitely relate to this! My mind goes crazy (still) with every little ache or pain, jumping to worse case scenario. I’m glad you’re feeling good as you ease back in!
Thank you! It can definitely be stressful after dealing with injuries to get back into training.