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Each type of injury is different and different things may help one injury to the next. We will ematically look at how to evaluate these issues.
If the injury is single event (e.g. acute onset) and catastrophic in nature where you know there is damage, such as an ankle sprain, and there is very significant swelling/edema then you should definitely schedule an appointment with a medical professional immediately. RICE, anti-inflammatory medication, massage, etc. can all help, but you really need professional attention for these sorts of problems to rule out damage such as fractures, torn tendons, etc.
If it is more chronic onset and you were foolish enough to push through (heck, we all are at some point) then you need to rest. Fairly often, rest heals all pains completely before they become too problematic. While resting, incorporate painless mobility work to keep blood flowing and maintain range of motion. Supplement that with massage, assuming it is not painful, again to keep blood flowing and Toosen up tight tissues.
If the pain is persistent even after a week of rest then there is an issue present that nceds to be dealt with specifically.
It takes a lot of honesty with self to answer this question aceurately. It is common among athletes to have a monstrous work ethic and that tends to come with some stubbornness. Suppress that stubbornness and be lucid.
Tell yoursel, "Hey, if something hurts during this exercise, and I have done this exercise a lot this week or month then maybe something is being overworked by this exercise."
Accept that there is a strong possibility of an overuse injury. Do not let it get to you. Realize that as long as you rest and take the proper steps to fixing it, it will heal a lot sooner than what it seems like. Relax and do non-painful mobility work and massage instead.
Is it more neurological in nature where there is tingling, numbness, or a radiating type of pain? If so, it is time to see an orthopedic doctor or physical therapist. You do not want to mess around with this type of pain, especially if there are sensory and motor issues involved. Get yourself to a medical professional as soon as possible.
What type of tissue is the pain located in? The muscle? The tendon? The bone?
If it is located within or on a joint or bone it would be a good idea to see a medical professional for the same reason as the neurological symptoms. When this type of pain arises it is likely more serious, such as ligament or cartilage damage. These are things you should be discussing with your orthopedic doctor.
However, if it seems to be more muscular or tendinous then there is more we can do on our own to help fix the issue. However, do not rule out sceing a professional as they likely know more about rehabilitation of such injuries than you do yourself.
Is it inflamed, painful, tight, stiff, or otherwise poor quality?
If so, the source of injury may be affecting the quality of tissues in the surrounding area which can definitely become problematic. In some of these cases, simply loosening the surrounding area can actually improve the injured area.
Again, doing non-painful mobility work and soft tissue massage with the area and the surrounding tissues may help.
However, if it is a more complex joint such as the shoulder, the area that is painful may not actually be the source or cause of the injury. For example, muscular weakness in the back of the scapula is very common and can lead to shoulder pain. When you start to use the shoulder a lot, the other muscles try to take up the slack from the muscles that are weak or inactive. Thus, the actual tissue that gets injured is the one being overused when the true root of the problem is the weak or inactive muscle. This is why rehabilitation work to a specific area will usually fix the injury by strengthening the muscle/tendon involved, but the injury often comes back when the rehabilitative work stops or does not progress properly.
Likewise, the lower body is intimately connected. Issues in the feet can cause lower back pain, and issues in the back can cause foot pain. Often times people with knee pain will have range of motion and strength issues at the hips and ankles. Be cognizant of these types of things.
Any type of repeating injury or nagging injury is almost always because of a problem in a different area. Chronic low back pain that does not address proper gluteal and hamstring flexibility will often stick around for a long time. Patellar tendonitis rehabilitation that does not focus on correcting the biomechanical patterns of lack of range of motion and strength in the ankles and hips will continue to be a nuisance.
For an injury in the shoulder where your rotator cuff or muscles around the glenohumeral joint may be having issues, do not be so sure that those muscles are the ones that are the ones causing the problem. The problem may often lie in other muscles surrounding the scapula such as the latissimus dorsi, thomboids, lower/middle/upper traps, serratus anterior, pectorals, efe.
This is why for shoulder pain I typically recommend getting it checked out by a physical therapist: most people have no clue about properly evaluating muscular imbalances, weaknesses, or overuse in the shoulder. Remember, the site of the pain is not always the cause of the injury.
If you know there are some imbalances that need to be corrected that may be a good place to start, Which leads us to...
This is an innately tough question. Building routines off of the full body, push/pull methodology tends to be more fairly straight forward in fleshing out possible imbalances.
Muscle imbalances are typically insidious and can show up anywhere in the body. It is common to see an anterior/pushing imbalance often from beach muscle work only — bench, curls, and abs! If your pushing work (e.g., dips, handstands, handstand pushups, planche, pushups) exceeds your pulling work (2. pullups, inverted pullups, rowing type exercises, front lever, back lever) then there may be an imbalance that develops.
When we use our muscles to put out force, the body also has to reciprocate by using the antagonistic muscles in an eccentric motion to help "balance" the joint lest it get pulled out of its socket and incur catastrophic injury. For the shoulder as it comes overhead it must roll anterior and superior and glide posterior and inferior respectively. As such, if we train with excessive volume on one side and never strengthen the muscles of the opposite side then they will end up lengthened and weak while the other side is tight and overused.
This problem is two-fold: we can end up with an injury in the back or posterior shoulder along with problems in the front of the body. If the injury occurs on the side of the body that the exercise is working, especially in the muscles and tendons that are being worked, it is likely overuse. However, if it occurs on the opposite side of the body it is probably a muscular imbalance or postural issue.
Unknowingly, this happens to many people as a product of modern living. As humans, our eyes look forward and so the things we to in our daily lives are always in front of us. Without an awarcness and corrective procedures against it it is easy to develop poor posture: head forward, shoulders hunched forward, pelvis tipped forward, and a rounded back. Sitting and slouching do nothing to help fight thi process, nor does training beach muscles or even planche without a proper balance of exercises.
When poor posture develops this puts us into two of the four problematic categories, namely problematic posture and muscle length-tension relationships. When this happens, it is easier for the biomechanics of movement to be thrown off.
For example, when doing a planche our strong anterior deltoids are contracting extremely hard which pulls our humerus forwards and upwards in the glenohumeral joint. Normally this is fine. However, if the posterior muscles of our shoulder are weak, it can start pulling our joint too much forward and too much upwards which causes rubbing and impingement upon soft tissue structures. On top of that, we have not sufficiently exercised the posterior part of our shoulders. Thus, when they are being used eccentrically, they will become excessively fatigued and start to be susceptible to a strain and extreme tightness.
Our bodies are smarter than us. In cases like these it senses that we are on the brink of injury and it starts to lock down the muscles of the shoulder and decrease force output capabilities much like it would do in the case of pain. The posterior part of the shoulder, especially the rotator cuff, may become extremely tight and painful. Our motion and force output capabilities become limited. We have an injury and do not even know what caused it.
This is why, when looking to evaluate the injury conditions, we want to look at those four factors: posture, biomechanics, mobility, and muscle length-tension relationships. These things will indicate to us if there is an injury condition in the area and set the stage for what approach needs to be taken to correct the problem.
NOTE: Consult your physician or physical therapist before doing any specific rehabilitation on yourself.
Again, a diagnosis from a qualified professional is extremely important. The last thing you want i to rest three weeks and have it tum into a nagging injury that lasts three months or even three years, which i not uncommon. If pain is persistent over a week get it checked out by an orthopedic doctor.
From this point on we want to start with 40% of the volume and intensity that was being implemented prior to the injury then add about 20% a week until we have gotten back to full workout load. This means that we get about to full workout load in the fourth week which gives time for the injured issues to be strengthened without the risk of having the injury flare up again.
If there is a relapse, then decrease the load volume back to somewhere between 20-40% depending on how the injury affects the exercise and instead add about 10-15% per week.
Now, if the injury has relapsed for the second or third time (or even more) and you still have not gotten it checked out by a medical professional then it is definitely time to go see one.
It is clear at this point that you will need someone who can holistically evaluate your movement mechanies to see if the problem is beyond what the pain is telling you. There is no shame in admitting that you cannot rehabilitate yourself and consult someone in the medical field who went through years of schooling and tens of thousands of hours evaluating and rehabilitating injuries.
You will typically be best served looking for a well-qualified orthopedic doctor, physical therapist, or chiropractor that really listens to your situation and fits with your personality. While there are some massage therapists and personal trainers who do know a lot about injuries, they seem to be more of an exception. I recommend trying to find ones that work with athletes. If you are having trouble, it may be a good idea to call up your local university and see which physicians and therapists they use.
Different individuals will also have their different specialties, especially with orthopedic doctors. Some work specifically with lower body, some with upper body. There are shoulder specialists, knee specialists, and so forth.
Above all else, it is not what field he or she is in, but if he or she works with athletes and has a good reputation. "The cream of the crop rises to the top." Generally, these will be the people who work with sports teams for universities or high schools and have extensive knowledge of orthopedic injuries and your treatment options depending on the severity of the injury.
Acute or chronic, propensity for overuse, pain location, tissue quality, posture and positioning, and biomechanics all play critical roles in the development of an injury. Even if you have a good idea of what it is, it is almost always a good idea to have a qualified medical professional have it checked out for you.
Finally, we looked gencrally at an evaluation of the circumstances surrounding an injury. We saw that the preferred approach that is best is it see a medical professional for a diagnosis. Once we have a diagnosis, we can more thoroughly address the cause which makes for a faster rehabilitation.
If such solution are unavailable, it may be necessary to go with the wait-and-see approach although it is not preferred.
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