Those aching traps from farmer's walks, tight calves from double under's, tweaky shoulder from kipping, knee pain from squats, that bad back that goes out when you deadlift... yep those are all injured tissues crying out for some TLC.
When most people get injured, they will immediately do one thing - nothing.
Kiwi's are total hard-outs. It's like there's a silent competition going to see who can take the least care of themselves and live with the most injuries. This is moronic. The only thing your body has on it's side is youth and time, both of which will run out, and then your injuries will become your worst nightmares.
If you want your body to perform to it's highest ability (as in, cross fit), and you want to be one of those rad, fit 75 year olds with a six pack of doom doing 75 pull ups... you need to treat your body like a princess. Yes, like a precious little princess.
Healing injuries and general post work out pain
Do something STRAIGHT AWAY, or as soon as possible.
Why? Because the second after you injure yourself, your body has started the healing process. It is going to heal whether you help it or not, but through the actions you take or don't take, you can influence whether it heals fast and heals well, or leaves behind a niggle that never really goes away. The best time to look after your injury is right now.
Okay Clare, so what do I do?
For the very short attention spanned among us, here is the in and out, uber quick version:
Ice it.
Heat it.
Rub it.
For those who can put down their calorie counting app for five minutes, the longer version:
1. Ice.
Why? Icing does two things:
One, it reduces swelling. When you injure tissues they swell with lymphatic fluid and blood, bringing in nutrients and immune cells for repair. This is great but this inflammatory response comes flooding in like someone broke the dam and jams up the whole area, and then nothing can flow in or out. This is bad.
Two, icing numbs pain. This is good, not only because pain is uncomfortable, but because pain inhibits movement. You will accommodate this pain by adjusting your body position to protect the injury, muscles stiffen and shorten, locking up the area and causing an imbalance across surrounding joints. If you start healing in this position, new tissues are built with bad motor pathways, and laid down in a messier, unaligned way pattern. These compensations and adjustments can cause a ripple effect of other injuries, rippling out from the first one. Booo.
How?
Get two tea towels and tie them together at the end. Take frozen vegetables out of the freezer and wind the bag up into one of the tea towels. Wrap the vege's around your sore bit and tie the tea towel ends together.
Leave on for up to ten minutes and no more. Now you can carry on and make dinner while nature works it's wonders.
But Clare, isn't pain my friend? I think I love Pain, I think pain is 'the one'!
Yeah I hear you. I'll tell you when you DON'T want pain though, and that is when you are trying to sleep. Because you heal when you sleep, and if you are in pain, you aren't sleeping restfully, and you are not healing.
Okay step two!
Now as long as the swelling has reduced, we warm the area with a hot water bottle, like this little friend. Not scalding hot. Rest it on the area. For up to ten minutes and no more.
Why? Now we are bringing the blood rushing back in with all it's yummy nutritional goodness and clever little cells to patch you up. By using cold, then heat, we are basically 'pumping' the area, to create greater perfusion of blood throughout the tissues. And, both heat and cold will numb the pain.
Then what?
3. Massage.
This is where things get a bit saucy. It's time for some self massage. You do not need a degree to do this, just a hand.
I recommend massaging antiflamme into the area. That stuff is good.
Massage massively speeds healing. One thing massage does is help the new tissues to be laid down in an aligned fashion, rather than in a knotty fashion which causes what is basically scar tissue. This means you are still a rubber band, instead of a rubber band with knots in it.
Find the sore spots and dig your fingers into them, rub it all around, it should hurt but not be excessively painful. By now you will have had a shower and eaten dinner and you watch tele and get your rub on.
4. Make an appointment with your physio
Awww Clare! But I haven't got time and it's nothing really and it'll be sweet by tomorrow and it's only my arm and I've got two and and and and....
Yes I know. You are afraid to ask for help. But trust me, real men go to physio. Because then they can win competitions and impress all the girls (whatever motivates you I say).
Why?
Because you do not know what is wrong and you do not know how to fix it.
It could be nothing, or it could ruin your barbell grip for the rest of your life. Sucks to be you.
The longer you wait to do the right thing, the longer your rehabilitation period will be. Something you could have fixed in three weeks, could end up costing you three months.
Guess who said 'I wish I had never seen my physio, it didn't help at all'.
No one.
I highly recommend Vaughan at www.sportslab.net.nz
No physio I have met knows more about the movement function and dysfunction of the body than Vaughan.
All going well, your injury will not be too serious and this little routine will allow you to train again the next day, or maybe the next.
Recap
Anything that hurts after training: Ice, Heat and Massage. Even if it's just a little strain, as this will allow you to train harder the next day.
Hey Clare, what about anti-inflammatories?
Yes. These drugs were designed for short term use for acute pain. That's you my friend. The best time to take them is at night before bed so you can heal better while you sleep.
Clare, you're a herbally witchy pants, any other cool things I can do?
Loads. But that's another blog. A couple worth a mention though are:
No Paine - never has a product name been more truthful. This little guy is a roll on with cayenne in it that is SO UNBELIEVABLE at relieving pain it is like wizardry. Better than staying on neurofen, which will put a hole in your gut after a few days. That one bottle will last you a life time.
Vitamin C
The best thing to take internally is vitamin C, and lots of it. 1-2 grams every couple of hours. Vitamin C helps reduce inflammation and is required for the production of connection tissue, which is what is being made when you are healing.
A word of caution
If there is the possibility that you have broken or fractured a bone, ice it, and go to A and E.
You can't fix that shit with a rub down. You might have heard a crack or snap? Or the pain is in your bone, not the joint or soft tissue? Or, you can't bear any weight on it. That may be a a break or serious tear. A and E Batman, and step on it.
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