There is an old school mentality that you always hear; you should train through injuries. It is tough to decide whether you should let an injury sideline you for a couple weeks, but you ultimately have to think long term about what your goals are and what your motivation for training is. Is this a hobby for you? Do you want to train as long as possible? Is this your social hour?
No one wants to stop training, but everyone gets injured, so there lies the problem. Unless you are doing this for a living, or are trying to, you should think twice about training while injured. Don’t let anyone influence your decision unless it is someone that has the credentials to do so. Do you really want to listen to someone that has had a bunch of injuries and can barely move certain parts of his body? Probably not. Unless you want to end up the same way they are.
You have to be able to tell the difference between soreness and pain to see what action you should take.
Symptoms of soreness include:
- Muscles are tender to touch
- Tired or burning feeling during activity
- Minimal tightness and dull ache at rest
- Usually only lasts 2-3 days
- Improves with stretching and movement
Symptoms of pain include:
- Sharp or aching feeling at rest and during activity
- Loss in range of motion
- Persists longer than 3 days after activity
If you have soreness, you can train through that, but be careful with that, too. Training overworked muscles can still lead to injury. If you have pain, then rest is needed until those symptoms do not exist.
There are a lot of people that will say you can still train through injuries, even if you have pain. That may be true, too. Drilling technique is still an option, but how many of us can hold ourselves back from rolling after we drill?
Also, it really depends on where your injury is and what you are drilling. Don’t expect the class to cater to you where they only drill certain techniques or positions because you are injured. In my opinion, you should be taking that time to rehab your injury.
We all need to do preventative techniques to avoid injuries. If you do not do these, it doesn’t guarantee an injury, but it will definitely increase your chance of developing one. We all overuse certain parts of our bodies, and most likely underuse other parts. This creates a muscular imbalance, which can lead to injury, but it also affects how your body functions and the muscles that are recruited in certain areas.
If you want to decrease your chance of getting an injury, you should include the following into your training routine:
- A clean diet with a lot of vegetables and other whole foods
- 7-9 hours of sleep per night
- Stretching daily
- A strength routine that focuses on your weakest areas
Have you ever had an injury that you trained through but regretted? What are some of the techniques you use to prevent injuries? Let me know what your opinion is on training through injuries!
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