You are injured.... not dead! Part 2

So this week's post is a follow on from You are injured, not dead! Part 1 where I spoke about the need to make your movements functional, but more importantly reduce your risk of injury through better movement mechanics. And I want to focus on this specifically because this is a lesson I am currently experiencing myself. 

Quick overview, I currently have a herniated disk at L5/S1 (yep pretty much the same injury as Annie Thorisdottir) and the bulging disk is pressing on my sciatic nerve that has been causing me pain and discomfort going on 5 months now. I originally got this injury about June or July 2012 when I was deadlifting to get ready for a strongman comp, and yes I was deadlifting with poor mechanics and poor technique. At the time I had no one to coach me on how to move better and what I should be doing, however I am not passing the buck as I should not have been lifting the weight, reps and sets I was at the time plain and simple. I never took the time to get this injury fixed properly so this became a weakness that finally put me down for good just before the end of last year. Yet without having ever sustained this chronic injury I would not have found a level maturity in my own approach to being a better athlete that is necessary to go to the next level, or the foresight to give athletes and clients that I coach the right words to avoid or deal with chronic injuries and mobility issues.

So 5 months on I am glad to say that after finding a really good physio who introduced me to McKenzie Method, being mature about my approach to recovery for once, refocused my training efforts and even taking up pilates to strengthen my core, things are looking very positive. I was told last week by my physio last week that I am doing far better than he expected someone with my injury to be doing at this point, and I will be back to where I was sooner than expected. In this time I have learned a number of lessons: 

1. CrossFitters like to blow themselves apart, no matter the cost
2. Fitness is not a short term focus, but a life long event
3. Taking the time to build the right foundations will be the difference between building a skyscraper, or becoming a statistic of failure.
4. Patience and maturity are your best friends when it comes to getting over long term injuries or chronic mobility problems.

The first lesson is pretty self explanatory. Be it ripped hands from pull ups that stop you from holding onto a barbell for the next week, a shoulder impingement from attempting to go that last set of unbroken snatches in a WOD, or pinching a nerve in your lower back trying to do a big set of heavy deadlifts when you are already fatigued. CrossFitters will race the clock and each other to win today even if it means an injury rather than taking the focus of trying to be better tomorrow. If you cannot train tomorrow because you hurt yourself today then you are not fitter tomorrow, you are weaker tomorrow.

This leads into the second lesson

CrossFit is supposed to build capacity as we age and restore functional movement. Our hierarchy of development means good movement mechanics first and intensity last; not "that'll do" mechanics second and intensity first. For those who have done the Level 1 Seminar will remember the Sickness - Wellness - Fitness continuum, that decrepitude is a symptom of sickness and fitness means more than just low body fat and high Vo2 capacity. If you want to continue to play in life well into old age, to still be able to go out to run or swim, jump and play then one must avoid injuries. So if that means not finishing a WOD, or not going for that new PR today, that is fine it is just not your day; the weights will still be there next week and you can try again, but if you are injured than you have no option to try again. 

This leads into lesson 3 in that if early on you take the time to ensure your movement and positions are correct you will not only be better in your training and in life, but you will bulletproof yourself against injury rather than making yourself a prime candidate for injury. This includes mobility issues and flexibility issues, for example if you have really tight shoulders and cannot keep a neutral spinal position and have your arm straight up in the air so there is one straight line between your fingers, elbow, shoulder, hip and ankle, then you should not be overhead pressing yet, and definitely not snatching. Yeah snatching is really fun, but trust me in that having functional range of motion in your shoulders as you age is far more useful than attempting one heavy snatch and your shoulder not working properly again.

And this is where lesson 4 comes into play.

Be mature in your approach to training and be patient in recovering injuries or rehabilitating mobility and flexibility problems. The weights will be there when you get better so rather use this time to work on weaknesses you might have in other areas that you can work (we both know they exist), you will be better in the long run for it. Blowing yourself apart for one workout or one competition is just not worth it if you will lose the ability to have functional movement in life where daily tasks or recreational activities are no more.

I have used my time away from heavy lifting to work on my core strength through finding a good pilates instructor (click here to like Pilates Bodies) who understands my needs as an athlete, I have taken a larger focus on building upper body strength and muscular endurance which has always been a weakness of mine, and I have worked on my positions and movements to the point that my air squat is looking the best it ever has for me. I know that when I can do all the movements and weights again that the weaknesses I had that facilitated my injury the first time or held me back during workouts will no longer be an issue.

When you do have that chronic injury or mobility issue that doesn't allow you to train at full capacity, it is sort of like going to prison for a little while; rather than staring at the bars on the windows feeling sorry for yourself, it is time to pump some iron so to speak. Be honest and decide what you suck at, is it your core strength? Shoulder stability and strength? Perhaps it is even a mobility and flexibility issue that you now have the forced time to work on.

This time will be difficult when you see all the kids playing on the other size of the cyclone fencing and razor wire, you just need to bide your time and focus on working what you can work on so that once your injury is healed or your mobility issue is a thing of the past, just know that you will have ultimately lifted your game to make you a better version of yourself both in life and as an athlete.    

Eat clean, Train hard, Stay Strong 

You are injured...... not dead! Part 1

So hands up who has had an injury that has stopped them from training? Or how about a mobility issue that is limiting you in what movements you can do? Or maybe putting you at risk of injury due to a reduction in mobility and range of motion?

Yep just as a thought, everyone has their hands up for one or all of those reasons!

This can be an extremely frustrating time for an individual and also a potentially very dangerous time. Everyone is alright taking a bit of time to rest and recover in order for pain to subside, and then return to full training. Alternatively if it is a mobility issue they will do modified movements for a period of time, however in both instances it is very rare for the individual to really focus and address the root cause of their injury or mobility issue before returning to full movement. Typically frustration will set in and pain will be gone so they will return to doing the movements that caused injury or pain in the first place without changing why they got injured or why the have limited range of motion in the first place

I want to bring this back to what CrossFit is: Constantly varied functional movements, performed at high intensity. And focus on the high lighted part, functional movements.

For those who have done the CrossFit Level 1 Seminar will remember this chain:

Mechanics > Consistency > Intensity

Meaning that we must first get the mechanics of the movement right, we must then show consistency of moving with good mechanics again and again, then lastly we add in intensity. Intensity is achieved either through adding weight or moving faster, so I am not going to even worry about that part today. I want to look at only mechanics and consistency as they pertain to functional movements.

Remembering what Functional Movements are, they have the ability to move large loads, long distances and do so quickly; Functional Movements are natural movements of universal motor recruitment; and Functional Movements are SAFE

However there is more to just saying that the squat or deadlift is a functional movement, and as a general term they absolutely are. However if you squat with a rounded back and your knees falling in while you are on your toes with a massive forward inclination, well sorry bro but that is not functional. Likewise if you deadlift with a rounded back with weight in your toes then you probably will not be lifting with your posterior chain and as a consolation prize you will most likely win a herniated or blown disc.

It is good that you are going for a full range movement but squatting or deadlifting with those faults is not functional as you cannot move large loads long distances at any speed while avoiding injury if you are in a mechanically and anatomically weak position. If you want your squat to be functional then you need to be in an anatomically safe and strong position, which for the squat as an example means the following:
  

• Have a strong and stable mid-line; so a neutral spine is maintained throughout the movement supported by all core muscles
• Weight is centered through the heels with a flat foot
• Knees pushed out to engage the hip external rotators and ensure your knees track over your feet to avoid pressure on the cruciate ligaments of the knee
• And the strength to maintain all these structures again and again to make this movement consistent 

Once your squat is proficient then you can add weight or speed for intensity. In short, the squat is not a functional movement until your squat has the ability perform the function of moving an external load  without putting you at high risk of injury.

I am going to insert a small caveat here, in that no program that is effective in increasing your capacity to do work in a reasonable time frame is 100% safe. Life and training has inherent risk involved so when pushing yourself to move more weight or move faster there is an element of risk involved. The idea is to reduce this risk as much as possible by moving better and training smarter.

So this is part 1 of this series as I wanted to set up a chain of thought for two posts to follow this one. With so many people focused on increase work capacity, many forget that before we can increase work capacity we must first improve human movement. For those who listen to Kelly 'K-Star' Starrett will know that loading in a weak position with no mechanical advantage will ultimately and quickly lead to injury. Final thought for this first part is as follows: 

Look at the way you move, is it functional and is it safe? Great, you are ready for intensity. 

Do you have a mobility issue that is preventing you from being able to move in a way that is functional and safe? Then you need to fix how you move first. 

Have you got an acute or chronic injury due to poor movement patterns? Then you need to firstly recover the injured structures and then retrain your movement to prevent future injuries.

Stay tuned for the next parts that will deal with how to train with mobility issues or injuries, and the mental aspect of working through that whilst staying motivated. 

Thanks for reading guys, like and share on Facebook. Send me questions or comments, always happy to talk shop! 

Gav