Interconnected injuries and when to cut back on exercise
There was a surprisingly* good article in the February issue of Fitness about interconnected injuries. You know…
- If you’ve got weak hips, it could lead to knee pain.
- If you’ve got shin splits, it could lead to stress fractures.
- If you’ve got sore abs, it could lead to lower back pain.
- If you’ve got plantar fasciitis, it could lead to achilles tendinitis.
- If you’ve got rotator cuff pain, it could lead to tennis elbow.
This happens because injuries force surrounding muscles to work in ways they aren’t designed for – resulting in further injury.
Of course, you don’t have to have one injury to lead to the other! The article was just pointing out how often doctors see clients with both issues. I wish I could find the article online to share with you – there were great tips on injury prevention for each area I mentioned above.
What I found even more helpful was advice on how to workout if you do have slight pain, or what you think might be an injury. The article explained four stages of an overuse** injury and how to react to them:
- Stage 1: You feel pain within an hour of your workout and it goes away an hour or two later but returns each day after you exercise. Adjust your exercise by scaling back what you do by 10 percent that week.
- Stage 2: The pain appears sooner and sooner after each workout until it is present near the end of activity and afterward, but doesn’t affect performance. Adjust your exercise by scaling back what you do that week by 25 percent.
- Stage 3: The pain comes on during activity and affects performance. Running gets worse or you feel fatigued in the middle of working out when you used to feel fine. Adjust your exercise by scaling back what you do that week by 50-75 percent.
- Stage 4: The pain is debilitating. It’s there as soon as your start and during daily activities (for example, limping when you walk). Adjust your exercise by suspending it until you see a doctor to see if you have a stress fracture or equivalent.
They didn’t say how to go between stages – but I assume you follow the advice to cut your exercise back for each stage (for example, going from stage 3 to 1) until you feel no pain.
Have you experienced any of the interconnected injuries? Do you think the stages of an overuse injury and how to react to them are helpful?
Where was this article last year when I was running on my sore shin? I didn’t cut back at first, when I should have, and did end up with what the doctor thought was a stress fracture (couldn’t afford the MRI) and wasted a lot of time not being able to workout at all. It did start out at Stage 1 and definitely ended in Stage 4. I was limping so bad, it took me almost twice as long to walk six blocks to work.
I know that this may be boring to some of you, but I felt like I found a little treasure when I stumbled upon this article, so I thought I would share. I am going to follow the signs of the four stages if I am unlucky enough to experience what I think might be an injury.
*I have subscribed on and off to Fitness for years. After reading Women’s Health and SELF, I felt like the Fitness articles were just fluff in comparison so I didn’t renew my subscription. But they sent me a great deal ($5 for a year) and I like to have stuff to read on the bike, so I re-subscribed. I was pleasantly surprised with the first issue I received.
**Too much too soon or too much intensity, too soon.
Themocracy
What a great article! I feel like you wrote this post specifically for me…haha.
I definitely agree with the interconnected injury thing. If nothing else, I think sometimes an injury can show up as a *result* of something else. For example, I heard somewhere that week calves can lead to achilles tendonitis *and* it can lead to plantas fasciitis. I’ve had BOTH. So I’m pretty sure I know where at least some of my problems lie. 😉
I also love the guidelines that they proposed, on how to deal with injuries as far as cutting back on intensity or too much, too soon. I think it’s great advice to keep in mind.
Thanks so much for sharing! 😀
You were one of the bloggers I had in mind when I wrote this! 🙂
Good point about injuries being the result of something! I’ve heard weak calves can also lead to shin splints.
i had a running injury last year when training for a marathon, and since i had never run before, i really had no idea what the heck had happened. i thought it was my leg, had MRI on that, it wasn’t that, had it on my back and then they diagnosed a hundred other things that had nothing to do with my pain. come down to it…i think it was a tight muscle that reoccurs whenever i 1. run a lot or 2. skate a lot.
New runners are at such risk for overuse injury! The same thing happened to me (an injury)! I wish there was some way we communicate with each other… besides blogging!
I didn’t know, until it was too late, that my weak hips were responsible for my knee injuries. I wish I’d known earlier because now I have permanent knee issues. So frustrating!!
Fitness is a really good magazine, I actually prefer it to Shape and Self but I am trying to stop my out of control magazine habit right now so I refused their amazing offer!
Oh jeez, I subscribe to a zillion and one mags too. Happy I am not the only one 😉
Hey Kim! It’s been a little while since I dropped in…and I’ve missed your always-relevant info & question(s) to get me thinking. 🙂 Have to tell you (since we think a bit alike), when I saw the mag title and your *, I went straight to the disclaimer first, to see what it was. LOL. Then, went back up to read. I feel the same way about ‘Fitness’ mag, so I’m glad you were pleasantly surprised and that you shared w/ us. Re: interconnected injuries – interesting! I began having trouble w/ plantar fascitis about 6 wks ago – noticed it at the beginning of my long runs, mostly. Then, when I did my recent ‘dress rehearsal’ run (all 13.1) for the upcoming half, I had achilles issues that day – something I had never experienced. Now I understand why, and can address accordingly. Thank you! HUGS from a gray, wet, chilly Orlando (today)!
I had some hard core knee pain last year and I went to a running store to get new shoes, thinking that was what I needed. A guy there told me try to try rolling my IT band. I did and it was amazing! Pain free!
Now my knee hurts and I’m not sure why so I’ve stopped running for a few weeks!
I bet taking a few weeks off will make your knee feel better! Rest is always a good idea!
Noooooo! I don’t want to hear that my shin splints can lead to a stress fracture, I want all my injuries to just go away and be hunky-dory, and have lots of fun running. But, this does make me feel better about taking some time off to heal – so thank you for posting!
I had a lot of calf tightness that lead to Plantar Faciitis. Unfortunately, I didn’t connect the injuries until after the PF got pretty bad.
This is great advice – I think a lot of us try to be super conscientious about exercising and feel like taking a break means we are “weak” or “lazy”, where sometimes it can be a wonderful gift to our bodies.
Body parts are definitely related! I have patellafemoral syndrome, which means the insides of my kneecaps are very rough and irritate the cartilage. While I will never be able to take a lot of impact, strengthening my quads and calves through weightlifting has been hugely beneficial in relieving pain in my kneecaps. Those muscles help stabilize the knees.
I completely agree with this article. I used to have all sorts of little aches and pains but when I started strength training, they all went away. The ab-work I did really helped my back as well!
thanks for posting this! ugh i have the body of a 90 year old i swear! i dislocated my shoulder so many times but always popped it back in place myself or with the help of someone else (never a doctor!) and never let it heal properly..so it ended up rupturing the sac of fluid that is supposed to cushion the area and my shoulder blade ended up grating my ribs!! not ok!
So… I have a history of knee injuries, and gradually scaled back and down running. Finally, last summer I decided to “cave” – I made an appointment with, GASP, a specialist. It ended up that I had a torn ACL. I think that’s a pretty extreme case of what seems to be a mild injury that ends up being something very different.
The good news is that I should (fingers crossed) return to many of the activities that I’d scratched off my list of activities I enjoy, such as running and skiing (can’t wait until next winter!).
Oh gosh! I am so happy you figured out what was wrong and are on your way to recovery!
Thanks for posting the stages! I think those are probably one of the more helpful things I’ve read on injuries. Now, the hard part is actually following them!!
Amen to that! I never do what I am supposed to regarding rest! I am going to work harder at it though.
Oh girl this is a great blog post!! So many people will be able to relate to these issues and pains. I know that when I work my abs my lower back really hurts!
I have a tip for back aches- get a pool noodle and lay it on your spine from where your bra clasp starts all the way up to your head. Lay your arms out to the side. This stretches the muscles in your back and feels great. My chiro recommends this once a day for 10 min 🙂
XXOO
Cross my fingers I’ve yet to be injured but once in a while my knee does ache right after running. Maybe that’s step one. Yikes!
I went from 0 to stage 4 once on my bike of all things. I stood up to pedal up a hill and pulled something in my back and it was excruciating. It was so hard to rest and let that heal.
Otherwise, I really try to listen to the twinges my body tells me (and at 41, that is coming more often!)
Honestly? I feel blessedly injury-free at this current moment, but this post kind of scared me off getting up from the floor! :p
Not that it would stop me, of course. 😉
<3 <3
Very interesting. I have weak hips, and sometimes my knee hurts. Its also been better since Ive started putting more time into strengthening my hips.
It also was NEVER a problem when I had my horse. My hips were way stronger back then. Yet another reason for me to take riding back up again.
This is a fabulous post! I try to tell people in yoga that if your hips are tight you will tork your knee in certain poses or that if your back isnt loose, you will tork your shoulder or hips…It’s always one joint set away from where you think you need to be warm, i.e. it may look like a pose is all in the knees but really it’s in the hips, too. Anyway, so yes, injuries migrate.
I have alot of old athletic and running injuries that nag me. It sucks and if i dont cool my jets when i get little flare ups, i am hobbling like a 89 yr old woman 🙂
And the last post re frienships and bloggers…I have met the nicest girls in the sphere and some of them I have met IRL and when I get back to So Cal soon I hope, I have a half dozen “friends” waiting for me! Loved the blank stares/why would you start a blog comment…SO TRUE LOL
I believe that my hip problems are a direct connecttion to my knee problems. I never had hip issues until two weeks ago but I have had ITB problems for over a year. I finally gave in this week and I am stopping my running for the time being. I am seeing my Chiro for ART and if the pain is not better by Friday, I am going to see my primary and request an x-ray. I will be beyond depressed if it is bad news, which is in part why I put off going, but I also know I am only making it worse by ignoring the situation.
I hope you get good news at your visit 🙁 I would be hesitant to go too… but if you take care of it now, it’s less time on the bench in the future! And at least you got to do the last half! 🙂
I definitely think it’s all connected! In fact, when I went to PT she told me that a lot of times (with knee injuries) they’ll only give the patient hip strengthening exercises to do. I also think inflexibility contributes to a lot of injuries. So I can see why a lot of runners do yoga!