Have you ever had an injury that limited your ability to exercise? It can be incredibly frustrating! Luckily, there are various modifications you can make to help you stay active. Movement can actually help promote recovery, if done correctly. We recognize that each injury is different, but for most minor “aches/sprains/strains,” you can continue your active lifestyle with some simple modifications.
Our top 5 recommendations for exercise modifications:
Adjust your range of motion. Sometimes during an injury, your body will be limited by how much it can move. Try utilizing partial ranges of motion in your exercises to keep your workouts pain-free. As an example, a partial exercise could be doing a partial squat instead of a full depth squat. If the pain is very acute and not responding to any pain-free range of motion, you can try isometrics. Isometrics consists of contracting a muscle without actually moving your limb.
Use a different movement pattern. You may need to remove a specific movement pattern all together. For example, an overhead press might be too painful for your shoulders. You may have to eliminate that movement initially and focus on non-painful movement patterns during workouts.
Adjust the weight. Sometimes, certain movement patterns can feel comfortable. However, at heavier loads, you can start to feel pain. This could mean that the area does not have the strength or capacity to lift at those heavier loads. The movement itself may not be harmful or a “bad exercise,” but the load itself may be the problem.
Adjust tempo or speed of movement. You can slow down the speed of an exercise and use lower weight, which can sometimes be more comfortable after an injury. You can also incorporate pauses to still get an efficient workout without overloading the healing tissues with heavier weight.
Adjust the volume. You may need extra time to recover while your body is trying to heal. You can take an extra rest day. You can also decrease your overall volume. Do less sets, reps, or time spent doing a specific exercise.
Just remember, if pain improves as you continue the movement, you can carry on. If pain worsens, your body is likely not ready for that variation of movement, so you should try a different modification.
As physical therapists, our goal is to act as a guide to keep you moving and help your body heal along the path to recovery. If you need help figuring out how to stay in the gym and optimize recovery, let us know! We offer various programs for those who are struggling with injuries and exercising or those that just need more direction. You can count on us to keep you moving and pain-free!