The Sport Factory That Little Twinge Should Be Telling You Something

That Little Twinge Should Be Telling You Something

Our bodies are amazingly adaptable and have an enormous capacity to recover. The problem with athletes is that they often do not listen to their bodies. We are trained to ignore pain and persevere; this is the nature of endurance. But this ethic can easily work against us. Orthopedists will tell you athletes often come to see them only when they can no longer train. They may have been training injured for weeks or months. This point is generally far beyond what the average person succumbs to, and means the injury has progressed that much further.

Your body usually gives you an indication it is being asked to do what it is not ready for, especially in regards to overuse injuries. You may feel a little �twinge� of pain that turns into a dull ache. At first it may go away when you exercise, then the area becomes stiff or sore post exercise. Next, you aware of the pain when exercising- then all the time, even at night.

This process may often be avoided with a day or two off, some ice, a few anti-inflamatories, and a reduced training load. Running is the most injury prone sport of triathlon and simply changing the remainder of your week to swim and bike work outs may give an impact injury the space it needs to heal with little implication to your overall goals.

An injury or potential injury really only has two directions to go in; it will get better or worse. And the direction it progresses may be largely up to you. Endurance athletes repeat movements over and over thousands of times in a single work out. If there is a small strain, sprain, or tear it is unlikely it will get better under this type of stress. Your body is a machine like any other, it will break down. Listen to it when it tells you it needs a break.

Matt Russ has coached and trained elite athletes from around the country and internationally for over ten years. He currently holds expert licenses from USA Triathlon, USA Cycling (Elite), and is a licensed USA Track and Field Coach. Matt is head coach and owner of The Sport Factory, and works with athletes of all levels full time. He is a free lance author and his articles are regularly featured in a variety of magazines such as Inside Triathlon, and Triathlete. Visit www.thesportfactory.com for more information or email him at coachmatt@thesportfactory.com

Published in: Quick Tips