After my vacation free-for-all, I was looking forward to jumping back in to my exercise routine. Apparently, I jumped in too far on Monday, and triggered an ITB injury. Between that and my podiatrist appointment, I had to take it easy this week. Still, I worked hard to do what I can.
Monday: Pre-injury and podiatrist, I ran 6.1 miles. If I only had run 4, maybe my ITB wouldn’t have rebelled.
Tuesday: Rest day, although that is a misnomer since I was up from 2:30 am, helping my daughter finish packing to head back to college on a 6:00 am flight.
Wednesday: I managed to do my full weight routine in bare feet, although I had to skip my usual warm-up on the elliptical. I also spent some time with the foam roller, since *everyone* swears that is the best way to speed ITB recovery.
Thursday: I put on my slip-on sneakers and hopped on the elliptical for 30 minutes. Then I treated myself to the “Forward Bends” program of my Rodney Yee DVD. Then I tortured myself with the foam roller.
Friday: Weights in bare feet again, followed by more foam rolling!
Coincidentally, the topic of this week’s Fitstudio Twitter chat (Wednesdays at 8:30 eastern) was injuries. It was interesting to see that most people try to do some type of exercise when they are injured, but often have a hard time figuring out what to do or convincing themselves that it is worth it to do something “less” than their normal routine. I find that keeping up my routine by doing “something” (anything!) really helps me keep a positive mental outlook and maintain my exercise habit.
What about you–what do you do about exericse when an injury interferes with your usual routine?
Has an injury ever led you to discover a new form of exercise that you now enjoy even when you’re not injured? (Yes, I’m thinking of you, Steena!)
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I'm here to say it first, I DON'T SWEAR by the foam roller. When I thought my knee was ITB pain I foam rolled like 3 times a day. If you over foam roll it's like picking at a scab, making the injury more irritated.
I say, go jump in a lake & try some swimming!
Good point. I don't fall into the "roll the hell out of it" camp. I have not been rolling the part that is tender to the touch–that would just cause more inflammation, I think–but I have been rolling higher up on my leg to find lurking tight spots. Plus, I'm only doing it once a day (but icing frequently).
I know that it takes one run to feel the ITB pain, but it's usually not one run that causes it. ITB is the result of something else gone wrong — something with the feet, or something in the hips/pelvic area. Like I said before, if it continues when you run again, you need to get it checked out. A chiropractor did wonders for me. And like Steena said, the foam roller isn't the end-all, cure-all. I used it some, and still use it once or twice a month, but it's not for everybody.
What are your slip-on sneakers??? I love Rodney Yee.
Unfortunately, when I'm injured, I just don't exercise. I go for walks… but that's it…
ITBS has been my bugaboo for a while. I've found that the glute bridge (and variations) help a LOT. More so than the foam roller (although you should stick with that, too). I think strengthening the inside muscles that are opposite of those that affect the IT band help relieve a lot of the pressure and strain on the IT.
Noooooo!!! Can you please go back in time and un-injury yourself? There's gotta be way. Rotator cuff injury about two years ago was the worst for me. I could do nothing but stay off push ups and lateral raises. Lost all my progress in those areas, but I was never discouraged because I knew that if I played it smart, I would heal faster and back in action, baby! (and so I am right now. BOOM!)
xoxo to you Coco!
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Yep to the injury thing interfering. About 8 years ago exercise caused nerve damage to my feet and that led me to finding more non-impact exercise. Like… indoor cycling:) It's also when I bought an elliptical, not that I love it, mind you.