Train Hard : with a little rest this week!

With the exception of the outing last night, I have had to go easy this week on the training-front after sustaining a rather silly injury whilst at Thorpe Park on my day off from work Monday!

Whilst on one of the roller coaster rides, I forgot to brace myself properly and as a result suffered a neck injury as I was thrown around the Surrey countryside at 80 miles an hour, with several g’s forcing my neck into a rather unnatural position!

After a visit to the doctor, I was given painkillers to reduce the pain and inflammation, and muscle relaxants to let the muscles come out of spasm and rest and repair. Let’s be honest, not great the week of a big regatta – should have factored that in when we were planning the day out!

My neck is feeling a hundred times better than it was Monday evening, and I’m hoping to wake up tomorrow in as little discomfort as possible, as tomorrow is the Twickenham Regatta – my first regatta racing as an Intermediate, so it’s rather exciting!

If there is one good thing that has come out of this rather irritating injury, it is that it has highlighted the underlying issue I have in my neck and shoulders from sitting at a desk, and the importance to stretch all muscles – even if they do not appear tight or sore – to reduce future problems and injuries from happening.

All great with hindsight, hey!

 

So this evening we have the usual faff of derigging the boats and loading them onto the trailer ready for the race tomorrow. We’re hoping to make it as quick-a-job-as-possible – the other intermediates find it hilarious to watch us each time we load and unload the trailers, but I think they forget that they were once novices too! Practice makes perfect, and we’ve had a fair bit of experience of it all now, so it should be a pretty straightforward job … we’ll see!

Terminology : RICE (Injuries)

What?

RICE stands for Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation.

 

When?

RICE is an acronym referring to the treatment used to treat soft tissue injuries such as sprains, strains, muscle pulls or tears, and should be applied as soon as possible to help prevent complications and help injuries repair faster, and in particular when inflammation is present.

It is also sometimes referred to as PRICE – P standing for Protection.

Where and How?

Rest

The first 24-48 hours of an injury are considered the critical period, and activities which cause pain to the affected area should be minimised during this period.

Without rest, continual strain is placed on the affected area which can lead to increased inflammation, pain and can potentially cause further injury. Resting is important in promoting effective healing, and to avoid abnormal repair.

Using a splint, sling or crutches may help to ensure the injured area receives adequate rest.

It is important to know when to stop, as minor injuries sustained during sporting activities could be minimised by not continuing the exercise at the first sign of injury.

‘Running off‘ an injury is a misconception, and NOT to be advised! Whilst it may appear possible to continue exercising on an injury immediately after, this can be down to the release of adrenalin and the functioning of nerves. Nerve fibres that respond to mechanical signals such as touch can over-ride the impulses from pain nerve fibres – a theory known as pain gate theory – combine this with other factors such as an athlete’s mentality to override the pain – ultimately an athlete can actually make an injury much worse. In this case, it is better to swallow your pride and stop short, than carry on and cause greater damage that can put you out of sport for a longer period of time, or in a worst case scenario; completely.

Ice

Ice is a great natural anti-inflammatory treatment – it can limit and reduce the swelling caused by reducing the blood flow to the injured area, and also provides some pain relief to the injury. It decreases the amount of bleeding by vasoconstriction , and reduces the risk of cell death by decreasing the rate of metabolism.

Ice should ideally be applied during the first 48 hours after injury.

Ice the sprain or strain for 20 minutes at a time every 3 to 4 hours – making sure not to exceed 20 minutes as this can damage the skin and can cause frostbite. Whilst reducing blood flow helps to minimise swelling, icing for too long can also be detrimental to healing – if the blood flow is reduced too much it can stop the delivery of essential nutrients and removal of waste products from the injured area, and so increase the injury period.

Cheap freezer packs can be created using bags of frozen vegetables – peas and sweetcorn work well! – alternatively most chemists sell freezer packs for injuries – these are usually soft gel packs which can be used both to freeze and heat. Keep moving the ice pack around the area during the 20 minutes. Make sure to wrap the ice pack in a towel, to protect the skin.

A good indicator is to allow the skin enough time to fully rewarm before icing the area again.

Compression

Compression helps to limit and reduce swelling, and can also provide pain relief by reducing the edematous swelling from the bodies natural inflammatory process.

Although swelling is inevitable, too much swelling can can cause loss of function, increased pain and restricted blood flow.

An easy way to compress the area of the injury is to wrap an elastic bandage around the swollen part, but making sure not to wrap the area too tight – the fit should be tight, but still allow for expansion when muscles contract and fill with blood. Wrap the area, overlapping the elastic wrap by one-half of the width of the wrap.

Elevate

Elevating injuries help control swelling by reducing the blood flow to the area, and is most effective when the injury is raised above the level of the heart. For example, for an injured ankle, try to lay down with your foot propped on one or two pillows, and is particularly important at night.

Elevation is important as it allows for increased venous return of blood to the systemic circulation – meaning the circulation of blood flow back to the heart, to allow for quicker removal of waste products from the affected area, also resulting in less edema – accumulation of fluids in the body’s tissues.

 

Why?

Applying RICE relieves pain, and can help shorten the period of recovery, to soft-tissue injuries.

It is considered a first-aid treatment, rather than a cure, with the aim being to manage discomfort and internal bleeding.

Following an injury to the body, the body usually reacts with pain and swelling. This is generally as a warning to the body, to let it rest, so as not to further the damage.

During this process the muscles spasm, helping to create a natural splint for the affected area, however this can cause complications with blood flow, and causes further pain – by applying RICE, the body is allowed to rest and recover.

Along with the above treatment, it may be necessary to medicate with painkillers and anti-inflammatories – paracetamol and ibuprofen should be enough in most cases. However remember to check the dosage before medicating.

After the initial 48 hours, most sprains and strains should begin to heal. If pain and or swelling has not started to subside, make sure to see your doctor.

Once healing has begun, light massage can be used to help reduce the formation of scar tissue, and improve the tissue healing, along with gentle stretching to work on the range of motion in the injured area. Heat may also be helpful to increase the blood supply back to the area once the swelling has gone down.

After the injury has healed, you should then move onto exercises to strengthen the area, so as to prevent a repeat injury. Booking an appointment with a physiotherapist may help with the progress of strengthening.

 

 

And finally …

Top tips …

I’d recommend as a good home first-aid kit to keep three gel-packs as a precautionary measure; keep two in the freezer, so that there is at least one freezing whilst one is being used, and a third to be used as a warm compress.

Terminology : DOMS, DOMS, DOMS

So, here we have it – DOMS.

 

Aka: DELAYED ONSET MUSCLE SORENESS

And so what does this mean to the average Joe? :

Delayed onset muscle soreness is the pain felt 24-48 hours after exercise due to an increase in intensity or your muscles simply being unprepared for the work they took on.

The cause of the pain is due to the muscle suffering micro tears during the exercise.

DOMS can be increased during the eccentric phase of muscle contraction. This is generally known as the lowering phase. For example the lowering of a weight during a bicep curl.

Eccentric contractions have 3 to 4 times more effect than concentric, and therefore a workout consisting of eccentric muscle work is likely to cause increased chance of DOMS.

And why am I explaining DOMS on a Thursday morning??

Well, the workout at training on Tuesday has taken its toll!

Being a huge fan of forefoot running doesn’t do me many favours either! I’ll come back to forefoot running later, as there are actually plenty of benefits to this style of running – if done with care, and with a proper warm up and warm down!

So right now my calves are my worst enemy! Wearing heels today is the only option to gradually stretch them back out!

 

More on DOMS later today 🙂

Be Happy : These things are sent to try us!

So whilst resting my injury (and in a rather rare and unnatural state of relaxation for me) from training, I picked up a rather nasty cough.

Triggered by asthma – and possibly irritated further by a food intolerance and the weather – after a week or so it turned into a chest infection.

I’ve been given a week’s worth of antibiotics and a new inhaler – preventative, as well as the reliever I have – to take each day to help relieve the inflammation.

Fingers crossed it clears up soon – I’ve already had to miss two weeks of training due to injury, much more and I’ll go stir crazy!

I’m also slightly fearing the effect of reversability on fitness, and I’ve not touched an erg for some time – the next RowPerfect test should be interesting!