How to keep positive when we’re injured

September has not been the month I had planned! I had planned to race my bike for nearly every weekend in a variety of disciplines from enduro, marathon and cyclocross. However, here we are and I have no race report for you at all. What I do have are some thoughts about how to manage injuries; specifically, how we manage the mental side of injury. 

This year, I have had a recurring back injury and now we’re in the process of finding out why this is happening and getting to the bottom of it – rather than just resting and going again. I have found the recurring nature of this injury really difficult mentally, as it’s not been a case of rehabbing and then diving back into training and racing. And it’s left me feeling like I haven’t achieved anything this year – which while not true is a hard feeling to beat! Sometimes it’s good to spend time understanding who we are outside of bike racing and what makes us happy. I’ve learnt more this year about what makes me happy and what makes me tick as a person, which I’m thankful for. One of the major takeaways for me is that I love having a strong, healthy, fit body – whether I use that to race my bike or just to live life to the fullest, I love the feelings of being capable. 

Feel your Feelings

I’m going to start off by saying being injured is no fun and sometimes we have to accept that! One of my repeated mantras is ‘feel your feelings and then make a plan’. And injury management is a great example of this. It’s ok to feel all the feelings when you get injured from disappointment, sadness and maybe the unfairness of the situation. But we also have to be able to pick yourself up, make the most of the situation and work on improving it. 

Listen to the Professionals and your Body

Depending on the nature of the of your injury your doctor/physiotherapist will have given you a recovery plan. Physio’s always know if you have been doing the exercises prescribed, so don’t neglect this! Listening to your body is a super power, and one that can take a lot of practice and self-discipline to improve. We can’t always push through, especially with injuries and sometimes rest is best.

Prioritise Sleep 

Following on from rest is best; just like when we’re training, prioritising sleep can be an absolute super power. When we’re injured it can be hard to keep a good routine like we should have when training. But it just as important to prioritise sleep when we’re injured. Having a strong pre-bedtime routine can really help alongside great sleep hygiene. We’ll dig deeper into sleep habits in a later post.

Focus on High Quality Nutrition

It can be easy just to think we need to only focus on nutrition when we’re training hard, but it’s as important to focus on high quality nutritional choices when we’re recovering from injury too. But we may need to have a look at the split of macros (fat/carbs/protein); it’s likely you’ll need to reduce your carbohydrate amount as you do less – this doesn’t mean NO CARBS! Our bodies need plenty of fruit and veggies and thinking about trying to eat the rainbow every day can be an easy way to focus on getting a varied selection throughout the day. Ensuring we meet our protein goals can really help with healing injuries as our bodies utilise protein to heal and help our muscles get stronger. 

Stop doom scrolling  

With time off the bike it can feel hard not to just mindlessly scroll through social media, try reading a book or even pick up a new craft skill such as embroidery or knitting – which can keep your hands busy and help focus the mind a little bit. This can be a great time to try some meditation, even just for a few minutes a day can have real benefits. It can be hard when you’re injured to not dwell on negative thoughts and spending some time meditating can really help your mental game

Having a coach not only helps you when you’re fit and training hard, we’re also here for when times are a little harder. Having a coach when you’re injured can help you keep positive; check in with your nutritional, sleep habits and to be a cheerleader when you’re feeling low. 

If you’d like to have a chat about how we can help you with your fitness book your call in below: