It is imperative that we learn to listen to our bodies. Learning to listen to my body is something that I had to learn the hard way. I was fortunate enough to have never experienced any injuries until my senior year of high school (which in itself is a bit of a miracle because of the nature of football), and even then those injuries were nothing major.
On a hot summer morning during my redshirt sophomore year in college, I woke up with my ankle swollen to the size of a grapefruit— no exaggeration. I received a diagnosis of Post-Tib Tendonitis, which is a strain on the posterior tibial tendon that runs along the inside of the ankle and foot. It couldn’t have come at a worse time. I was fighting for the starting running back position, and at this time of my life, I didn’t know how to handle being injured.
When I took the time to reflect on the injury, I realized that my ankle had been aching a couple of days before waking up to the swelling. Well, I made a terrible decision to rush back onto the field thinking that I was good to go just because I was able to run a week later, and eventually it would heal up fully. That decision resulted in a season of disappointment, because if I had learned to listen to my body before waking up to a grapefruit- size ankle then I wouldn’t have ankle problems now.
It’s typical for athletes to feel the pressure from coaches and teammates to hurry up and get back on the field after an injury, putting the team’s needs first and ultimately risking your overall health to avoid letting them down. Nobody ever taught me the art of listening to my body. I was completely oblivious to the fact that my ankle would have permanent damage nine years later. When you experience an injury, just because you may be able to run, jump, or stretch a few days later doesn’t mean that you’re 100% healed.
You would’ve thought I learned my lesson then… Nope sure didn’t. That’s how I ended up with my sports hernia injury at the Washington Redskins rookie minicamp. Can we say terrible timing?! But hey, some things aren’t meant to happen, and adversity gives us a unique opportunity to grow and learn in ways that will hold far more value in life than money. I finally started learning how to listen to my body after getting my hernia surgery. It took me having to be on crutches for a couple of days in order to learn the lesson.
Now, as a personal trainer, I understand the science behind the healing process a lot better, which helps balance the emotional side of any injury experience. It is vital that healing tissues don’t get overstressed during rehabilitation and reconditioning. You must hit certain checkpoints in order to advance to a different phase during the rehabilitative process. The three main phases for tissue healing are inflammation, repair, and remodel. After inflammation goes down, tissue repair naturally begins. Of course after tissue repair we must do our due diligence and put in work to help remold the damaged tissue and increase strength. One example of a great rehabilitation and reconditioning program would be incorporating pool workouts into your exercise routine. Pool workouts are what allowed me to get back to 100% form after my sports hernia surgery. Try doing a general warm-up in the pool such as jogging or skipping. Or you can do more of a specific warm-up like doing dynamic stretches such as lunges, bounds, leg kicks, etc. Pool workouts will definitely help tremendously to increase range of motion. Over time, you will regain strength and be back at 100%.
Learning to listen to my body and practice discipline in my rehab phase helped me make a full recovery, but not without limitation. My ankle is still really sensitive to overexertion as a result of not healing properly the first time. I encourage you, whether you’re an athlete or not, to diligently listen to the signals and warning signs your body is giving you as you strive to reach your fitness goals. It’s important that you pay attention and respond correctly in order to remain in top shape and not do more harm than good. It’s the only body you get, so take good care of it!
[…] but also brings much added value to your everyday life. In those focused moments, you will learn to listen to your body and come to recognize and appreciate your incremental progress that may otherwise get overlooked. […]