The Second Thing to Do When You’re Injured

The first thing is to get on to the path of healing. That’s obvious, right? See someone, take some action on getting stable and getting better, and address what needs to be addressed. The second thing is less obvious. 

The second thing you need to do is move your damn body.

Being sedentary is never a good idea for humanity. It’s especially not good when you’re needing to heal. Find what you can do without pain and without exacerbating your injury and do that. Train, move, and stay active in your development. 

Just yesterday I hurt my knee in jiu jitsu. Of course, this is the inspiration for the article you’re reading now, because I realized that my reaction to what feels scary and painful is likely not the norm. It is the most important way forward, however. 

I’ll be in the gym tomorrow training with challenging loads and appropriate volumes. I just won’t be making my knee issue worse. And, I can see how many folks would use a seemingly inconsequential knee issue as a means to fall off the wagon. 

When folks tweak something and disappear from the gym, my heart breaks. When they say, “I can’t bear load on my feet, though,” all I can think of is our strongman student from 2014 who had no legs. When folks mention they can’t grip anything, all I can think of is our former Marine GPP student from 2013-2017 who didn’t have an arm from the elbow down. 

Movement is possible, even for you. 

We need more movement optimism in times of injury. Don’t stay home. Move more.