Working An Injury
Currently can't walk without pain, but this set of squats (142kg x 3) was performed pain-free. I managed to injure myself playing 5-a-side last week, not once, but four times:
- Initial groin tweak so went in goal for the remaining 40mins
- Tweaked calf on the same leg while in goal by compensating for the sore groin
- Properly pulled the calf attempting a clearance
- Staved a finger saving a shot on goal
I've been weight training 7yrs now and you could count the number of injuries I've had on one hand and only 2 of those stopped me from training as normal - compared to most recreational sports (or this game of 5-a-side in particular!), it has a low rate of injury:
| Activity | Injury Rate per 1000 Participants | Most Common Injuries |
|---|---|---|
| Soccer | 6.2 - 9.3 | Ankle and Knee |
| Running | 2.5 - 12.1 | Knee, Foot, and Shin |
| Weight Training | 0.0035 - 0.34 | Back, Shoulder, and Knee |
| Basketball | 8.6 - 20.4 | Ankle, Knee, and Lower Leg |
| Cycling | 0.26 - 4.3 | Upper Extremity, Knee, and Pelvis |
Immediately after getting home, I performed some air squats and deadlifts and noticed minimal discomfort, and was happy enough that my weight training wouldn't be impacted too much, even if it'll be a few weeks before getting back to football - and then it stuck me - if I'm able to perform these movements without too much pain, then the muscles involved aren't doing much work and therefore aren't being trained, and it's likely this lack of training/weakness that has lead to the injuries.
To rehab the calf, I'm following the Bill Starr protocol. It goes against the common practice of resting the area, instead, you actively work it with the goal of minimising scar tissue and follow-on issues. Today, for example, I did 3 sets of 25 calf raises with 90kg - a bit of pain and discomfort but tolerable, and it immediately felt a bit better after. I've been adding 2.5kg daily and will do so for another few days, before starting to drop the number of reps and continue that for a further week.
After that, I'll be introducing some sport-specific training that I hope makes me more resilient to the rigours of football:
- Wide stance/sumo deadlifts and squats (adductors/groin)
- Copenhagen planks (adductors/groin)
- Barbell calf raises - standing and seated
Only just getting back into football after a couple of years away, so going to give this a try, and see if I can stave off hanging up the boots for another while yet!