Mentally coping with injury

FINALLY I had been able to string together 6 weeks of continuous running, something I hadn’t been able to do since having a baby 11 months ago. So you can imagine the frustration I found myself in after injuring myself, with some questionable dance moves during a night in during lockdown!

It wasn’t until I attempted a run the "morning after” that my right lower back suddenly felt “stuck” and sore. As an osteopath with my expertise in back pain, I obviously ignored all my own advice and continued my run, stopping is cheating right?! By the time I limped back home I had one very unhappy lower back!

At this point I decided to apply my knowledge, ice and rest for the next few days and hope all was forgiven! I am fortunate Sam was able to treat me with soft tissue, manipulation and medical acupuncture, all of which were great. The pain had moved but I was positive it would soon pass. As the days rolled on, my mind started to wonder and I became increasingly more frustrated. Thoughts such as “How long until I can run again?”, “All that hard work wasted”, “I am so stupid for injuring myself dancing?” to more worrying thoughts of “What if it’s something more sinister?” I was catastrophizing! Something I am constantly advising my patients not to do!

So why are our thoughts so important when we are injured?

No matter where the pain is felt in our body, pain is processed by our brain and spinal cord. It would be logical to assume the intensity of pain we are feeling is an indication of the severity of tissue damaged but this is not always the case. 

Our thoughts and beliefs as well as our expectations and attitude affect our pain levels. This is problematic when our mindset is a negative one. It’s all too easy for the mind to start worrying as mine did. These negative thoughts can increase our pain perception, lead to fear avoidance, affect our emotional wellbeing and ultimately delay recovery. 

Here are some tips we recommend to our patients (and myself):

Be pro-active: take accountability for yourself. Lying on the sofa moaning about your pain won’t help. Seek help from others but you must help yourself.

Be realistic: injuries take time to heal, have patience. The body is doing it’s best to fix itself but this can take a bit of time. 

Visualise a healthy you: don’t underestimate the power of visualisaton. Visualise yourself doing activities pain free again.

Positive self-talk: positive self-talk can help to overcome the negative narrative that’s built up in your head. Remind yourself of positive changes even if they seem small.

Focus on the present: focusing on the here and now and what you can be doing to help yourself today.

If you haven’t already get professional advice: by seeking the help of a therapist/ osteopath, they can help you to understand why you are in pain and what to do about it, helping you to regain control over your injury. 

Lastly, don’t try and dance like MC Hammer and injure yourself in the first place!  ;-)