laid up and pissy

So...hurt myself pretty badly yesterday.  Lost focus, broke form, and pulled my back with a big fat deadlift.   I'm going through RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation) as consistently as possible but thought I'd start a thread where people could post about how to speed recovery (though, of course, one would never want to jump the gun) and any other general advice about dealing with and defeating injuiry. 

Questions I have include: how much to eat? I won't be working out, but would higher calories help fuel the recovery better?

Should one eat more protein? (If protein helps repair muscle from working out, does it help repair it when injured?)

What to do to ease back into things? Go at a slow, safe pace, no doubt, but other ideas?

Etc.  Just thought I'd suggest the topic and see where it went.

Bummer - that sucks Yeeha. I don't have any tips but I'm curious about the answers. I'm too new to have injured myself yet, but I imagine it's inevitable. Best wishes as you heal.

Sorry, I feel your pain. I too was laid off exercising for 2 months and it took everything I had, and then some, to get back on track.

I have used a few remedies borrowed from ayurveda and homeopathy.

Arnica: it comes in cream, gel and pellets that you dissolve under the tongue. You won't believe how miraculous it is. My husband broke fell and broke his hip bone, I put 5 Arnica pellets under his tongue before he went to the emergency room. He never bruised and there was no visible inflamation.

Baking soda: dissolve a teaspoon in a glass of water and drink. Recommended by a physical therapist. 

Agar-Agar: it's a seaweed widely used in Asia for different purposes. My Yoga instructor recommended it.

I used to soak it overnight in the refrigerator. Drain in the morning and put in the blender with some orange juice or any other juice that you prefer. It's supposed to help speed muscle recovery.

I hope these are helpful ideas. Get well soon.

interesting topic.  this article says that carbs should be the focus when you have an injury, bec proteins and fats take much more energy to digest (and your energy should be reserved for repairing the injury).  it also specifically recommends eating fresh pineapple, taking b6, and avoiding salt and caffeine.

this article says that for the first few days after injury, eat increased protein bec of the high skeletal muscle turnover rate at that time.  it also says to eat omega-3s and anti-inflammatories (it names olive oil and fruits/veggies).  this article also says to eat more protein.  this excerpt from nancy clark's sports nutrition books suggests protein for injury recovery as well.

though it's hard to know who to believe, the first article is the least credible in my book.  the writer sounds kind of kooky. 

Interesting stuff, caloriecountingme. When I had my wisdom teeth out, my dentist told me that protein is good for healing after surgery - and that wasn't even muscle, just bone & soft tissue.

I'm injured too - a shoulder impingement flare-up (I get them from time to time). I can still work out but I'm very limited in what I can do with my arms - anything overhead is out, and that includes bench press.

I'm conflicted on whether to work my good arm with dumbbells (one-handed bench press, dumbbell snatch, etc) or whether to back off entirely and stay balanced.

What do you all do when you have an injured side and a good side?

I'd go with the last three - the first one is hung up on some relatively kooky alternative medicine stuff featuring bodily humours and fat phobia straight outta medieval medical theory.

 I like Cressey and Gentilcore's duology on injuries - The Proactive Patient and Creating a Training Effect When You're Injured - don't know if you've seen those yet? They center around having a long talk with your doctor and figuring out what you can and should do for best results over the long haul :)

Melkor, not to derail the thread or anything, but your second link has a huge section on shoulder impingement, complete with suggested workouts. Thanks!

Original Post by melkor:

I'd go with the last three - the first one is hung up on some relatively kooky alternative medicine stuff featuring bodily humours and fat phobia straight outta medieval medical theory.

 

well in some defense about that first one, agar agar really helped with my nail growth so it might work on other parts. i have no science to back it up but i know what it did for me personally. its sort of an indirect advice though.

Ah, serendipity:

I was just about to post saying, "Now that I'm not in too much pain, how do I know what to do next to get back in the groove".  This has a lot to do with wondering how much to lift, if I should just listen to my body, etc.  Then, I happened to click over to figureathlete.com and found this article on adding weight (which I did too quickly).

yeeha, this was extremely helpful.  i'm working on my next program and trying to decide how it can continue progression from my old program, even though the lifts are different.  this helps.