How to
come back from injuries as a Masters Athlete
By PCG
Elite/Master Coach Gordon Paulson
In cycling, things can change suddenly. A moment’s inattention, a touch of wheels, and
the next thing you know, you’re heading for the ground, and unfortunately
sometimes the ER. It makes no difference
whether you ride road bikes, mountain bikes, or a commuter bike. Accidents aren’t limited to riders who do
criteriums. So far this summer, I’ve
seen injury producing accidents in easy rides and hard racing, in road races,
mountain bike races, time trials, criteriums, group rides for fun, challenge
rides, training rides…and the list can go on and on. Face it, injuries from accidents can happen to
anyone who rides a bike.
“Coming back from
injuries is part of being a bike racer, because no matter what level racer you
are, you’re virtually guaranteed to get hurt at some point.” ~ Jim Rutberg,
Guidelines for Returning to Training After an Injury (TrainingPeaks).
The bad news is that as a Masters athlete we are more likely
to have an accident, and when accidents happen to us, more likely to get
injured. Statistically,
older athletes are much more likely to injure themselves than younger athletes
who are doing the same sport. When
injured, a Masters athlete is more likely to experience a longer recovery time.
“In general terms, a younger person will
heal from injury more quickly than an older subject with a similar injury; the
recovery rate is directly related to the speed with which the body can grow new
cells to repair itself. Various sports
science studies have illustrated that an injured athlete of age 45 and over
will recover at a rate of between 15% and 18% slower than a similarly injured
30-year-old person.” ~ Age-Related Response to Injury, (World of Sports
Science)
Management and treatment of athletic injury must take the
athlete’s age into account. With odds
like these, it’s best to plan ahead. While
training your bike skills to reduce the chance of an accident is essential, you
should also prepare a plan in the event you unfortunately get injured from an
accident.
Tip 1: Even
before an injury occurs, you can aid your recovery by accepting that injury is possible,
and spending time reconciling yourself to this fact. This frees you up to think through a healthy
approach to recovery.
Tip 2: Following an injury, begin your recovery as
if you are lost in the woods.
Step 1: Stop and Think - Take Stock- Hold Your Horses - Settle Down! Panic doesn’t help. Don’t dwell on how this is messing up your
plans to win the Wednesday Night World Championships. Rushing in to “Recovery” will only lead to a
longer recovery period or, worse yet, an exacerbation of the injury.
Step 2: Take an inventory. Be honest. What’s injured, and what’s not injured? Accept that you will need to step back a bit
from your preinjury physical performance capability, and accept that it’s not
the ‘end of the world.’ There may be
other things you can do that help your overall fitness and help keep you from
sliding toward ‘detrained.’ For example,
consider following through with that core strength routine that you never seem
to have enough time for, or start that nutritionally healthy eating that you
always meant to do.
Step 3: Gather information… Get the facts. For example, depending on location of
fracture, severity of the break, and age and nutritional status, average
healing time for bone fractures is 6-8 weeks. Ligaments in the knee don't
take that long to heal. Minor damage
will heal within 7 to 10 days. More
severe damage can take three weeks, and up to six weeks to be fully
strong and completely back to normal. Are there things you can do to maintain
fitness using uninjured body parts, for example, swimming?
Step 4: Formulate a Plan. Find care providers who work with athletes. Ideally, find folks who share your passion for
the sport. They will appreciate that you
place a priority on returning to your sport as quickly as possible. Plan your recovery as carefully as you would
plan training for your “A” Race. This is
where an experienced coach can really make a difference. A coach may have seen many injuries among
athletes, and may have even experienced some his or herself. A coach’s ability to know what needs to be
done, and how long recovery will take, can be reassuring and help you stay on
track.
Step 5: Be Patient.
If you were lost in the wilderness, the
best advice would be ‘stay put and wait for help to come.’ The post-injury
parallel is give the healing process time to work its magic. Be patient. Healing takes time. Time is the most important component of
recovery. Accept that and don’t expect
to hurry the process.
Tip 3: To
overcome the likely mental challenges from an injury that disrupts training,
focus on the positives. Establish goals.
Set priorities. Develop a realistic timeline. Focus on intermediate goals for recovery. Set yourself up for some early ‘wins.’ It helps to think about all the other
athletes you know, or know of, who have had similar bad luck and have come back
even stronger.
Tip 4: Commit
100% to recovery. Make recovery your
‘training plan.’ Get organized, follow
the plan persistently and diligently. Dedicate
the same level of commitment to recovery that you brought to your performance
training.
Tip 5: Never
Quit. Avoid the ‘slippery slope’ of waiting
to get better and, consequently, not taking a proactive role in your recovery. Trying to force an early recovery can be a bad
thing, but equally dangerous is becoming ‘resigned’ to your fate. Believe in the plan, and have patience. Just as patience is a powerful resource as you
train to improve, patience can be indispensable for a full and satisfactory
recovery.
Injuries that prevent athletes from training and competing
are an unfortunate part of the sport of cycling. Experiencing an injury does not, however,
signal the end of either. An injury may
delay some accomplishments, but they should only be a temporary inconvenience. As the saying goes, ‘if it doesn’t kill you,
it only makes you stronger.’ Get
stronger.
