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Triathlon 101
When it is injured and when is it sore?
As most of us move out of winter hibernation and get back in the swing of regular execise, we are prone to soreness and injury. Our friends at Advanced Rehabilitation offer some simple tips to keep you healthy.
Training for a triathlon and being active in general usually involves a moderate amount of soreness and even discomfort at times. It is often hard to tell if soreness and tightness is normal, or if an injury is waiting to happen. Often it is too late to treat an injury if you are only a few weeks out from an event, but hopefully these three simple tips will help you to identify when to get immediate attention in order to make it to the finish line.
Tip #1 – Typical signs of injury are redness, swelling, heat in the affected area, and even discoloration, or bruising. This can include a swollen ankle the day after a long run, heat and irritation around the knee after a long ride, or even severe tightness and limited motion in your hip after a brick session. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, especially during or immediately after activity, DO NOT waste any time in getting properly evaluated.
Tip #2 – Changing your technique due to pain can often precipitate an injury. Knee pain during a long ride may cause you to sit differently on your bike, or to move your leg differently while you pedal, and the next morning your back hurts. This scenario is a prime example of a compensation injury. These injuries occur when you slightly change
your technique to lessen immediate pain, but the long term effects create a significant injury. If you notice a new pain, or that you are changing the way you swim, ride, or run, please do not hesitate to get checked out.
Tip #3 – Tightness or stiffness that lasts more than 24 hours can be an injury as well. This restriction in range of motion can be due to adhesion, or scar tissue, that has formed in the joint or surrounding muscles. This decrease in range of motion will lead to a compensation injury as well. The best way to identify these problems is to stretch gently on a regular basis to know when your body is just not moving like it should.
These are just a few tips to help get you to the finish line. If these things are caught quickly enough we can often work out a plan to decrease activities that cause problems and increase activities that are safe for the condition. The key when you have an issue is not to wait until it becomes debilitating. Get it looked at before it ruins your race.
Advanced Rehabilitation offers free injury evaluations to new patients from 11:00am to 1:00pm every Wednesday at all of our Austin locations. No appointment is necessary.
Advanced Rehabilitation, in partnership with ART Healthcare, is the leading provider of sports medicine and rehabilitation for Central Texas Triathletes. With 7 Locations in Austin and Dallas, our providers specialize in preventing injury and treating injured triathletes, runners, and cyclists of all levels. All of our providers are full body certified
in Active Release Techniques and our Physical Therapists also treat pre and post surgical patients as well. For help with your sports injury, please contact us 512-467-100 at or check us out at www.atxrehab.com.
- Dr. AJ Zelinski & Dr. Phil Davis
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