Should I worry about strength losses whilst recovering from injury?

sophzhr
sophzhr Posts: 96 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Ok, so I've had lower back pain for a few months, but when I went to the hospital last week after I wrenched it again in martial arts, I apparently have problems with my right SI joint, along with muscular imbalances for which the doctor has told me to see a physio tomorrow.

I usually lift 3 times a week with a PT, whilst also following a progressive calisthenics program 2x a week and taking martial arts....I'm really worried that this injury I going to serious hurt my strength progress.

I've never had an injury to such a central place before, so I'd appreciate the advice/experience of those who have had a back injury and carried on with their workouts - how did it affect your training? How long did it take for you to lift heavy again (assuming you had to take it easy with lighter weights)? Were there any movements you avoided in particular? Should I just not exercise at all for a while?

Thanks a lot guys :)

Replies

  • jim180155
    jim180155 Posts: 769 Member
    The obvious answer is to ask the physical therapist you're going to see. His/her advice will be better than anything you'd get here.

    Strength doesn't fade fast, but it does fade. Even if you're off for months or years, there's still muscle memory that will help you. The strength gains you've made then lost will come back much faster and easier than it was the first time around.
  • IsaackGMOON
    IsaackGMOON Posts: 3,358 Member
    jim180155 wrote: »
    The obvious answer is to ask the physical therapist you're going to see. His/her advice will be better than anything you'd get here.

    Strength doesn't fade fast, but it does fade. Even if you're off for months or years, there's still muscle memory that will help you. The strength gains you've made then lost will come back much faster and easier than it was the first time around.

    @Jim180155 is right.

    You're going to lose strength if you're recovering from an injury. You won't lose it very fast, it's quite slow. However, when return it will come back quite fast.

    My squats stayed the same after being out of the gym for 4 weeks... I reckon you'll be fine.
  • Willbenchforcupcakes
    Willbenchforcupcakes Posts: 4,955 Member
    Follow your physio's plan for rehab. I'm currently rehabbing bilateral si instability with lower crossed syndrome. I haven't squatted more than 60% of my max or pulled more than 55% of my max since the first week of May. I actually haven't pulled in 6 weeks now to allow it to really rest - my programmer knows how much I push and is removing temptation for me.

    The good news is that the 60% last Sunday only felt like 65%, so I haven't lost much strength while not working my top end. Of course, the big test will be when I'm cleared to fully reload my lower body lifts. But we are not concerned about me getting back there. As long as I properly follow rehab and let the area fully heal.
  • sophzhr
    sophzhr Posts: 96 Member
    Thanks everyone, you've made me feel a lot better about the whole thing - knowing that I won't immediately have major strength losses is really reassuring :) Thanks!

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