Understanding Injury Categories as a Path to Improvement

The repetitive nature of endurance sports creates an environment for most of us where sooner or later something hurts. Understanding the factors that led to the problem can provide useful insight into: resolving the discomfort; healing the tissue; preventing recurrence; and learning so that performance improves.

Most injuries in Endurance Sports fall into four categories:

 

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These categories are not mutually exclusive, but a priority ranking of the categories for any given injury provides a good tool to understand how to recover from an injury and prevent a recurrence.

When you encounter an injury, a building stress, a sense that something is not right, or any negative message from you body, listen to it. Think about the above categories and rank their influence on whatever situation you are encountering. Direct your resources to change what you can, where you can and know how to be appropriate with that which is not in your power to change.


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