Equanimity in Injury management not Boom Bust
After many years in a body and working with many bodies including many ailing bodies Ive come to understand most people fall into two unhealthy patterns. These become very apparent when we are managing injury or limitation and sometimes we begin to alternate between the two unhealthy patterns in what is called Boom and bust behaviour. To recognise these patterns is fab though as sooner or later it may enable us to achieve some equilibrium and it's one the most beneficial outcomes of yoga. The combination of breath awareness, mindfulness and embodiment leads to a very healthy relationship with our body which aids us greatly when injured and in ageing.
So the first pattern is the tendency to be fearful of our body, particularly when we have some injury or pain. We can feel unsure of the right amount of activity to aid healing, and therefore avoid moving enough. In the early stages of an injury being a little caution may be useful, but in the longer term this 'fear avoidance' is one of the things associated with persisting or chronic pain. I presented in other blogs that rather than focusing on the unpleasant sensations, it's better to consider the healing time of injured tissues (not always related to pain, particularly when pain is persisting or in case of pain flare up). A physiotherapist may guide you in this and this is really my speciality .. to guide folk in self managing based on this knowledge of healing time.
Now the second tendency is the one that I fall into! The tendency to push through when the body needs rest to recover. Incidentally this is also relevant to illness and is associated with the onset of post-viral syndromes (including long- Covid – see blog of last year). This may be due to denial of extent of injury – leading to doing too much. It maybe due strain to the body, such as with overtraining. It might come just from a personality type that doesn't like to acknowledge vulnerability or limitation. Sometimes it also that our lifestyle and responsibilities don't allow us the down time. This is unfortunate as sometimes not taking the small amount of down time early on can cost us exponentially in the longer time – financially, energetically and with our ultimate physical and mental well-being.
So ultimately one way or another it's good if we can come to the place of being really relaxed with the way we deal with injury. Source the knowledge of your injury from clear non-catastrophic practitioners that can explain clearly injury healing time and ways that you can support that healing with appropriate rest and activity – both are important in all injury. Seek health practitioners that are knowledge, calm and positive about your healing capacity.