Trauma and prolonged stress leads to greater fatiguability and less control of force in the musculoskeletal system. This is a HIGHLY overlooked factor in the recovery process that most people don't even know exists. Those who depend on exercise for coping will more than likely end up with an injury. Here's why:
About 1 in 5 women will seek treatment for trauma. This treatment typically looks like:
- Medical Appointments
- Therapy
- Psychiatry
- Yoga
- Maybe... a Dietician...
- In-patient and out-patient programs
- Physical Therapy IF applicable- More seen with Car Accidents and Child Birth Traumas
- Maybe an Exercise Physiologist- More seen with Cancer and Heart Attack
Insurance covers most of the above... but what about a service that helps women pick up the pieces and restore their health and strength so they don't continue to see physical consequence of trauma? We don't see this practice integrated enough in the scope of recovery.
This is where Empowered RX comes in. Our trauma-informed mentors are highly trained in exercise physiology, trauma physiology, the human body, behavior modification and nutrition. They connect the dots for clients experiencing an array of symptoms they may no even realize stem from trauma.
Common fitness consequences of trauma:
- Increased rate of injury
- Increased cardiac output
- Decreased heart rate variability
- Increased Muscle tension
- Increased Joint pain
- Longer recovery times from workouts
- Decreased agility and coordination
- Decreased stamina
- Altered insulin response
- Digestive Issues
- Decreased muscle mass
- Decreased proprioception
- Decreased Neuromuscular control
Exercise is one of those things that people tend to be all or nothing with, specifically after trauma. The people who tend to keep an exercise routine have been doing it for years prior OR find it to be their only stress release.
When we are in a balanced relationship with exercise we follow our gym's programming, the advice of our trainer, or we stick to a routine. When we are using it to cope, we may find ourselves burnt out and lacking in motivation after a while. When we are using it to escape and depending on it like a drug, we likely end up with injury.
Think of all the exercise physiology factors we mentioned above. Now add in all the other physiological changes that occur in mind & body post trauma. The body is in a state of chaos.
Healthy athletes rely on homeostasis, recovery, and balanced functioning to be able to perform optimally. Those of us who were healthy athletes prior to trauma, often try to pick up where we left off.
Let's take an athlete who usually performs muscle-ups and heavy front squats no problem. They were attending CrossFit 5x/week and had a really great diet. They got 7-8 hours of sleep consistently and abstained from alcohol aside from special occasions.
Enter trauma. Now this athlete is super stressed. Their nervous system is stuck in a state of fight or flight which means they feel a state of alarm most days. This leads to chronic muscle tension, increased heart rate, decreased mood. They are now getting 3-5 hours of sleep a night. Their body can't recover from workouts. They have anxiety which decreasing their appetite. They are craving carbs so binge. In an effort to return to their old eating habits, they start a diet and are now calorically deprived until they inevitably binge again. They are using alcohol as a stress release. Starting on weekends and maybe adding in a few nights a week.
Think that 5x/week crossfit with high-level skills is going to work out the same for this athlete? Nope. Not. Even. Close.
This athlete is setting themselves up to crash and burn.. only they don't know it. The hard work pays off mentality and Coaches at their gym don't know about the other stuff going on in their life. They are pushed by their community. They try to keep going.
The next time this athlete gets up on the rings to perform muscle ups.. she get's no repped. Frustration builds because her window of tolerance has decreased from general stress. She throws her self at the rings in a last ditch effort... and ends up injured.
Enter a new found athlete. They picked up CrossFit after trauma. They needed an exercise routine for stress management. Nobody told them about the impact on the musculoskeletal system. So they proceed on the normal client journey to nobody's fault. During the intake process the Coach asks if they have experienced any stress. This woman responds, yes... which encourages this well-meaning Coach to push their new member a little bit harder, to help them find that stress release. The member didn't have the movement patterns prior to trauma. Trauma makes them that much harder to maintain and grasp. The client is either met with frustration that things aren't going as planned, or they dive in so fast and hard that they are burnt out or injured in just a few weeks.
If you are finding you keep running into small but frequent injuries, or notice that your skills and technique are falling apart. Take a step back and evaluate. You may need to speak with an Empowered RX Mentor about what you can do to reclaim your fitness and find stress release without risk of injury or burn out.
To book a FREE discovery call and reclaim your fitness... head to
https://www.empoweredrx.org/book-online
YOU CAN GET STRONGER! YOU CAN BECOME A BETTER ATHLETE! YOU CAN RECLAIM YOUR HEALTH AND YOUR LIFE!
YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO IT ALONE!
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