Some thoughts about injuries

At the beginning of February 2020 I was completely restricted with a shoulder injury. At its worst, I couldn’t even hold the weight of my arm by my side, I had to have my hand in a pocket or support it with my other arm. Dressing was a problem, I couldn’t lift my arm to tie my hair back, I couldn’t cook or reach things from shelves. I was due to start my Yoga Teacher Training course in 8 weeks’ time and I didn’t know what I’d be capable of by then. It didn’t seem possible.

I had physio, weekly at first, then fortnightly. From the end of March the sessions were via Zoom but I was so grateful to continue. As I started training there were some poses I was struggling with - my first teaching practice was teaching trikonasana and I couldn’t raise my left arm up still - it helped me learn how to adapt for injuries very quickly but I also had to remember which side to demonstrate on!

I’m still having monthly physio, back face to face again, and I’m nearly back to full function. On a day to day basis, I don’t have any pain, and there’s not many things I notice I can’t do - it’s usually only in a yoga class or when I’m teaching that I realise I can’t quite stretch or rotate on one side. The thing is, because I’m ok, I’m not as diligent about doing my exercises as I was a year ago when I was so restricted. Which leaves me at the risk of stalling and never quite recovering to my full capability.

The thing is, I could have prevented it, or at least prevented the worst of it. I have long standing tension in my shoulders. I play the violin and a few years ago I had to take some time out because it was painful to play. I had some physio, but in hindsight not enough. I think you get used to aches and pains, especially as you get older and say to yourself “well this is me now, that aches there”, rather than seeing it as a warning sign and seeking help early.

I’ve been thinking about parallels and whether this is a pattern for me. So, some advice for myself… You don’t have to wait for things to break to make a change. See the niggles, the aches, the annoyances as flags - what are they leading to? What can you change now? And stay the course - do you lose momentum as things improve or do you see the change through to its culmination and what extra benefits could that bring you?