HOW TO GAIN WITHOUT THE PAIN

Stay safe with this guide to preventing – and recovering from – common training injuries

You’re a regular at the gym, the staff know you by name, and you’re hitting your lofty lifting goals. But then it unravels: you get through your warm-up, set up for your first lift and feel that familiar pinch, ping or jolt as a previous injury rears its ugly head. Often, it feels like as soon as we get any semblance of consistency, old injuries we thought we’d shifted resurface and with them, sometimes new ones too.

According to the Boots Health Hub, where you can access advice and links to services and products, safeguarding your body against injury begins when the workout ends. In other words, never skip cool-downs or rest days. Yanar Alkayat, personal trainer and founder of Yanar Mind & Movement (@yanarfitness), agrees: ‘Recovery days are essential for hydrating your body, repairing muscles, replenishing nutrients, prioritising sleep and, above all, restoring energy levels,’ she says. In fact, those who regularly skip their rest days and don’t reduce intensity risk more injuries and, potentially, overtraining (read: flogging a dead horse). Guilty? Read on to see how to best protect yourself.

REMEDIES: DOMS

If you’ve overdone it on leg day, you’ll know the familiar feeling of DOMS all too well – luckily, it doesn’t last forever. ‘Usually, muscles stop aching after two to five days if there’s no injury and no medical attention is required,’ explains Alkayat. In the meantime, you can help ease aching by increasing blood flow to your muscles with light movement, a hot compress, some stretching moves or a targeted gadget such as Boots’

Deep Tissue Percussive Massage Gun. You may also wish to consider reaching for a topical or oral pain-relief treatment alongside these options.

REMEDIES:

MILD ACHES & PAINS

Topicals If you’ve got a localised ache, a topical gel like Voltarol Joint & Back Pain Relief * can be incredibly effective. Topical anti-inflammatory pain relief comes in all shapes and sizes. It contains medicine like ibuprofen and diclofenac and is ideal for treating muscle aches or joint pain because you can apply directly to the affected area.

Hot and Cold Therapy

Health professionals recommend using a classic compress, hot or cold, depending on the ailment. ‘Heat therapy works by improving blood flow to your injury and is most commonly used to treat things like sore muscles or stiffness,’ says Alkayat. Meanwhile, cold therapy decreases the blood flow to an injury, reducing the swelling that can cause pain. ‘It’s great for mild sprains (torn or twisted ligaments, most common in wrists, ankles, thumbs and knees) and strains (overstretched or torn muscles, most common in knees, feet, legs and backs). If you have this type of injury, it’s best to stick to cold therapy for the first few days,’ Alkayat advises. A reusable hot and cold compress, which can be heated or frozen, depending on your requirement, is a useful product to have in your first-aid kit.

Tablets An easy option for movement issues can be temporary pain relief in tablet form. Most non-nerve pain can be treated with paracetamol. Meanwhile, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen work better on pain

‘Recovery days are essential for hydrating, repairing and restoring energy’

that’s caused by inflammation

– i.e. strains and sprains. If pain relief is required, you should refrain from exercising until your injury improves. If you need guidance about the best type of pain relief for your injury and/or dosage recommendations, consult your pharmacist or GP.

REMEDIES:

SEVERE ACHES & PAINS

Most of us know that feeling of a sudden pain that stops us in our tracks. If it’s severe and you suspect a fracture, go straight to A&E. However, if you’re confident it’s muscular, you can treat this type of injury immediately yourself by following the RICE protocol to reduce swelling, ease pain and speed up healing.

Rest

Stop whatever you’re doing and rest the affected area.

Ice

Apply an ice or cold pack (or bag of frozen peas wrapped in a tea towel if nothing else is available) to the injury for up to 20 minutes every two to three hours.

Compression

Wrap a bandage around the sore area to support it.

Elevate

Keep the injury raised. Again, topical gels can offer relief. When you’re back at it, joint supports can ease pressure.