Highland Games Injuries and Prevention

[Ayin McFye]

Greetings all.

I received my first highland game related injury about 11 days ago. I thought it was a hernia at first but after seeing the doctor he said I ripped a muscle in my abdominal wall very thin, but not to the point of being a hernia. I've been instructed to not throw for 4 weeks. (I'm already going crazy from withdrawals).

Obviously stretching is the number one thing you should do when you walk out on that field, but how else do you not over exert yourself? I mean we are all ripping and throwing heavy weights around with all the torque, muscle, and skill that we can. Doesn't that pretty much mean we are poster childs for hernias and similar injuries?

Eventually our bodies will use the appropriate muscles long enough to where they become stronger and more tolerable of the weight we throw but until that time I can easily forsee many athletic injuries if not careful. Once that adrenaline gets going it's easy to push yourself beyond your normal means, which in turns can cause the injuries.

Anyone have any personal experience with this, and have any feedback, comments or suggestions?

Thanks!

[hallmarktex]

One very important rule when training is that it takes about twice as long for tendons and ligaments to strengthen as it does the muscles they support. So if you're able to make strides to improve a movement such as throwing or hurling in six weeks it will be about twelve weeks before the attaching tissue is us to the same standard. In the meantime you should make sure you warm up (as you have stated) and make the movements very controlled and deliberate.

FWIW (I'm not a doctor)

YMMV

[Ryan Nielson]

I don't know if I could offer any advice on this. I would throw a tight weightlifting belt on and see if you can do any type of lifting just to keep you motivated and not give up. If anything you can train the hell out of your grip and that's a lot of fun to get into.

I do some dynamic stretching moves before I train. I got all of them from this DVD http://www.flexcart.com/members/elit...d=277&pid=1427

[Alan H]

I have a bizarre warm-up. I take a masters weight discus and stretch in the upper body and no-spin toss it around the field for about 15 minutes before doing anything.

I'd say spend some time in the weight room and go easy until you heal up. I have a friend who's seriously involved in all this. HE's a Masters athlete and he really did a number on his shoulder at the Campbell Games. His doctors told him to do X, Y and Z and put him in a semi-cast for 3 weeks. Upshot was, he did a little bit of X, some of Y and didn't bother with Z and took off the cast after 4 days. STUPID. That sort of behavior shortens your career, bigtime, not to mention messing up the rest of your life.

[Ayin McFye]

I don't know if I could offer any advice on this. I would throw a tight weightlifting belt on and see if you can do any type of lifting just to keep you motivated and not give up.

I definitely don't plan on giving up. It'll be a long 4-6 weeks with me climbing the walls wanting to throw, but I definitely won't give up. I love this too much.

I'd say spend some time in the weight room and go easy until you heal up.

Thanks, I read online that when people do get hernia's and get the surgery to fix it, that they are usually working out again just over a week. I was thinking that I might do a little light excercise just to not let my body forget the muscle movement. I might just go out and run through the motions with the footwork, without the weights just to keep myself moving. I've been working hard on my footwork lately and I'd hate to see all that go away if I don't do anything for 4 weeks.

[Colin]

Personally like any sports related injury, rest is the best cure. Avoid the lifting for now and focus more on the rest of the work out needed. I speak from experience when I say that you want to let an injury heal properly and completely so that you don't aggravate it again or further.

I have heard many people talk about how jumping exercise is needed for a good Scottish athlete. If you have a local gym you can go to, research your injury, your sport, and the best ways to stay active while you heal. Alan has the best suggestion. Go to the gym, work on free weights and strengthen your core and the muscle groups needed for highland athletics. Your legs are you biggest muscle group, but they are often the most over looked group. I have a few really great workouts (based on 3 day rotations) that a friend designed for a full body work out. I have big strong legs, but these kill me and have great results.

And stretch, stretch, stretch. I am the worst person for stretching before and after any training, but it really does make a difference.

[Charlie Mc.]

Some recent studies have suggested that static stretching (stretch and hold) before exercise can actually increase chances of injury. Their recommendation is keep static stretching for after exercise if you want to increase flexibility, but before exercise stick to dynamic warmups. There was a big discussion on this fairly recently on a Judo forum I am a member of.

[Alan H]

I might just go out and run through the motions with the footwork, without the weights just to keep myself moving. I've been working hard on my footwork lately and I'd hate to see all that go away if I don't do anything for 4 weeks.

I do foot drills with no weight for the 28 WFD all the time and it has worked wonders. ditto with just 9 or 16 pounds on the weight. The point is to basically forget that there's a weight there, and just place the feet correctly. Putting a really light weight in your hand has the effect of letting you know that there's *something* there, which is different from *nothing* there, but the light weight doesn't stress your body much.

foot drills are great.

Colin is right, too. Core muscle strength is key here, and so is explosive leg strength. It doesn't help you a lot if you can leg press a whole lot of weight, if you can't move that weight quickly. So doing stair steps with 15 lbs in each hand is a great thing to do and it's low stress on the rest of your body..

[Detroitpete]

Believe it or not, heavy athletics are the "gift" I gave myself for recovering from a pretty intense injury. I've been an athlete all my life, albeit a smallish athlete, and a few years ago began practicing to get into a group of Masters--over 40 under 200lbs.

While rockclimbing I fell and shreaded my knee--the 110 foot verticle climb out of the ravine after the fall didn't help much either.

I had surgeries, casts, braces and was even in a wheelchair for awhile. The thing that made me do everything the PT guys told me to do--was seeing myself in a new kilt on a hot summer day, doing my best to feel 20 again.

I take injury prevention VERY seriously and am not yet at 100% yet--so here's my soap-box speech...

Treat your body with respect. Drugs, supplements can't fix what focus and hard work can't do. Learn about the mechanics of what you are doing and take your time. Good form doesn't just mean better performance, it usually means less risk of injury. Never let your brain or your pride write a check your muscles and ligiments can't cash.

Best warm-up is consistant training. If you try to be a weekend warrior you're gonna do damage.

Trust an 'old' man here...take your time, focus and spend the time you need to warm up. Injuries can usually be traced back to being impatient.

[Ayin McFye]

. Injuries can usually be traced back to being impatient.

I completely agree with that statement. Thank you for the great advice as well.

I don't even feel any pain anymore whatsoever which is what stinks. I feel like I can go back out there already and throw the heavy weights again, but i won't. I'm going to follow the doctor's orders to take at least 4 weeks off, just to be sure.