An injury can instantly throw off a workout routine and cause fitness levels to spiral downward. But an injury doesn’t have to mean no exercise at all.
“Modified exercise is important,” says Jon Schriner, the medical director for the Michigan Center for Athletic Medicine in Flushing, Mich. Typically, sports doctors and physical therapists will evaluate how an injury occurred, identify weaknesses and technique errors, and then almost immediately come up with a structured exercise plan, he says. “Without structure, most people will repeat the pattern of injury, or return to activity before the injury is resolved, therefore risking reinjury.”