How to Train Around Injury

Getting hurt is frustrating — especially when you’re working hard to make progress in the gym or stay active day to day.

And while we often talk about “injury prevention,” the reality is this:
Injury isn’t always avoidable. Even with smart programming, proper warm-ups, and great technique — setbacks happen.

The good news?
An injury doesn’t have to mean hitting pause on everything.
In fact, smart training during recovery can often speed up healing, improve mechanics, and help you come back stronger.

At Fortify Chiropractic, we help people train through injuries safely — not around them in fear.

The Old Model: Rest, Rest, Rest

You’ve probably heard it before:
"Just rest it for a few weeks and see how it feels."

Sometimes rest is necessary — but full inactivity often leads to:

Loss of strength and conditioning
More stiffness and tightness
Decreased tissue tolerance
More fear or hesitation when returning

What starts as a simple tweak can turn into a months-long slump if you don’t have a plan.

The Better Way: Load What You Can, Modify What You Can’t

Most injuries are regional, not global.
Just because your shoulder or knee is irritated doesn’t mean your entire system needs to shut down.

Instead of avoiding movement altogether, a better question is:
What can you still do safely and confidently?

For example:

Tweaked your lower back? → You might still train upper body and single-leg work.
Dealing with shoulder pain? → Swap pressing for pulling, or use landmine variations.
Struggling with knee discomfort? → Shift toward hip-dominant patterns and tempo work.

The body thrives on load and movement — as long as they’re applied wisely.

How to Know If You’re Training Smart

When training around injury, your goal is to load the system without aggravating the issue.
Here’s what to look for:

Pain stays below a 2–3/10 during training
No spike in symptoms 24 hours after
You’re moving with good form and no compensations
You leave the session feeling better, not worse

If you’re constantly flaring up or flinching through reps, that’s not resilience — that’s reinforcement of a problem.

Training Through Injury Isn’t Guesswork

The biggest mistake people make?
Trying to just “work around it” with no real plan.

What works better is having a clinician who understands movement, load management, and sport — someone who doesn’t just tell you to stop, but helps you adjust with purpose.

That’s exactly what we do at Fortify Chiropractic.

Whether you’re a powerlifter, CrossFitter, weekend warrior, or active parent — we help you stay in motion, recover faster, and keep building strength through the process.