Training through injury
What is acceptable?
When something starts to hurt, the athlete’s first question is always:
“Can I keep training?”
It’s a valid question because injury exists on a spectrum. Some pains don’t even qualify as an injury, while others require you to park it on the couch and rethink your life choices. This is where having a general sense of what’s going on actually matters. Your friendly neighborhood physical therapist can be a great resource for helping you sort that out.
This week, we’re talking about training “through” injury, what that actually means, when it’s reasonable, and how to keep yourself out of needing this conversation in the first place.
What does ‘through’ mean?
It’s hard to agree on what “training through” means. You may have a serious injury but be hard headed enough to grit it out with the hopes of salvaging a race. I see this on injury consults and in clinic all of the time. Endurance athletes have that “don’t stop until I am actually broken” mindset that works well sometimes and not well other times.
Then we have the case where the athlete takes a measured approach to handling the training when an injury comes about. Perhaps they train at a level that keeps symptoms under control, defer to some cross training to fill in the gaps, and do the rehab alongside to get back in the game.
Both of these approaches are “training through”. One of these approaches actually allows you to not damage yourself.
What is acceptable?
This is the part most athletes want a black-and-white answer to, and unfortunately, it’s gray. But there are useful guardrails.
A reasonable “train-through” scenario usually meets most of these criteria:
Pain stays ≤ 2–3/10 during training
Symptoms do not worsen as the session goes on
Pain returns to baseline within 24 hours
No progressive loss of strength, range, or coordination
No change in movement quality (limping, guarding, altered mechanics)
If pain is climbing during the session, lingering for days, or forcing compensations, you’re no longer training through. You’re training into the injury.
Red flags (Do not push through these)
Sharp or catching pain
Instability or giving way
Night pain or constant pain at rest
Rapid swelling
Neurologic symptoms (numbness, weakness, loss of control)
This is where getting a skilled professional to take a look at your situation can help. Have you flared up a tendon or is there a concern for a bone stress injury?
Your ability to train greatly differs depending on what tissues are involved.
The Elite Edge ReBUILD® Program gives you access to that skilled professional and returns you to not just participation, but performance.
Hit the photo below to get started today.
How to make progress
Training through injury is not about preserving your exact training plan but rather about preserving momentum. It may require a change in mindset or overall program design.
1. Protect the irritated tissue, not your ego
You may need to:
Reduce intensity before volume (or vice versa)
Temporarily eliminate a specific stressor (speed, hills, long runs)
Change terrain, cadence, or equipment
You are addressing the problem instead of pretending it doesn’t exist.
2. Fill the gaps with strategic cross-training
Cross-training is a way to maintain aerobic capacity while unloading tissue.
Bike, pool running, swimming, elliptical
Match physiologic stress, not just time
Use RPE and heart rate to keep the system trained
Fitness is more transferable than most athletes want to believe.
Disclaimer: Keep in mind that you may have landed into your injury situation due to an overload of stress from non-training life. You may need to dial down the volume or intensity and acknowledge that your cup is full.
3. Rehab rolls alongside training
Rehab helps with
Restoring capacity
Improving load tolerance
Addressing the reason the injury showed up in the first place
If rehab feels optional, it’s probably not specific or progressive enough.
Rehab isn’t done when the pain is gone. This is where athletes can blow it. Pain reduction just means you’ve found a tolerable load.
This is the moment to double down and
Progress strength beyond baseline
Gradually reintroduce speed and intensity
Stress the system in controlled, intentional ways using your body’s feedback as a guide
“Can I keep training?” may not be the question to ask
Rather, ask: “How can I move forward without making this worse?”
