To play or not to play

I suffered an acute injury (tore lower back muscle)a few weeks ago whilst playing football. Couldn't walk for a few days, and was in agony.

Im pretty sure that TMS contributed to the injury as I was suffering intense stress at the time and had my usual but manageable back pain. I dont let this bother me and usually just exercise though it. Im pretty sure in this case, I was playing football harder than usual against better players (it's normally just a gentle kick about), and the reduced blood flow from tms, may have contributed to my muscle tearing.

Anyway, I didn't panic and got better relatively quickly. Im just left with the manageable back pain that is currently present, due to going through a breakup.

My question is, should I play football tomorrow? I have always exercised though tms, and Im not in any way saying that exercise scares me, just playing football at this level whilst im in a tms flare (worried I may experience tear again, and don't want more time off work).

Im wondering whether to warm up well (I didn't warm up last time) and play, or give it a miss?

Advice would be appreciated
Thanks

 

Glad you're feeling better overall! That nagging TMS pain takes time to get better, especially when going through something stressful like a breakup. It's hard to answer whether you should definitely play or not, thats something only you can know. If you do play, definitely warm up so your muscles are looser. You can't really screw up...do what feels right to you. If it's going to be a rough game and you are still in a bunch of pain and feeling nervous, i'd skip it and wait until your TMS pain goes away. Sarno recommends resuming exercise once your pain is low/manageable. I personally didn't go back to the gym for a few weeks until my back pain was less. But if you're feeling good, excited for the game and with minimal pain and do your warmups, i'd say go for it! Could you try some drills or other activity today to test out how you feel while exercising?

 

Thanks for response. I work out hard in gym every day and gave done for years, pain or no pain. I didn't think twice about the football game last time, no worries at all. But I think there's a lot of twisting and turning involved in football that you can't really replicate in the gym. I think that's where the injury came from. I'll see how I feel in the morning and make sure I warm up this time. Im probably over thinking things

 

hmmm i'm confused (and it sounds like you might be also) if this was an actual injury or just TMS pain? i think that's the first thing you need to determine.

you were pretty vague on the timeline of all of this but it sounds like you recovered in a few days? an actual muscle tear would take much longer to recover from.

 

It took about 2 weeks to fully recover. Im sure it was an injury because I couldnt even bend to take shoes off or walk properly for about 4 days. The TMS pain iv suffered for years always responds well/reduces when I exercise and has never been excruciating or stopped me from bending etc.