This is a vital strategy decision for anyone who wants to do regular exercise. Pedometer steps counting is less likely to be injurious and this is one of the reasons that walking is a great exercise choice for me.
I’m not a fan of bravely working out by ignoring a pain. With that, however, I do continue to exercise and use a pedometer while walking and being active. In fact pedometer steps can also be of assistance in keeping on the right side of ’enough’ exercise.
If walking, or pressure on the ground, is affecting a leg injury then having a cut off point can be helpful. Say your normal day is 10,000 steps then a decision to cut back on walking and other leg movement can be monitored with the pedometer. I might feel that 5,000 steps will be a maximum until I get a feel for how it’s healing. Once it’s on the mend I can slowly increase the number of ’steps’ judging how the leg is feeling and knowing exactly the strain I have put on it that day.
You might not get this right the first time, I didn’t. However over time as pedometer walking became a standard part of my lifestyle : I became less likely to be injured; my philosophy about injury changed. An inactive person tends to have only two ways of dealing with it- 1) “I’ll fight it. Can’t let it stop me.” or 2) coming to a halt. These are not the only tactics available and , in fact, are not likely to be the best for most injuries.
It all depended upon my starting point. When I first started exercising again by walking I was recovering from illness and my general condition was not resilient. Although frustrating injuries meant a stop-start approach to walking. As my resilience rose, an injury became less likely, and less restrictive. I became a better judge of how much this “incident” could affect my ability to move through a normal day, which for me, includes counting pedometer steps. I also substitute other exercises which I can do without affecting the injured part.
An understanding of the normal daily activity level for yourself or a convalescent, by counting their pedometer steps, enables you to monitor closely how much exercise to allow them to do. The person themselves is unlikely to be a good judge. This is not about aggressive target increases but avoiding over or under exertion.
Injuries from normal activity which certainly includes walking can be categorized as routine incidents from a normal life.
Learning to continue with pedometer walking and counting pedometer steps while dealing with the injury is a natural part of a resilient personality. Being aware of balancing my divergent needs to both exercise and heal has extended my options to live an active life which I didn’t have in the past.
Please comment about your own experiences in dealing with injuries.
Love to hear from you,
Pedals and Pedometer Steps