5 Tips to Cope with an Injury While Managing Chronic Illness

Exercise can help you manage a chronic illness, but what happens when you get injured? I grieved my lost ability and then focused on what I could do while I healed.

As someone with multiple chronic illnesses, I exercise as a primary way of coping with my physical symptoms as well as my mental health. Yoga helps calm my anxiety and stretch my body. Running helps me focus and build endurance. Weightlifting makes me feel strong and capable.

All of these forms of exercise give structure to my week, keep depression and pain at bay, and help me feel grateful for my body. So, what do you do when that lifeline is taken away in the form of an injury?

I’ve had to answer that question a few times in my life, when I’ve injured myself to the point that I could no longer exercise.

Among other injuries, there was a stiletto-meets-foot injury at my high school prom, a terribly sprained ankle in college, a yearslong mystery wrist injury, and most recently a broken toe.

It’s a twofold setback to have a chronic illness and have your coping mechanism taken from you due to yet another issue with your body. The same applies in reverse: It sucks to have an injury prevent you from exercising, but it sucks even more when a lack of exercise might lead to a flare in your chronic illness.

I know that all sounds a bit melodramatic. But if you also have chronic illnesses, maybe you relate to feeling especially sensitive when it comes to your body.

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I learned it all the hard way

I recently broke my toe in a yoga class (yes, I wish I had a cooler story; no, I apparently don’t know my own strength).

I’m now faced with the reality of 4 weeks — minimum — using a boot and hobbling very short distances. I’ve had to say goodbye to the 5K race I was training for and the final credits on my monthly yoga class pass that will remain unused.

Beyond the practicalities, it’s been a mental roller coaster.

See, I’ve been here before. A number of years ago, I developed a bad wrist injury that ultimately led me to completely quit yoga for a couple of years. This came at the same time as my chronic illness diagnosis, which was particularly devastating because it felt like my main coping mechanism was taken from me at the time I needed it most.

I was so angry at my body, on so many levels, for a long time.

As tough as it was, I learned a lot from that experience, which is why I feel better prepared to move forward with my current (and any future) injuries. Here’s what I learned that you can apply if you find yourself in the same situation.

1. Give yourself time to grieve

Give yourself permission to be sad, be angry, and feel all the things. Something painful and difficult happened, and it’s OK to be upset.

We often think of grief in terms of losing something or someone, but it’s also possible to experience a sense of profound loss when it comes to your body, your physical capabilities, and what you had expected for yourself.

It helped to allow myself time to move through all five stages of grief.

Denial: I immediately went out and walked a couple of miles around a market after I broke my toe, in denial that it really could have been that bad. By the end, I was limping and crying and could barely make it home, which probably made my injury worse. I knew I had to go to the hospital.

Anger: I felt so angry at the hospital and the doctor’s office, and also angry at myself (for walking around in denial) as I realized how serious the injury was and what the implications were.

Bargaining: I made a lot of “if only” statements to myself, like “If only I’d just been paying a bit more attention to where the floor was!”

Depression: For days, I felt myself sliding into feelings of depression. I felt socially limited and trapped due to my injury, fearful of a chronic illness flare, and sluggish due to the lack of routine, structure, and natural endorphins from exercise.

Acceptance: About a week later, I turned the corner and accepted that my injury would be there for 4 to 6 weeks. I had to learn to cope with it during that time — and find new ways to cope with my chronic illness.

I’m sure that if my injury had been more serious, it would have taken me longer to reach the acceptance stage. For example, when I injured my wrist, it took me more than a year.

2. Embrace temporariness

It helps me to mentally embrace the idea that everything is temporary.

Life happens in stages. This stage may not be what I wanted, but it’s just that: a stage. My injury will heal, and I will return to exercise in the future. I might even find a new way to exercise in the meantime.

If my chronic illness symptoms worsen, I will deal with that when it comes — and not a moment sooner.

3. Dedicate time to other hobbies

A period of injury is a good time to focus on other hobbies. Losing a coping mechanism (like exercise) can leave a big hole in your day-to-day routine. Try to fill that hole with other activities that bring you joy.

When I injured my wrist and had to quit yoga, I spent 2 years cultivating other hobbies that were more physically accessible to me. I spent a lot of time blogging, writing, and reading. I also developed a love of cooking.

Those are all things that I carried forward in my life, even after my wrist healed.

4. Find an accessible way to exercise

Depending on your injury, you can also try new, more accessible forms of exercise that match your current abilities. You never know what you might discover with some experimentation.

After my wrist injury, I got into running. It was a totally different experience from yoga, but I found that it worked to clear my mind and gave me a sense of accomplishment.

Now that I’ve broken my toe, both yoga and running are off the table. However, I have a couple of dumbbells at home, so I’m going to break those out for some home weightlifting sessions.

It’s not the same as yoga, running, or going to the gym in person, and I’m not going to lie: That’s irritating. But it would be ableist to say that there is “no way” I can still exercise with this injury, and I’m open to finding something new and surprising.

5. Try not to catastrophize

Finally, and I know this one is hard: Try not to catastrophize. Catastrophic thinking involves excessive worry that the worst-case scenario will come true. It leads to even more mental suffering on top of what you might already be feeling from the injury itself.

One example of catastrophic thinking is “Because of this injury, I’ll never be able to exercise the same way again, and my chronic illness will become uncontrollable.”

Try to shift your thinking to more positive options. For example, you might find an alternative way to cope with your chronic illness through other types of exercise or hobbies.

Takeaway

When you’re trying to manage a chronic illness with exercise, it can feel like a double whammy if you develop an injury. I know this from firsthand experience.

Hopefully, the lessons I’ve learned will help you cope if you find yourself in the same position.