How to Use Visualisation to Overcome Injury

POP!!

I’d never heard a part of my body go ‘pop’ before.

But as I sat in the snow, halfway down a red run in the Swiss Alps, I knew something was wrong.

My left leg felt as if someone was pushing two hot knives in either side of the knee cap. I cried out, half in rage, half in pain.

Evacuation off the mountain cost 40 euros. So I did what any Scotsman would do and snowboarded valiantly down to the waiting chair lift. My holiday was finished, but what of my knee?

The next day, a Swiss doctor confirmed what I had already guessed. No more snowboarding. I was to fly home in a few days to begin my recovery and rehabilitation.

Two months earlier, I’d made a deal with some colleagues. I would run a ten mile trail race with them known as the ‘Hellrunner’.

This was no mean feat for me.

I could barely run and had never completed a five kilometer fun run, let alone ten miles over rough terrain.

As I lay on a bed in orthopedics, I told the nurse of my plans for later that year. ‘I think you can forget it.’ she said with a sympathetic smile.

I knew then what I had to do. I would do everything in my power to complete the challenge I had set. I would focus first on recovery and then on training.

Two weeks and an MRI scan later the doctors confirmed I had no permanent damage to my ligaments and could undergo physiotherapy.

Several weeks in and I was making good progress. My physio said I could start doing light running along with my rehab exercises. I could barely walk down stairs or drive, let alone run. How would this ever be a reality?

Using Visualisation I Began Building my Fitness

My first run was a disaster. I was so unfit, I barely made it to the end of my street.

Determined, I told myself it would never be as difficult as that first time. Two days later I was back for more.

I started running further and for longer, building up my endurance. When I felt like quitting or stopping, I would visualise myself at a point further on in my route.

In my mind, I was already there. It was then a formality when I made it.

Other times I would imagine myself finishing the run having completed the miles I wanted to for that day. How would I feel having succeeded? I would be motivated and elated.

Having played competitive sports at University, I knew that half the battle with competition is mental. I saw technically stronger teams crumble when their mettle was tested.

My injury (though still nagging a little) would be an irrelevance. If I could win that battle against myself I would succeed.

(Side Note: I had pain and swelling up to three years after this injury. My left leg has never been the same but I’ve got through and achieved things I never thought possible).

Using Visualisation in the Run up to Race Day

As the day approached, I began to visualise the race. I knew the area a little and so I imagined myself running in that area, running strong and fast.

I visualised myself not only completing the race but doing it well. I visualised how I would feel at the end having worked for months and overcoming injury to get there.

Sometime the visions were so powerful, I would well up with emotion.

I told myself that I would complete the race if I had to crawl the whole way round.

I also took steps to improve my training, incorporating hill sessions, threshold runs and some off road runs. This got me used to what it felt like to run off road.

I entered a local 5k run put on by a running club. I came 3rd last, behind some fairly elderly men and women. I never once considered quitting. I had already visualised myself completing the event. Nothing could prevent it from happening.

Race Day – My Visualisations Were About to Come True

Race day came, almost exactly six months since my injury. I met with my friends and we headed to the start. I was nervous but keen to get going.

The race itself was tough. The ground was firm but many hills were steep and part of the course involved muddy forest ditches. I’d never run trails properly before and my training shoes offered little grip.

I kept a burst of speed for the final strait. As I crossed the line, I raised my arms in the air. The finishers around me knew nothing of what it meant for me to be there at that time.

They knew nothing of what I had overcome to run with them and complete the race.

Concluding Thoughts on Visualisation and Injury

Why tell this story?

This story is significant because it shaped me.

It shaped me into the person I am now: persistent, determined, focused.

I’ve been able to take the lessons from that injury and the following few months and apply them to other parts of my life. To other challenges and obstacles.

The mind is powerful and will give up long before the body does. Train your mind and your body will follow. Build your will power and success is not far behind.

There may be blips in my motivation. Sometimes you’re up, other times you’re not. But the general trend is up. I had to suffer crippling injury to learn this lesson. Hopefully you won’t have to.

What challenges can you overcome through visualisation? Confidence? Anxiety? Fitness? Imagine that you have already succeeded. When you reach it, it will feel like a ‘done deal’.

Related Posts:

• How I Overcame my Dad Bod
• A Review of Gorilla Mindset that includes Visualisation Exercises
• How to Overcome Dad Burnout

 

P.S.  Leave a comment if you’ve had similar experiences with injury or other life challenges.