Should I Train My Client When They Are Injured?
Work for a short space of time as a PT, you’ll quickly understand that you WILL come across a client who picks up an injury. The big question then is, should you train them?
Of course, the answer to this will always be… it depends!
Let’s first note that whether you can train someone who has an injury doesn’t mean you have to. If you don’t feel confident in continuing to work with a client whilst they recover, there is no reason that you should do so. This might mean that you and they choose to put their training on hold for a while, or it might mean that they decide to train with someone else. The choice to train them is still yours.
If you do wish to continue training them, the first thing to ascertain is what the injury is, or whether it is indeed an injury at all. Most importantly, if you’re not sure whether you should be training the person because you’ve no idea what’s going on, referring out to the relevant specialist is the first port of call, whether that’s a physio, chiropractor, GP etc… The Irwin and Morgan Risk Stratification tool is a great starting point for any health related concerns you have about whether or not to train a client.
Some injuries won’t require anything other than the necessity to work around them. Client sprained their ankle whilst out running? Pulled a muscle getting out the bath? Sore neck from co-sleeping with their child? There’s no reason why you can’t train them by staying away from the injury. Just ensure that they know the rules – if it hurts, we stop and we change it up!
If they do go to see a specialist, ask them to discuss their personal training sessions whilst they are there with the view to obtaining advice on what exercises can they continue with (if any) and what should they avoid. This may come back to you in a range of ways depending on the specialist; some may pass the information via your client (get them to write it down, they are very unlikely to remember language like ‘extensor tenosynovitis’ if they’ve never heard of it before); others may choose to drop you an email with the information in; and some may even be willing to jump on a phone call with you – this can be quite common if someone has chosen to visit a university physio, for example. With this information, you’ll be able to adapt their programme to stay away from anything which may exacerbate the issue but also build in any rehab exercises they may have been given – useful for those clients who will continue the rehab exercises whilst it hurts, but quickly forget any existence of them as soon as it feels remotely better!
Some clients may have recurring problems, particularly those who suffer with something like chronic back, knee, or neck pain. Once again, it’s important to ensure that you, they, and any specialists they may be seeing are happy for them to continue working with you, but if they are, keeping them moving and showing them that life doesn’t have to stop completely when their pain flares up can be really empowering. Getting them in to show them some suitable relaxation techniques, breath work, gentle stretching, and mobility – even if this is worlds away from the usual heavy lifting they would do – will help them to feel better and also demonstrate the true value in having you as their personal trainer; someone who understands and can adapt their session to their individual circumstances at any time.
If you’re in this situation and you’re looking for advice or support, the LTB Facebook group can also be a helpful place. The chances are you’ll find someone has asked a similar question in the past. Plus, the member’s site has some excellent resources including the webinar ‘Common Injuries and What PTs Need to Know’ and the course 'Working With Injured Clients'
New to LTB? Try us out on the 2 week free trial to access more support.