Author TJ Greenstone, MA, SCCC, USAW II is an assistant strength and conditioning coach at Butler University. He is the 2019 USA Weightlifting National Champion in the superheavyweight category.
To be clear, I’m not a medical doctor, nor am I offering medical advice. I am simply a banged-up athlete who is sharing an account on what helped me through injuries that I’ve acquired in the sport of weightlifting. If you are hurt, first seek the advice of a medical doctor prior to beginning any rehabilitation process.
Leading up to the 2016 USA Nationals I was dealing with some Achilles pain. Given that I was so close to such a large competition, the pain was mostly ignored and just dealt with using over the counter anti-inflammatories. After a successful National Championship in which I placed second with PRs in the clean and jerk and total, I got back to more serious training. Following a heavy training session, I attempted to dunk a basketball, which resulted in an Achilles tendon “pop.” The results came back as an avulsion fracture of my calcaneal bone where the Achilles ripped a small portion of bone off of my heel. Now what?
Risk vs. Reward
Understand that as one climbs the ladder in any sport intensities increase, the volume of practice increases, pressure increases, and the overall stress on the body is likely to increase. Along with these increases come an inherent risk of injury, especially overuse injuries. The bottom line, if the technique is not solidly refined the body will only survive so long before something gives out. Choose a sport like weightlifting where large loads are lifted explosively and dynamically through a full range of motion (whether or not you have stability in the lifts) and you could be setting yourself up for issues down the road.
By no means am I saying weightlifting is dangerous! But if you don’t understand how your body moves, pushing through pain in any sport is bad. The higher level you attain in the sport of weightlifting the bigger the rewards include winning championships, attaining “sponsors,” traveling internationally, and representing your country on the global stage. However, the risks of improper programming, poor nutrition, and recovery, and being a “poor mover” may show up at an unfortunate time.
Cause vs. Symptoms
With the onset of an injury, you must find the cause! My right Achilles had pain. Why? Was it because my right Achilles was weak or damaged? Probably not in the early stages. But years prior, while in college, I had had my left meniscus scoped. As a result of that procedure, I lost some flexion in the knee. Going into a full range squat with asymmetrical knee flexion puts more stress on the opposite side (my right). That stress festered in my Achilles region and it eventually gave. The lack of flexion in the knee is the root cause and until that gets addressed, the issues will continue to arise. The human body is a great compromiser until it is not.
Note the difference in my ankle flexibility with this 190kg clean.
