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Stress and injuries
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howarthpFull Member
I have a rewarding, but very stressful, job. The stress has increased recently as the industry I’m in is hurting and I’ve had to let a lot of people go and it looks like 2025 won’t be any better. I’m not good at keeping my professional role (CEO) separate from everything else.
I have always been fit but had a series of relatively serious health challenges (2 x cardiac ablations, pulmonary embolism, DVTs, retinal tears) which I have dealt with. The recent issue is that I seem to have developed joint/tendon issues which specialists easily diagnose – patellar tendinopathy and medial epicondylitis but are not responding to any treatment no matter how religiously I stick to the rehab (and I’m sticking to it!). I’m told stress is likely to be contributing and my question is have others experienced this and can stress have such a dramatic impact?
For reference I’m 54, male, get 6-7hrs sleep a night, low blood pressure, slightly elevated cholesterol, good diet. I weight train/rehab with a physio/PT 2x a week, was cycling up to 200km a week pre knee issues and swim 2km a week.
Thanks all
1northshoreniallFull MemberYes, stress and all the associated hormomes/ poor quality sleep, etc. can negative impact recovery.
Try increasing sleep and has your company got an EAP/ Counselling service? Might help with stress management/ wellbeing strategies
4dbFree MemberThink its time to read the early retirement thread! No real advice but stress can be a real killer.
howarthpFull MemberThanks both
I HAVE read the early retirement thread! I could retire now, but…. What exactly is the but? – loyalty to my team, a love for my industry (universities) and the business I run, me thinking my identity is partly tied up with my role (that definitely needs working on).
I’ve been a relatively active member of Singletrack since 2010 – have had a hiatus (due to injuries) and always appreciate the advice offered
213thfloormonkFull MemberNothing scientific, but once I changed jobs to get out of a stressful role, AND started on the lowest possible dose of Sertraline (mostly to help with the stress) I’ve also been in the best place, injury and fitness wise, that I’ve been in a long time.
It has changed my perception of how most aches and pains actually develop and persist, carrying tension in your muscles, consciously or otherwise, is not a good thing (outside of specific circumstances obviously when you’re bracing for a deadlift or something…).
3DT78Free MemberIf you can retire, do it.
How many people who you work with will remember you / care about you in 6 days/weeks/months after you’ve gone
Retire and take up charitable work if you need to keep ‘busy’. I volunteered at Naomis house a few years ago and a chap had setup a bike workshop, refurbing bikes and getting them ready for sale in the shops – I thought if I didn’t have to pay the mortgage / support the kids I’d love to do that a few days a week,
IdleJonFree MemberLast year I moved house and we had a few other stress points related to my wife’s job. It was the most stressful year I can remember, and for a significant part of it my joints ached from the waist down and I had a weird, untreatable rash on the palm of my hand. My wife moved into a new job, away from the ridiculous issues she’d had earlier in the year, in the same week that we moved, so I ran myself into the ground doing that for a family of 5. Almost immediately the aching joints disappeared, and the hand rash vanished within a couple of weeks. Unfortunately, I then managed to crash the MTB and injured myself quite nastily, which I put down to general tiredness after a crap few months, and my skills not being quite on point after those months.
ernielynchFull MemberI’m told stress is likely to be contributing and my question is have others experienced this and can stress have such a dramatic impact?
Absolutely 100%.
All chronic pain including knee pain can be connected to stress. Although Dr Sarno focused primarily on back pain because that is the most common area which is affected by stress and negative emotions his mind-body theory applies to all areas of the body.
https://www.sarnoclinic.com/seven-key-lessons-from-healing-back-pain-by-dr-john-sarno/
And this organisation represents therapists who do the mind-body pain management sessions in the UK
2JamzFree MemberStress is a funny old thing, quite fascinating actually – psychological triggers producing physiological changes (and vice versa!) – and that’s because it all goes in the same pot (the pot is your body).
So in your case you’ve got a high stress job + two high stress gym sessions per week + 200km of bike stress + 2km swimming stress…… and you’re getting less than 7 hours of sleep per night. And presumably the normal day to day stresses of family life and relationships on top of that? Probably taking work calls/emails in the evening? When exactly do you have time to wind down properly? Are you familiar with the concept of burn out? Because this is how it happens – it’s a classic case of over exerted (stressed) and under recovered. Oh, and dare I mention that you’re 54 now, not 24 or 34. You’re doing more than a lot of people half your age. Reduce the load (physical and psychological) and increase the recovery – and diet is a big part of recovery, as well as sleep and just plain old fashioned rest (in a psychologically relaxed state!)
howarthpFull MemberI really appreciate all of your answers – thank you. The observations are good, especially those from @Jamz – stress is indeed a funny old thing.
I can’t take a sabbatical and have had counselling. I chose to work in what I knew was a high stress environment and historically I’ve coped pretty well. The fact the market has turned to sh** and especially having to exit good people is proving to be difficult.
It has been super interesting to read the retirement thread, if only to realise that a lot of us are contemplating Life 2.0. In this context I’m financially secure but mentally not, partly because I don’t think my wife necessarily wants what I’m after which, after 26yrs together is making for some interesting discussions. And, as I said above, I let my work and position sort of define me which I know is not healthy.
1shermer75Free MemberSounds like you already know what you want to do, you’re just looking for someone to give the a nudge so you can do it! My advice would be to take a career break and enjoy some time away while your health still lets you do it, you never know when that opportunity will be taken away from you and it could be sooner than you think
kormoranFree MemberCheck out the Holmes and Rahe life stress inventory. It was a proper US study into the correlation between stressful events and illness
It’s easy to cross reference with your own life and see how you fare on the scale.
There’s no doubt there’s a link
scudFree MemberI’m T2 diabetic since COVID, stress is a funny thing, for me if i have bad day at work, i can watch blood glucose levels and blood pressure rise, and with that comes inflammation, plus i go from enjoying exercise (and i’m lucky i can control it with diet and exercise only) to just finding i’m going through the motions, and that is when I seem to pick up those daft little injuries and niggles, especially since taking up running. I think stress, lack of sleep and inflammation all go hand in hand.
1iaincFull MemberI’m not good at keeping my professional role (CEO) separate from everything else.
this used to be me. I am in a senior exec role with a large Fortune 500 Company and I’m also familiar with :
And, as I said above, I let my work and position sort of define me which I know is not healthy.
I am 58, and 10 years ago I was diagnosed with, and underwent successful surgery, for Prostate Cancer. I remain cancer free, and despite the fairly life changing side effects, the cancer journey redefined my perspectives on what is important in life.
No longer am I a slave to my Corporate life, and interestingly, my career progress has been more successful in the last 10 years that the preceding 25. I don’t see this as coincidental, I have been fortunate to be able to seperate work and non work life, though yes, my phone is on 247 and I will respond to urgent mails and Teams whenever I need to. I will however go out for an hour with the dog, or go to the gym for a swim, during the day, without guilt. This has helped make me a happier, healthier person, and better at my job.
Strava tells me I did over 3000 bike miles last year, albeit a lot of that on my Wattbike and about 150 miles in the pool. Dog walks give me an average of 10000 steps a day
I think it sometimes takes a life changing event to reset our mindset in these situations, though I wouldn’t recommend cancer as a therapy !
barrysh1tpeasFree MemberYes, definitley.
I had chronic back pain, coinciding with bad MH.
I learnt a lot from Dr. Sarno books.
jamesoFull MemberInteresting that you mention a DVT and PE.
FWIW .. Healthy, fit, low stress, late 40s here. All fine until covid and then the bike industry chaos (I work in the bike ind), after covid, jobs at 4 different companies plus a house move related to one of those job changes despite the company going sideways and me quitting after only a year. Since then I’ve had a few bike-related issues related to inflammation come up whereas for the last 15+ years I’d do big rides often day after day w/o problems, then last summer an out-of-the-blue undiagnosed DVT caused a PE that had me in A+E. And only a few months back, a new inflammation issue.
Maybe I aged a lot in one year but I put a lot of this down to unresolved stress despite considering myself pretty good at coping with it (Am I? idk tbh. Thinking that in the first place may be part of the problem). IMO the only thing you can do is try to remove the causes of stress. I’ve also been told that fermented foods can be good at helping the gut and gut health is linked to stress/inflammation – I now find homemade kimchee delicious but whether it’s helping I’m not sure yet.
Just do things that make you feel good. ‘Coping with stress’ is not some modern day heroic aim. As was said up thread, no-one remembers (or even cares about) the things you did at work, they only remember the personal stuff and the good times. If your work involves doing good things for people then there’s cross-over .. but you’re lucky if so and that must be a different kind of stress, a worthy problem to solve. But for so many of us, of the people who matter to us who of them will GAS about how much £ we made for people we don’t even know.
RE work and identity – I get that, also realised it’s not a positive thing, neutral at best, certainly a skewed or ego-centred view of my life.
7howarthpFull MemberBy way of update, I have resigned. This immediately lifted weight off my shoulders. I have six month’s notice and am not yet clear as to whether or not I’ll be held to it. I have to say that the investor in the business has taken the news well and is being supportive.
On a side, but related, note I had a DEXA body scan today which shows I have high levels of visceral fat. I knew this but not the extent compared to other people of comparable age. The technician talked a lot about how chronic stress can lead to fat accumulation. He was shocked at the measurements but equally shocked that I have a good(ish) VO2 max, low HR and no signs of diabetes. I now am very clear on how important my health is going forward.
Thank you once again for all of your responses.
Phil_HFull MemberBy way of update, I have resigned.
Well done. I wish I had the stones to do that.
tjagainFull MemberBy way of update, I have resigned. This immediately lifted weight off my shoulders
Good for you. This is when you realise how much the stress was effectind you. It creeps up insidiously
sockpuppetFull MemberWow! Not how I thought this thread would be going!
congratulations, sounds like a wise choice. And thanks for the update, it’s nice to hear!
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