What things can you do to cope mentally and recover physiologically after injuring yourself while exercising? It’s a question that our acting digital editor Francesca Menato has sought answers to over the last year. She was training for her fourth - and hopefully fastest - marathon when she caught Covid-19, and the long-term effects on her lungs meant she wasn’t able to run for 12 weeks. Then, when she laced up her trainers once more and built up her fitness over six weeks for a 31-hour ultra relay, she found herself struck down again - this time with ITB syndrome and bursitis, and out of action for four months. She’s doing better now, and returned to shorter runs in early March, but dealing with that injury was tough. And she’s not alone - tonnes of you have got in touch to share your own experience of lockdown fitness set-backs. In today’s episode, we call on Dr Josie Perry, sports psychologist and founder of Performance In Mind, and Emmanuel Ovola, physiotherapist and Nike run coach. They discuss why so many people have become injured during training during the pandemic, the importance of dealing with the emotional fallout of not being able to stay active, as well as tips and tricks to get you actually doing those all-important rehab exercises.  

Join Dr Josie Perry on Twitter: @Josephineperry

Join Emmanuel Ovola on Twitter: @Manni_O

Join Francesca Menato on Instagram: @ces_menato

Join Women's Health UK on Instagram: @womenshealthuk

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