Pain, anxiety and fear are common feelings following an injury. Whether it be a back, knee or foot injury, it can be difficult to get back in the gym after significant pain. Although you might not be able to exercise for quite a while during the recovery process, you will want to make sure that your bones are kept strong and healthy while they are healing. This will require some recovery training after injury.
Injury recovery is a process in which you need to take it slow, but you will also want to make sure not to rush back into your training routine too quickly as this can actually cause further damage and aggravate your injury. With respect to injuries, it is always important to consult a physician first before deciding whether or not you are ready to start exercising again. In the event that they say yes, take it easy at the beginning and pace yourself back into the gym. If it is too painful to continue, then you should probably rest and allow your body to heal.
Steps to Injury Recovery
All sorts of injuries need proper care and attention by the injured person to reduce their recovery time and aid in their full recovery. The following steps will help you get back into shape in a safe manner after your injury:
1. Take it slow
Slowly ramp up your activity levels that you were hitting before the injury, especially if you have had a significant amount of time off. It is best to move your body in a safe and progressive manner to avoid aggravating your injury. If the pain starts to increase, then you need to rest some more. The whole point is to get back into shape in a safe manner, so make sure that you do not overdo it. Taking it slow will also allow you time to make sure that everything feels as good as possible before moving on with any high-impact activities again.
2. Listen to your body
If your body is telling you that something hurts, then listen to it. It is impossible to heal if you are not listening to the signs your body is trying to tell you. Always make sure that you respect any pain signals or warnings and make sure that you slow down. The last thing that you want is to start hurting again because of going too hard, so be sure not to push yourself too much at the beginning of your recovery process.
3. Wear proper support
If you want to speed up the healing process, then wearing the proper support when you are exercising is always going to be advantageous. You can also use compression garments that are designed to provide extra support and to help reduce swelling. This will allow your body to focus on getting back into shape again instead of concentrating on healing all the time, which is important if you are trying to get back into competition shape ASAP.
4. Maintain healthy diet
Eating the right foods and staying away from the junk food is going to be important in order for your body to heal quickly. Avoid highly processed foods, which lack nutrients and just add extra calories to your diet. They are also full of preservatives that might aggravate your injury. Remember that you need all the vitamins and minerals you can get from healthy foods because it will only help speed up the healing process, especially if you have a bruise. There are studies that show that eating healthy and nutritious foods may also help you recover quicker after an injury, so it is definitely worth a shot.
5. Use ice and heat
Ice and heating packs are two of the most common remedies when it comes to injuries, but what you don’t realize is that they can have a significant effect on healing your body faster. The thing with these two products is that they can be used for both pain relief, as well as healing purposes. When you apply ice to the affected area, it can reduce swelling and discomfort, which is perfect if you want to speed up your recovery.
Heat on the other hand is used for pain relief and also for promoting blood circulation around the area of discomfort. It helps to stimulate the body’s natural healing processes. When you use both of these products properly, then you will reduce recovery time significantly.
Conclusion training after injury
After you reach full recovery, make sure that you take special care of your knees and joints in order to make absolutely sure that your injury never comes back. The maintenance process for keeping your body strong is a vital part of the process of being able to deal with injuries and get back into shape after a set-back.
By getting the proper treatment for your injury, allowing yourself time to heal and using the right recovery strategy, you will be glad to know that you are on the road to getting back to training without an issue.