To move or not to move: Is movement helping or hindering your recovery?

To move or not to move: Is movement helping or hindering your recovery?

If you have sprained your ankle, torn your ACL or slipped a herniated disc, you will be familiar with the saying ‘make pain your friend’. Pain can be a horrible companion though, keeping you laid up on the sofa with day-time TV as your miserable companion. It can also be the key to understanding when you are ready again for exercise and when you still need to recuperate.

It can be incredibly frustrating to be out of action for weeks and sometimes even months! However injury recovery time is essential to ensure that you don’t stay on the couch for even longer periods. Here are some pointers for when you should resume exercise, and when to take it easy following an injury. Every injury is different, so it is advisable to discuss these suggestions with your physiotherapist to make sure they apply to you.

Listen to your body and respect it

This is easier said than done, All you want to do is get out there and pound the pavement or get on your bike to resume your workout regimen.

However by listening to subtle (and not so subtle) signals that your body is giving you, and then acting accordingly, you are going to prevent worsening your injury.

After having a rest period, your injured body will now be in a weaker and more vulnerable state. Going from zero to 100 straight away is not a wise move. After a strain, sprain or sporting injury you need to ease back into it.

A return to exercise after an injury needs to be carefully managed by a physiotherapist. However an example of a return to exercise may initially include low-impact exercise like yoga, stretching and walking. Then after a week or two and no obvious signs of pain, you could increase the frequency and intensity of your daily routine. Perhaps you could try a 3 km slow jog twice per week. Although in any case with an injury, it is best to be assessed by a physiotherapist or other healthcare professional for a tailored programme.

Listen for signs

During any physical activity post-injury, listen out for pain in your body. This will indicate when you should ease up on exercise or stop altogether. Pain is an obvious and clear signal that you have done too much too soon.

Begin with low-impact exercises

Walking is the most natural type of body movement. It’s what we humans were born to do. A gentle walk can be a low impact way to stay active. Swimming and yoga are also low impact choices for stretching out your muscles and gaining strength following an injury.

Try balance and strength exercises

Pilates, yoga and other strengthening exercises are great for improving your posture, muscle strength and core strength. You would be surprised at how many muscle injuries occur due to a lack of core abdominal strength. Exercises that promote abdominal strength are vital for preventing many strain and sprain injuries. You should consider integrating balance and strengthening exercises into your injury recovery, this will help you in the long-term.

Avoid high impact and weight-bearing exercises

Weight-bearing exercises should be avoided following an ankle or leg injury to avoid the chances of worsening your condition. Not only should you put down the hand-weights, you should also avoid high impact exercises and high impact cardio like running, basketball and netball which take a heavy toll on the joints for the same reason.

Eat well, sleep well and stay hydrated.

Food, sleep and hydration play a critical role in accelerating or hampering your recovery time after an injury. You should therefore avoid fatty, sugary and processed foods in favour of fresh fruit, vegetables and grains. If you must eat meat, make sure it is a lean cut of fresh meat.Try and avoid alcohol because it won’t help your body to heal itself. Conversely, good old water is going to help your body’s tissues to heal quicker by keeping them hydrated. A decent night’s rest every night can also have a positive impact on your recovery time.

See a friendly and caring physiotherapist

A physiotherapist will assess your current physical state and give you deep insights into your prospective recovery time. Many factors including your age, health, fitness and how long you have been injured and immobile will influence the length of time you take to recover.

Maroubra Road Physiotherapy is made up of experienced, caring and friendly physiotherapists who are passionate about helping the local community. We take a holistic approach to looking after people and see the whole person, rather than just the injury. We create step-by-step programmes that are uniquely tailored to your circumstances and needs. The team get a real thrill out of seeing people get back on their feet again and back into healthy exercise and living a full life.

Getting a physiotherapy assessment will help to ensure that you don’t worsen the injury or lengthen your recovery time unnecessarily. It also means you are recovering from injury in a personalised way that is safe and beneficial to your health. Speak with the team at Maroubra Road Physiotherapy today to book an appointment on (02) 9314 3888.

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