How To Recover From an Injury

 

 

 Being active is a vital part of our everyday lives and a key component to looking after our health and wellbeing. Staying fit and healthy benefits both our bodies and minds and helps us to feel stronger and happier. However, it’s very easy to overdo training and push ourselves too quickly, resulting in pulls, strains, or aching muscles. With the correct care, these types of injuries can heal with time, however, if it’s the first time you’ve sustained such an injury, it’s sensible to consult a doctor for treatment. They may recommend you speak with a physiotherapist for treatment advice or investigate your local chiropractor, such as Marietta chiropractor & chiropractic care.

 

The first steps

If you’ve hurt yourself, the first thing to do is to try and work out how or where you sustained the injury. Is it linked to a specific action or movement, did you feel a pull? This will help you determine the severity of the issue. If severe, the injury sustained may cause immediate swelling, this is usually caused by internal bleeding. However, usually, the swelling takes a few hours to develop, this is part of the healing process. Inflammation is a normal bodily function and is a defense mechanism and response to damage. 

 

Recovery and repair

Common recommendations for the healing process are elevation, compression and taking the weight off the injured area. It’s also crucial to maintain good blood flow to the injury, so movement of the specific area is essential to aid the healing process, although this may be difficult if the inflammation is painful. Our bodies are intelligent and impressive in how they manage traumas, they are well equipped to deal with the damage. However, it is vital to rest during the initial period after an injury to allow the healing process to begin. Controlled use of the injured area 48hrs after injury will increase tissue strength and promote repair. Healing times vary and depend on the patient’s age, general health and strength.

 

Avoiding injury

If we gently increase our exercise routine and allow our bodies time to develop, we can change and grow our tissues to adapt and strengthen, without sustaining an injury. Choose your workout carefully, if you’re new to exercise or in recovery from an injury, opt for a low impact exercise such as swimming, yoga, or Pilates. This type of exercise will aid conditioning without placing stress on your body. If you’re new to a sport or the gym, then be sure to learn the correct technique and invest in the right kit to support your training. Make sure you warm-up, start gradually and cool down properly. Dynamic stretches are a great way to warm up the body gently and stretching is ideal for a cool off and to maintain flexibility. Keep hydrated before, throughout and after exercise. Vary your workouts - cross-training is the best way to improve overall fitness and maintain a healthy body. Choose different types of exercise, such as dance, tennis, or team sports combined with swimming, yoga, or Pilates. This will naturally work a variety of muscle groups and give your body the opportunity to recover and rest in between exercise.