Working out is one of the most efficient ways to keep your health in check, whether you’re looking to lose weight, gain muscle, or simply improve your overall fitness and wellbeing.
As such, it can be incredibly frustrating to deal with setbacks, such as injuries during your fitness journey. After all, this often means that you need to spend weeks or months away from your routine, which can lead to a loss of both progress and motivation.
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Fortunately, there are many steps that you can take to ensure that you’re back on your feet again as quickly as possible!
Seek help as soon as possible. While you may feel as though you’re able to handle your injury entirely independently, or even brush it off altogether, it’s important that you seek help as soon as possible. After all, it can be difficult to determine the best course of action if you are not a medical professional yourself. As such, you could make things a lot worse in your attempt to make them better!
Follow your doctor’s guidelines. While you know your body better than anyone else, it’s important that you follow all of your doctor’s guidelines when it comes to injury recovery. After all, by trying to speed up your recovery timeline and return to exercise before you are ready, you’ll put unnecessary strain on your body which could make the initial issue worse and leave you vulnerable to further injuries. As such, while this can be frustrating, know that the advice they have given you is designed to protect your best interests in the long-run.
Manage your pain. When working to recover from an injury, effective pain management is key. After all, it plays a critical role in reducing any discomfort you may face during this time, which can also help to improve your mental health and outlook. Again, there are many options to consider here, depending on the kind of injury you are dealing with. For example, if you’ve hurt your ankle, you can benefit from following some of these tips to prevent ankle pain, such as wearing proper footwear, stretching, and staying off your feet for as long as possible.
Rest as much as you can. Resting is often key to facilitating a speedy recovery, whether you’re dealing with a sprained ankle or wrist. This is because it means you’re giving your body ample time to recover, so that when you do return to your normal routine, you’re feeling your best.
Get some sleep. Another way in which you can ensure that you recover quickly, is by ensuring that you sleep well at night. There are many reasons for this. Firstly, sleep reduces your body’s cortisol levels, which is otherwise known as the stress hormone. Reducing these hormones allows growth hormones to function more effectively, so that they can more effectively rebuild injured tissues.
Find other ways to spend your time. If you’re used to spending a lot of your time at the gym or workout out, you’ll likely begin to feel the absence of this activity in your routine right away. As this can have an impact on our mental health, it’s important that you find alternative ways to spend your time during your recovery period. For example, you could:
- Spend more time with your friends, family and loved ones
- Re-engage in old or forgotten hobbies
Consider physiotherapy. Depending on the type of injury you are dealing with, you may also find that physiotherapy is useful during your recovery, especially when it comes to moving things along quickly. After all, this can help you to address any pain, discomfort or limitations that you are facing, under the watchful eye of an expert. They’ll also be able to provide you with a range of activities you can complete independently, such as specific stretches, that support your long-term recovery and leave you feeling as comfortable as possible.
On a similar note, working with a physiotherapist can help you to rebuild your enthusiasm when it comes to exercising, especially if you are feeling a little nervous or apprehensive about picking things up once again.
Ease yourself back into exercise. While you should not return to working out until you are ready to do so, the chances are you’ll struggle to jump right back into your usual routine. There are many reasons for this. For example, you may be dealing with new limitations as a result of the injury itself, or simply lack the same level of endurance. As such, it’s important that you focus on easing yourself into exercise. For example, if you usually workout for an hour a day, start with thirty minute workouts, and increase their length gradually over time. Not only will this make it a little easier to re-introduce exercise into your routine, but it also means that you’re reducing the risk of facing an injury again in the future.
Make adjustments to your workout if necessarily. As mentioned above, you may also need to make adjustments to your workout moving forward to accommodate to changes in your athleticism or abilities following an injury or accident. For example, when dealing with a sprained ankle, you may not be able to avoid exercise that puts pressure on your ankle, such as running or leg presses. If you aren’t sure which adjustments are necessary, or how to make them, consider reaching out to a trainer for some advice and guidance. This ensures that you are making the best possible decision for your body, while still returning to an activity you love and enjoy.
Final thoughts. An injury of any severity can have a profound impact on your mental and physical health, whether you’re just starting out in the world of fitness or a seasoned pro. However, this does not mean that you can return to normality right away, no matter how much you may want to do so!
While you should follow the advice of healthcare professionals above all else, you may find the above guide useful when it comes to facilitating a speedy recovery from a workout-related injury!
