22 Sep 3 ways to rehab an injury and come back stronger!

Posted at 09:06h in Injury Prevention, Rehabilitation & Pre-habilitation by

Are you like the average active person? That even a when a minor injury occurs, it will sideline you from a regular workout routine?

 

One you niggle your back, twist your knee,  experience shin splits or any other type of injury – all of a sudden you’re out of routine and wondering when you can get back into the game!

Here we get into the dangerous gray area of post injury

For those out there that are rehabbing these common injuries, the timeframe is generally 2 -4 weeks. But generally recreational athletes will feel better after a week or 2 out of the game. This is where the gray area is – during this time they’re the most at risk of re-injury.

Our bodies healing process is the same – whether you sprain a ligament, stretch a tendon, or strain a muscle. With injuries there’s always a tearing or traction and microfibers are injured. Inflammatory factors then start to populate in the area and you go through the inflammation process.

If you quickly jump back into your routinely exercise without giving the body time to heal you might be making a 2-4 week problem into a 3 to 6 month problem, as there can be compensatory actions happening with other joints of your body due to the injury.

Don’t jump back into your regular workouts before you’re ready!

Here’s a few tips to know when you’re ready to be mindful of when you have an injury, to help you recover and make you feel a billion times better:

 

Give it time

  • It is hard but give your body that 2 -4 weeks break; your body will thank you for it.
  • If you’re working with a Physiotherapist or Exercise Physiologist make sure they’re tracking your progress and give you the a-okay to return to normal exercise.

 

Return to play

  • Once you get the go ahead to get back into your previous activities, you will need to have pain free motion in the joint that was injured. If you still have pain in that joint you are not ready tore return to exercising it.

 

Pacing

  • Once you are pain free; you can still re-injure yourself but if you can slowly pace yourself back into your previous activities, no doubt you will be feeling a billion times better! If you used to run 5 km every day , start at 1 -2 km then check in with yourself and see how you feel. The following day you can run up to 1.5km or 2.5km. Remember to slowly pace yourself back into your previous routine.

 

If you are experiencing pain whilst exercising or think you may have in an injury, always seek the advice of a qualified exercise professional, such as an Accredited Exercise Physiologist, before you continue to exercise to ensure you aren’t causing more harm and can proceed safely.

 

 

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