Exercise & Injuries

Injuries can be really frustrating. Injuries can make you feel like you’re going backwards with your progress, leave you unmotivated and maybe a little useless when it comes to exercise and physical activity.

Despite all of this, we know that regular exercise and movement is a critical component of recovery after an injury, but it can be hard to know where to start.

Here are a few reasons why exercise is so important and some tips on how to get started.

1. Promotes Healing: Exercise stimulates blood flow, which delivers essential nutrients to injured tissues. This helps speed up the healing process and improves overall recovery.
2. Prevents Muscle Atrophy: When an injury occurs, it’s common to reduce or stop movement in the affected area. However, this can lead to muscle atrophy, where the muscle deteriorates and becomes weaker. Exercise can help prevent muscle atrophy and preserve muscle strength during the recovery process.
3. Improves Range of Motion: Exercise can also help improve flexibility and range of motion in the affected area. This can reduce stiffness and improve overall function, making it easier to return to normal activities.
4. Manages Pain: Regular exercise can help manage pain associated with an injury by reducing inflammation and promoting natural pain-relieving chemicals in the body.
5. Improve Mental Health: Regular exercise can help improve mental health due to the release of endorphins and happy hormones.

Here are a few tips for starting an exercise program during injury recovery:

1. Consult an Exercise professional: Accredited Exercise Physiologists’ are expertly trained to help individuals recover from injuries and return to things that are important to them. Alongside treating Physiotherapists and Doctors, a multi-disciplinary team approach can help with a speedy recovery!
2. Start Slowly: Gradually increase the intensity and duration of your exercises to prevent further injury and promote healing. We don’t want you to go from 0-100, rather small building blocks each week!
3. Consider Cardio: Low-impact exercises, such as swimming, cycling, or yoga, can help you continue to move your entire body with the benefits of improved cardiovascular health.
4. Breathing & Mindfulness: Learning to breathe slowly and purposefully with a focus on mindfulness can have positive impacts on your pain levels and mental health.
5. Track Progress: Keep a journal of your progress and make modifications as needed. This can help ensure that you’re making progress and not overdoing it.

If you need assistance returning to activity following an injury, please reach out! We would love to help.

Contact us here.