Recovering from an injury takes time and a lot of patience as you rebuild your strength. While your doctor might let you engage in some forms of exercise, it’s critical that you work out slowly and avoid re-injury through overuse or high impact. In addition, your diet can slow your recovery if you’re not monitoring it closely.
Hot Tub
Getting in the water can greatly increase the circulation to your injury site. Of course, if you have to have surgery, you will need to get your incision thoroughly checked out before you get into the hot tub. According to AquaRec, hot tubs can speed up recovery from an injury. The heat from a hot tub helps improve circulation and helps blood to reach the injury more quickly for faster healing. Exercising in the hot tub removes the jarring impact and pressure on your joints. If you choose to exercise in the hot tub, you will likely start to perspire earlier than usual in your workout routine. Use this trigger as a chance to check in with the injury and slow down if needed.
Proper Nutrition
Injury sites are going to become inflamed. If you have an injury that is severe enough to require surgery, this site should be treated as an injury. As you heal, avoid cutting calories. According to Training Peaks, you will need plenty of protein, but make sure you are also getting some glucose to give your body the energy it needs to address the site of the wound. It’s also important to make sure that you eat plenty of foods with anti-inflammatory fats like avocados, olive oil, and certain fish like salmon and mackerel. Make sure to also avoid eating foods that are high in inflammatory fats like foods with saturated fats, vegetable oils, and trans fats. These will slow down your recovery.
Work With a Professional
When you’re cleared to head back to the track or gym, you may hit it too hard. You may also be at risk of changing your form without realizing it and cause another injury. According to PT On the Net, a qualified personal trainer can monitor your workout form and help you to rebuild your strength in balance. Again, patience is key. You may find that you have to train with small weights or even no weights until the injury site is ready for more stress. Rely on your personal trainer to help you maintain good form as you heal.
Getting through an injury is a long process and will require a lot of patience on your part. Take care to keep your workouts in balance and let the injury site heal with time. If your knee requires surgery, follow through with your trainer or therapist to rebuild strength and flexibility. You might also consider switching to a dedicated arm workout while your injured leg heals.
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