How to successfully recover after a sports injury

Engaging in sportive activities is one of the most beneficial for the health of your body. Physical activity promotes good memory in the long term as well as strengthens the muscles. However, exposing yourself to prolonged hours of exercise or forgetting to warm up beforehand can harm your body’s condition. A recent survey showed how one-third of people playing sports in the UK state how injuries affect them long term, while a few suffered permanent damage in one part of their bodies.

Sports injuries are common; some of the most occurring include sprains and strains, knee injuries and swollen muscles. Although they can’t be avoided completely, there are ways through which you can prepare your body before any activity to minimise the incidence of unfortunate accidents.

In this article, we’ll briefly cover the preparation stage for you to properly assess your body and ways to recover after an incident to avoid experiencing permanent damage.

4 things to do before starting to exercise

Preparing yourself before a workout takes time and patience ―your body needs to get used to the effort slowly because otherwise, it’ll fight back, and you’ll be in pain. So, to start with the most important thing, you need to get enough sleep at night. Of course, taking naps throughout the day is important, but during the night, your body is naturally recovering after a strenuous workout, and it sets you up for the next day by keeping your hormones balanced. Getting at least seven hours of sleep is the final goal.

The next tip is to fuel your body. That means drinking more water, but the quantity depends on your body structure, so it would be best to aim to consume the equivalent of half your body weight in ounces. Also, don’t forget to have a pre-workout snack, like a banana or a smoothie, to give your body energy.

Another crucial factor that gets you ready to work out is your clothing. You should feel comfortable wearing your shoes, pants or shirt when running or doing other activities because if not, you’re exposing yourself to slips, trips or falls, which, according to https://www.accidentclaims.co.uk/, can be a case of claiming for compensation.

Finally, you should never forget to warm up before your workout session. Even only ten minutes are enough to warm up the muscles and get the engine started, so always make sure to do some light stretching or a dynamic warm-up to ensure you’re less likely to get injured.

3 things to do after your workout

Now that you’ve ended your exercise session, you should still check off the list of some things because your body needs to cool down and enter a more normal state. So, stretching is also the final step in working out because it allows your muscles to relax. Plus, it promotes joint mobility, so make sure you allocate a few minutes, with at least 15 seconds for each stretch, to regain control of your body entirely. Using a foam roller is indicated.

After stretching, re-fuelling is crucial. That’s because your body tries to rebuild muscle and restore glycogen after getting wild in the gym, and you can help with eating some fresh fruits, raw nuts, and even a hummus wrap.

Finally, consider taking a cold shower. Although it seems extreme, it can help your body cool down faster. Athletes are doing cold water therapy for recovery, so you can give it a try and see if it has some benefits. You can also mentally benefit from a cold shower as it boosts good mental health.

However, you got injured. Now what?

As mentioned, injuries always happen, and we can’t avoid them 100%. If you got into an accident or simply fell and hurt yourself, it would be best to seek medical guidance. However, if it’s something relatively negligible, here are some things you can do to feel better physically and mentally.

The RICE method

The RICE method requires you to take immediate action and not wait until the pain disappears. The abbreviation comes from:

• Rest: stop your activity as soon as you get hurt and take a break for at least two days to prevent further bruising;
• Ice: apply something ice-cold on your injury for 15 minutes every three hours during the first two days since the injury to reduce pain and swelling;
• Compression: wrap the area with a medical bandage to prevent swelling;
• Elevation: raise the injured body part above the heart level to reduce pain and throbbing;

Follow medical recommendations

In most cases, people follow their doctors’ recommendations only on the first day of the diagnosis, affecting their recovery progress and mental state. Therefore, it would be best to fully comply with what the medical receipt says, and you can rest assured to get back on track as soon as possible. At the same time, make sure to keep content with your doctor frequently if the treatment doesn’t seem to work, and avoid taking dangerous decisions when it comes to medication. If you’re unsure about the treatment, you can consult another doctor and get multiple opinions, depending on how complicated the situation is.

Be patient and positive

Unfortunately, after an accident, most people never get back to exercising or deepening themselves in dark thoughts. Although it’s normal to accept your feelings and not ignore these sentiments, it’s easy to let yourself be discouraged. Therefore, practise patience as much as possible and maintain a relatively positive attitude towards this period. That’s because if you’re only thinking about your unfortunate situation, it may seem like it takes years to recover. But when you’re confident in yourself and engaging in other activities, your body’s immune system may respond better to this approach and promote rapid healing.

Final thoughts

Recovering after an injury is unpleasant; however, it shouldn’t stop you from exercising, as sports have multiple benefits for the mind and the body. So, whenever you get injured and find yourself in an uncomfortable situation, it’s best to actively seek help, follow the doctor’s guidance and have a confident attitude that you’ll soon bounce back with new forces!