If you are an active person, restarting your working out routine after an injury can be time frustrating and sometimes, could even lead to more pain or prevent your injury from healing completely. And while no injury is the same as some are more serious and require more time to heal, there are some pointers you should consider no matter how bad your injury was before re-entering the exercise ring.
1- Be sure to get your doctor’s OK
While you may feel ready to start moving, the pain, swelling and stiffness have to be gone for sure to ensure you don’t lose any progress you may have had on the healing front.
2- Mentally prepare yourself
After an injury you could lose confidence in the movements your body can do. Be sure to think about this in order to prevent pushing yourself too hard when going back to your usual routine. Be sure to push yourself, but don’t exceed your limits as this could lead to further injuries or frustration.
3- Start easy
After some time without any movement it’s only natural that you may have lost strength, flexibility and even resistance. Start easy, walking can be a great option to start and you can add some moves to bring your walking routine to the next level before moving on to more complicated routines.
4- Recruit a trainer
Having professional advice after an injury can help ensure you are properly performing the movements and you can pay particular attention to the body part you injured to regain the strength you may have lost while in recovery.
5- Properly warm up and stretch after your routine
These two little portions of training are often overlooked, and these can be the culprits of many injuries. Particularly after an injury it is very important to properly warm up and stretch to ensure your muscles are prepared for the exercise and are cooled down as well when you are done.
6- Set yourself for success
Getting your sneakers back on after a while of having them away can be exciting and it is common for us to get over excited on trying to catch up on time lost. But be sure to listen to your body in terms of pain and potential swelling that could come back as a result of pushing yourself too hard. Keeping this in mind, you are set for success in regaining your strength!
While it can be exciting to get back on track after a while, remember that you stopped working out because of an injury, not vacation. So, be sure to respect your body and its sensations to avoid falling injured again.
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