When it comes to physical injuries, it is important to acknowledge that what you do will either speed up the process or make it worse. It is normal to feel frustrated and unhappy that you will not be able to resume your normal activities until you fully recover, or at least not with the same intensity, but pushing yourself to do things that will help you with recover from an injury, and you’ll thank yourself later.
Since injuries come with many hardships, whether financial, physical, or mental, you want to make sure that you are properly compensated if that injury has been caused by someone else. “For instance, if you have hired a personal trainer and their negligence caused you to have an injury, it is important that you take this seriously by hiring a personal injury lawyer who can help you recover compensation for your damages,” according to an injury attorney The Barnes Firm.
Here are ways to speed up your recovery from an injury:
1. Improve your quality of sleep
You have most certainly heard of how important getting more rest is for recovery, which means that you need to move less and lowering the intensity of exercises. But, what is less talked about is the importance of sleep for recovery. Sleep plays a crucial role in speeding up the recovery process, whether the injury is mild or severe.
That is because our tissues and muscles are repaired when we sleep, and by not focusing on the quality of your sleep, you won’t reap the full benefits of it and your body will take longer to recover. The reason behind this is that when you sleep deeply, the blood flow in your muscles increases which transfers essential nutrients and oxygen to repair and regenerate cells.
2. Increase your protein consumption
It is not a secret that protein helps with muscle growth, but have you heard about the benefits of protein for muscle recovery? Even if you don’t want to increase your protein intake during recovery, or you are unable to, the least you could do is not lower it. People make the mistake of lowering their protein intake during recovery periods because they are not exercising as much.
The reason behind this is that protein contains amino acids, which are basically your tissue’s building blocks. In the same way, protein helps in repairing the muscle tears caused by working out, which leaves you less sore the next day, it also helps in repairing the muscles when they have been injured.
3. Reduce inflammation by eating anti-inflammatory foods
When you get injured, your body goes through a lot of inflammation and swelling. Thanks to mother nature, we have a lot of options to choose from when it comes to foods that help in fighting inflammation in our bodies.
Inflammation is the body’s protective response to injury, and even going through an intense workout. So, even after you have recovered from an injury it is important that you eat foods that fight inflammation in your body. There are some over the counter medicine that fight inflammation, but if you are looking for a more holistic approach, consider eating things like carrots, sweet potatoes, leafy greens, peppers, citrus, guava, broccoli, and many other foods that fight inflammation.
4. Compress the affected area
Ensure that the affected area is compressed most of the time, but without cutting off blood flow so make sure that you don’t wrap around the muscle too tightly–find the perfect balance of compression, but also comfort. There are specific garments made for compression for specific body parts so make sure you get one of these.
Not only is compression important throughout the day, but it’s also important if you are exercising, even if it is low impact. That is because compression helps with reducing inflammation and swelling of the affected area, which leads to speeding up the recovery process. Another tip is to try to elevate the injured area as much as possible by elevating it above your heart since it reduces swelling.
5. Reduce your exercise intensity
This is one of the most important things to do because you don’t want to put your body through more stress. You want the body to focus on healing the injured area instead of also healing the muscle tears caused by intense exercise. During your recovery process, switch to exercises that don’t put pressure on the affected area. For instance, if you have a torn ligament in your knees, don’t do squats or lunges, but instead do exercises that strengthen the knees like isolated leg extensions.