Returning to Your Workout Routine After Suffering An Injury
Let's say that you work out regularly but have been sidelined by a recent injury. Although frustrated with the injury, you commit yourself to returning to full health as soon as possible. You rest your body. You visit a doctor and a physical therapist and seek rehab advice. You do targeted exercises and follow all advice given to you, and slowly but surely your injury begins to heal. Finally, thanks to your efforts and to your body's natural healing process, the injury is no more. You are no worse for wear, save for being slightly out of shape and for the medical billing and coding expenses you incurred.
So what now? Is it time to move on? Can you return to your full workout regimen? If you're asking yourself these questions, here are a few tips to keep in mind:
Have Confidence
Make sure you're confident about your decision to come back. If you're injury is truly gone you are always at risk that it will flare up again, but you should go forward believing yourself to be healthy. Don't favor one leg over another or walk gingerly if you don't need to. A psychological injury can hamper your workouts and translate into real injuries down the road.
Build Back
Even if you don't think you lost any fitness during your recovery period, it's important for your physical and mental health to build back slowly into your regular exercise routine. Start by working out for shorter periods of time and for lower intensities. Being conservative will help you insure that you're ready to go once you've fully built back.
Make A Gentle Transition
Many people make the mistake of completely stopping their rehab exercises before resuming their old workout routines. There should, instead, be an overlap between the two: just as rehab is dialing down, your pre-injury routine can start back up. Doing so will treat your body to a less-jarring transition.
Hopefully these tips can help you come back from injury in a way that best insures your long-term health. While rehab is never fun, and although we are always itching to workout normally as an injury heals, it is important to be conservative, yet confident, as you move forward.