Regaining Strength After an Injury: Top 5 Action Steps

We have all been there; an injury, either minor or severe, puts us out of the action. Depending on the nature of your injury, it may be days, weeks, or even months before it fully heals, and you can return to your pre-injury workout load.

Sadly, there are those injuries which may be a permanent end to the sport you love. It’s important to stay positive and consider your injury and its healing process as work that you just need to do. Accept the damage and plan to get back to being physically active as soon as that injury allows you to do so. 

1. Get Cleared to Get Active:

Medical clearance is crucial to getting back to your sport; have an expert assess your injury and whether or not it has healed sufficiently for you to become physically active. It can be very frustrating sitting on the sidelines and watching as all your fitness gains evaporate while you recover from an injury.

However, if you rush back to activity before your injury is fully healed, you risk incurring another, potentially more serious injury to that same site. If your health care professional makes the call that your injury is still not healed enough to return to full activity, ask what exercises or activities you can do without risking the healing process. For example, after a recently broken ankle, I found an exercise outlet in swimming without using a kick.

 

2. Develop a Realistic Back to Game Plan:

If you are unsure, talk to your healthcare team about developing a step-by-step plan which will keep you healthy and get you on the road to a full recovery. You may want to consult a personal trainer who can supervise and guide you through exercises that will work the non-injured areas of your body and retrain and strengthen your injured area.

Resistance loop bands work fantastic for these purposes. When creating your back to game plan, ensure that you include opportunities for success. Choose short term goals that are attainable, but still challenging. Your long term goals, including the ultimate goal of returning to your favorite sports or activities, should be set off in the distance so that your injury has enough time to fully heal. By building in short term goals, your motivation will be rewarded as you accomplish smaller challenges.

 

3. Invest in Yourself:

Much of your recovery, relief, and rejuvenation can be made in the comfort of your home! Consider purchasing the wide range of recovery and relief gear, as well as resistance training gear from the experts at  Physix Gear Sport.

Affordable, quality gear that will fully support you during your recovery and which can easily fit in your gym bag for go-anywhere training. We’ve got your recovery and relief covered from quality orthotics, massage balls, knee sleeves, and braces to resistance loop bands.  

 

4. Do the Work:

As an active person, athlete, and team player, you know there are no short cuts to the highest strength, endurance, and performance levels. You know that it takes dedication, commitment, and putting in the hours.

Apply this same mentality and grit to recovering from your injury. Rushing the healing process won’t be successful, and it will be frustrating and may result in another injury.

 

5. Evaluate and Assess:

Evaluate your recovery carefully, and be honest about where your strength and endurance is before going full tilt at your sport. It may be quite some time before you have fully regained your pre-injury levels of strength, endurance, and skill, so be patient with yourself! This is a great time to check in with your health care team and have them make an expert, unbiased assessment of your injury’s recovery.

Remember that at PhyixGear Sport, we are here for you every step of the way and will be your partner in your recovery and in regaining your strength.