Restarting fitness after an injury

Whether you’re a competitive athlete, someone who exercises regularly, or if you just dabble in exercise, you may well have to deal with an injury at some point in your life.

Whether its muscle strain, tendonitis, or a more serious injury like a fracture, the likelihood is you’ll have to take some time out from your exercise routine while your injury heals. This can be extremely disheartening, seeing as it only takes four weeks to lose around 50% of your fitness base.

In an ideal world, you want to continue exercising while recovering from your injury. And it may well be possible, depending of the type of injury you have. But don’t attempt anything without proper advice from your GP or personal trainer. You could end up doing more harm than good. It will take some time, but if you take the advice of your doctor and are patient, you’ll be back at the gym in no time.

Here are some pointers to help ease you back into exercise without losing motivation or risking further injury:

1. Take it slowly

Trying to pick up exactly where you left off after a break from exercise can result in very sore muscles, or worse, further injuries. Start at a more moderate intensity and lower frequency than before, and work your way back to where you left off. You don’t want to set yourself back even further by causing new problems.

2. Stretch before and after exercise

Stretching is imperative to help prevent further aggravating a sports-related injury. According to a 2009 study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, stretching before and after exercise reduced the risk of injuries to muscles, tendons and ligaments.

Spend at least 30 seconds stretching each muscle group before any form of physical activity. Basic stretches can include lunges, squats, standing triceps stretch, calf stretch and chest stretch.

3. Remember that pain is pain

While some fitness enthusiasts live by the mantra, ‘no pain, no gain’ when it comes to injury, nothing could be further from the truth. Pain is the body’s signal that you’ve gone too far, done too much.

It’s important to listen to your body as you navigate your way through recovery. If you twist your ankle and assume you can still do your usual upper body routine, you may have to think again. We refer to our muscles as individual entities but the truth is our body is one complete unit connected by fascia and complex connective tissues. It will signal when it’s ready to attempt certain things and when you’ve done too much.

4. Pay attention to nutrition and hydration

Feed your body the best, most anti-inflammatory food and drink you can, including plenty of leafy vegetables and water.

Prolonged illness or injury can have a devastating effect on the body. But fortunately, the body’s default setting is health and wellbeing. If you feed it the right vitamins and minerals, it will recover, in time.

5. Complement your training with sports massage

Sports massage plays an important role as a supplement to standard injury rehabilitation procedures. By encouraging circulatory movement and relaxation of the muscles, massage helps the body pump more oxygen and nutrients into tissue and vital organs. This allows the injured area to become more flexible, and heal at an accelerated rate.

At Castle Thai Spa we offer a range of therapeutic massages that can aid your recovery. Call us on 0131 629 0794 to discuss your options today.