How to Return to Exercise After a Sports Injury
A sports injury is any athlete’s worst nightmare: it means you’re unable to practice your sport until you’ve healed sufficiently, which could be several weeks. It’s important to know how to return to exercise safely to prevent making the injury worse and potentially impacting your health and performance long term.
1. Wait Until a Medical Professional Gives You the Go-Ahead
The person who knows best when you’re ready to start exercising again is your doctor or physiotherapist. You may feel like you’re the only one who can truly know your body, but a physician or physiotherapist can see things that may not be apparent to you.
2. Take Steps to Avoid Another Injury
Some injuries are unavoidable. However, the majority of the time, you can use an injury as a valuable learning experience. Think about what you could do differently to prevent making the same mistake again. This may involve wearing protective equipment, exercising less vigorously to avoid overexertion, having more rest days, or incorporating warm-up and cool-down time into your training sessions.
3. Build Up to Your Prior Performance
It’s unrealistic to expect your body to perform at the same level as before the injury when you come back after a long break — in fact, if you do push yourself this hard, you’ll be at higher risk of another injury. During your first week back, aim for just 50 percent of your prior performance. Then, continue to increase by between 10 and 15 percent each week until you’re back to normal.
4. Diversify Your Routine
Give the body part you injured more time to recover by practicing a greater range of activities. This will help you regain your level of fitness without putting too much strain on the injured area.
5. Be Alert for Warning Signs
You should expect to feel some mild discomfort in the injured body part, but there should never be any sharp pain nor should discomfort last for more than an hour after you finish your workout. If this happens, rest for a couple more days.
You can optimize the healing process with sports physiotherapy. Edmonton, Sherwood Park, and other local athletes and sports enthusiasts can turn to Global Physiotherapy to facilitate a successful recovery. Contact us to book an appointment.