If you’re in the recovery process of an injury, you know how hard it is to get back to where you started. It takes time, patience, and hard work to heal completely.
While you shouldn’t rush the process, there are ways to set yourself up for success. Here are 4 tips to accelerating your injury recovery with as little setbacks as possible. 
1. Get Extra Hours of Sleep
Did you know that your body does most of its healing when you’re resting? More specifically, when you’re sound asleep.
Find ways to sleep comfortably at night and increase the amount of hours your body rests. For some injuries, this is easier said than done. If you have a fractured sternum for instance, sleeping may be very uncomfortable. Check out these fractured sternum sleeping tips to make the most of your sleep.
Some good solutions include using a recliner chair and adding pillows to reduce mobility at night.
2. Use Ice To Relieve Pain
Applying ice is a sure-fire way to reduce pain and swelling.This is a great option to relieving pain because it’s natural and topical. Therefore, you’re not risking any side effects. When you’re recovering from surgery or an orthopedic injury, ice is a wonderful resource to use when you want to remove swelling and prevent the pain from getting worse.
Ice works by lowering the temperature around your injury to numb the nerves in the area, making your perception of the pain in the region decrease. It also works to reduce swelling by slowing the blood flow in the region due to lowered temperature. The slower blood flow will reduce the amount of fluid that can build up and cause an uncomfortable swollen appearance.
3. Consult A Physical Therapist
A physical therapist (PT) is trained on how to rehabilitate and strengthen muscles and joints in the body to help the recovery process. They’ve undergone rigorous studying and trainings to become a PT; therefore, you should seek the help of one.
This is a must for your recovery because, after an injury, some muscles will become weaker. This makes it harder for your body to stabilize and support the injured area. Without personalized exercises from a PT, you are liable to injure the same area again or a different area.
When a part of your body is weak, it causes a stronger part to work harder. The added stress on this area can lead to pulled ligaments or tendons. For this reason, you want to make sure you’re not working your body too hard as you recover.
Working with a PT offers several benefits, among them:
- Avoiding surgery
- Reduced need for prescription medication
- Improved movement and mobility
- Safe recovery from injuries
- Improved balance
Talking with your doctor and physical therapist will give you the fastest and most lasting recovery.
4. Take it Slow
As you get back into your regular routines after an injury, it’s easy to get caught up in thinking that extra stretching, walking, or running will make you recover faster. But this is not true!
There is a time when a physical therapist will give you the all-clear to go back to intensive exercise again, but if you start this too soon, you could lose all of your progress and experience severe setbacks.
Make sure you don’t do too much too soon as you start to exercise again!
Final Thoughts
Ultimately, recovering from an injury is a difficult task to do, and it’s not always a straight shot to recovery. Some experience bumps and setbacks along the way. Be patient with yourself, take it slow, and you will return to your typical daily life soon enough!
