Regardless of the kind of injury you experience, it can strike your physical and mental health in countless ways, and it can make you feel like all your plans have been disrupted. If you suffered an accident recently, you might be very familiar with the anger and frustrations associated with this process, especially if you have to watch your life slowly slipping away. Not to mention the physical pain you must endure during the healing stage. But the good news is that you can recover, and if you follow some recommendations, you might even speed up the process.
Understand your injury
Before making a recovery plan, it’s crucial to understand your diagnosis so you can adjust your lifestyle to it. Knowing what body part was affected after the accident will tell you what activities you must avoid during recovery and if you can exercise or do other things. It would help to see a physiotherapist to create a recovery plan together according to your body’s needs.
Understanding your injuries implies more than having a diagnosis; you must understand what factors led to the accident. Suppose someone’s negligence led to your accident; you can consult an online resource like https://www.how-to-sue.co.uk to find out more about the steps you need to take to claim compensation. Learning from this experience is crucial, even if you weren’t at fault for your injury because it will help you avoid future accidents.
Make sure you get what your injured body needs
Most injuries resulting from accidents require a combination of rest and physical activity to improve and heal. Depending on the extent of your injury, you’ll have to tweak the periods of time you rest and move from one week to another. As you regain your strength and your body starts to heal tissue, you can add new forms of exercise to your daily activities.
If you neglect physical activity and dedicate your entire time to rest, you could end up with a weaker body that is more prone to injury. The opposite practice, where you get back to your normal fitness routine, could also do some harm because your body might not be able to handle the effort workouts would put on it. Strength training isn’t recommended during injury recovery.
Here are some general recommendations that work for most injuries:
• Protect the injured part for the first week and apply ice, compression, and elevations.
• Stay active unless it implies pain. Don’t push your body if your injury produces increased amounts of pain. Some health issues take longer to heal and allow you to move.
• Focus on endurance training for the first part of the recovery to allow your tissue to heal.
Fuel your body through proper nutrition
What you eat is instrumental in how quickly your body will heal. Remember that the recovery process implies nursing your injuries, and the best way to do it is by providing your body with the necessary nutrients and minerals. Food acts like fuel for your body, increasing the rate at which it heals. Focus on adding proteins to your diet because they’re crucial for muscle building and are quite helpful for muscular injuries. Besides protein, you also need fatty fish because it contains essential omega-3, amino acids, and a variety of vitamins that support recovery.
Here are the most important vitamins you need during recovery:
• Vitamin A. Eat a diet rich in vegetables like sweet potatoes and carrots, orange fruits like apricots, and eggs.
• Zinc. Add to your meals pumpkin seeds, red meat, almonds, and oysters.
• Vitamin C. Great sources of vitamin C are tomatoes, potatoes, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and cauliflower.
• Vitamin E. Another vitamin essential for your recovery can be found in seeds, nuts, and vegetable oils.
• Omega 3. As mentioned, you can provide your body with this essential fatty acid if you eat plant oils, nuts, and seafood.
Quit smoking and drinking alcohol
Smoking and drinking alcohol will delay your recovery because they have a negative impact on soft tissue and bone healing. If you want to get back to your life as soon as possible and enhance your healing process, you need to stop smoking and prioritise your health. If you’ve been smoking for a long time before your accident, quitting it might be challenging, and you might need professional help. Don’t be afraid to discuss this with your healthcare provider because they can guide you through the process.
Stretch to stimulate your muscles
Your injury might prevent you from working out for a while, but it doesn’t mean you cannot help your muscles regain their strength through other means. Stretching, for example, is an effective way to maintain your muscles functional and train them without overexerting your body. Discuss with your doctor when it’s safe to engage in a stretching routine because if you do it immediately after the accident, you could cause further damage. However, if your medical professional recommends it, it can stimulate the muscles and strengthen the affected body part.
Rest to allow your body to heal
Sleeping and staying in bed is one of the most important steps in recovery, regardless of the kind of injury you experience. No matter how well you follow the above recommendations, your recovery will take longer if you neglect to get the necessary rest and restful sleep. When you sleep, your body repairs the tissues better, so allow it to do its job. You might feel like you’re stuck at home when you could have done so many other things, but you could use the time to engage in activities that entertain you. Instead of seeing this as an obstacle to achieving your goal, use the recovery period to educate yourself and relax so you can come back stronger.
Stick to your treatment schedule
Your healthcare provider will create a schedule to follow once you leave the hospital. Make sure you follow their recommendations because they are meant to reduce and manage your symptoms and help you recover from as much pain as possible.
