Hello and welcome to this week’s blog, about Injury Rehab.
So, what exactly is Injury Rehab?
It is a slow step-by-step process with the aim of helping you recover from an injury, an accident, or an operation. It is about identifying your weaknesses and strengths and designing a programme of rehabilitation around those to rebuild you to a point of being able to live as normal again. The problem? Not very many people stick with a rehab programme and end up back at square one, in pain and unable to perform the activities they were once able to perform.
Why do people not stick with their injury rehab programmes?
Usually, it is down to time and interest, equally combined. People often do not feel like they have the time to commit to a regular programme of exercises, or they do to begin with, and then real life gets in the way. Interest in rehabbing wanes after the initial commitment due to a variety of reasons. I have heard many, such as the exercises being misunderstood, confusing to remember or do, too many to do, and the person prescribing the exercises was disliked.
When Should I Rehab?
Sometimes there is confusion about when to rehab, with people often only actively undertaking a rehabilitation programme when they have had medical intervention after a big issue. But did you know you can undertake your rehab programme at any time should you feel the need to? I see so many people who have felt something is not quite right, and they either continue to exercise and ignore the problem, or they rest completely, both approaches leading to a longer term pain or issue, which then lasts far longer than it needs to, or becomes a much bigger problem. Sometimes the issue seems to resolve, only to come back or have related issues occur elsewhere in the body… a falling dominoes effect.
What Type of Injuries Can be Rehabilitated?
When I say ‘injuries’, I don’t necessarily mean just the things that happen during a fall, or a car crash, but anything that happens that leads to dysfunction in one of your soft tissues.
You could wake up one day with sore feet, and as it goes on it becomes apparent that you have developed Plantar Fasciitis. You could over-reach into a cupboard and then feel sore in your shoulder. You might have slipped on ice and wrenched a muscle while trying to stay upright. You might have fallen off a horse, or had someone crash into you on a sporting field. You might just have been trying out sprints during your running workout and strained your muscle in doing so, like I did a couple of months ago.
In a nutshell, pretty much any injury can be rehabilitated.
Can I Really Decide to Rehab Myself?
Yes. It is your body and you do not need a medical professional tell you that you need to undertake a period of rehabilitation in order to get better. Even if that period of rehabilitation only takes a week, it is important to understand what is happening in your body and what to do to resolve it. This is the only way to live in a painless and capable body.
How do I Decide What to Do?
Check back next week to find out what to do in the event you decide that you need to rehabilitate something and how to go about choosing the right course of self-treatment.
Thank you for reading, if you would like any more information please Get In Touch and I will see you soon,
Chloe