Besides being quite painful, an injury can affect you in a number of different ways. After an injury, it’s quite common to be reluctant to jump back into the activity that caused the original injury, especially if you aren’t confident that your body can handle the rigors of physical activity. We don’t want you to shy away from some of your favorite activities because you’ve lost the motivation to get back on the proverbial saddle after an injury, and you don’t have to if you’re smart about your approach to rehab and recovery. In today’s blog, we share some tips for staying motivated to exercise and be active following an injury.
Returning To Physical Activity After Injury
We’ve worked with a number of athletes and weekend warriors who are a bit reluctant to get back into physical activity after an injury for one reason or another. Oftentimes their reluctance is rooted in the idea that they will get hurt again. We can’t guarantee that you’ll never suffer another injury during athletics or while you’re exercising, but we can help you significantly reduce your risk of an injury. The single best way to restore confidence and regain motivation to exercise is by connecting with a physical therapist. That’s because working with a physical therapist can quell some of the common fears about returning to activity after an injury. For example, a physical therapist can help by:
- Reducing Your Reinjury Risk – If you don’t do anything to help your body return to a pre-injury level of fitness after an injury, you will be at an increased risk of aggravation or an even more significant injury. Ankle sprains are a perfect example of this. During an ankle sprain, the strong ligaments that support your ankle joint are injured and weakened. If you simply rest your ankle for a while, these ligaments aren’t going to return to a pre-injury level of strength. They will remain weaker and less stable, predisposing the athlete to injury. Instead, you can connect with a physical therapist and take on some targeted strength training exercises to help your body become stronger than it was prior to your original injury. When your fear of a subsequent injury is decreased, your motivation to remain active increases.
- Safe Reintroduction To Sport – If you’ve been forced to miss an extended period of time with your injury, you may not be ready to jump back in at a normal level once your injury has healed. Your endurance and conditioning may have taken a hit, and if you don’t work to build these back up, your performance can suffer and your whole body injury risk can rise. Our team of physical therapists understand the physical demands of different sports and can tailor a recovery plan to your specific needs so that you can return to athletics at a full capacity.
- Restoring Confidence – Sometimes the biggest hurdle you’ll need to overcome following an injury isn’t physical, it’s mental. Getting back on the ski hill after a fall or returning to the pitching mound after a shoulder injury can be difficult, but you can overcome this by working with a physical therapist who can ensure you are ready for the physical activity to come. We will gradually help to restore strength, balance, flexibility, coordination and more so that when the time comes, you are confident in your ability to take on whatever physical challenges you want. If you’re dealing with mental hurdles like decreased confidence, anxiety or stress, let your physical therapist know and we can help you find ways to get into the right headspace for activity.
- Alleviating Lingering Symptoms – Finally, some people are afraid to return to activity because they are still dealing with symptoms from their original injury. Pain or muscle weakness can linger for weeks or months after an injury, and that can make it harder to return to the activities you love. And while we can’t guarantee that we can completely resolve all of the symptoms you’re experiencing after an injury, we specialize in helping patients make the strongest recovery possible, and oftentimes that leads to a complete alleviation of symptoms. Don’t let lingering symptoms hold you back after an injury. Let a team of professionals target specific areas of your body to take care of the symptoms related to your original injury.
If you need help restoring confidence in your body or finding the motivation to return to certain activities after an injury, let the team at OrthoRehab Specialists help. Give our team a call today at (952) 933-0330 for more information or to book your first PT session.
PT of Costa Rican National Soccer Team for 2007 World Cup in Victoria, CAN. Clinical Instructor for University of Minnesota Doctor of Physical Therapy Affiliations
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