Workout injuries are quite common and can happen to anyone despite your experience level. When this happens, it should not deter you from keeping on with your routine and getting to your goal. Granted, it will slow you down but only for a short time.
There are a few things you can do to avoid getting any injuries. They include;
Learning the right techniques
Each workout has a specific way it is meant to be done to avoid causing any strains on your body. Get the techniques down and you’ll be in a position to work out without any injuries.
Go slow
That goal that you are so eager to hit can only be done in steps. Give yourself enough time to progress through the levels of difficulty. Within time, your goals will show.
Stretch before a workout
Stretching helps you prepare your body ligaments for the intense workout sessions and promotes flexibility. Going from a restful state to abrupt body movement can be shocking to your body and may lead to injury.
Warm-up
Before any intense workout, take your time to warm up with some low impact exercises. You could either choose a few exercises or just dance to your favorite song before you begin working out.
What You Can Do to Recover from an Injury?
If you get injured while working out, here are a few things you should to quickly recover.
Accept the injury
Acceptance is the first step towards any kind of recovery. Stressing about the fact that you’ll lose your momentum and progress, will only lead you astray.
You’ll find yourself struggling to work out with all the pain from the injury. However, if you decide to embrace the fact that you are injured, you’ll find ways to work through it and heal.
Rest
Most people who have built a steady routine of working out at a certain time will find this as a very difficult task. However, you need to remember that straining an injury will only make it worse. This means that your next best choice is to take some rest and nurse your injury until it heals.
The duration of the injury will vary and cannot be accurately predicted. However, when it finally subsides, be sure to ease into your workouts slowly. Incorporate low-intensity workouts and reduce your normal workout time.
Use Ice
During the first 24 hours, you need to apply ice on your injury. This will help alleviate inflammation, internal bleeding, and reduce swelling. When applying the ice be sure to take 15-minute intervals before the next application.
You should also avoid using the ice directly on the skin. Instead, get a washcloth and use that to apply the ice on the injured part. This will help prevent the injury from getting worse and developing into a full-blown situation.
Compress the Injury
Using a compression band on the affected area can help reduce the swelling and prevent any inflammation.
For this to work out in your favor, you need to do it right and avoid using it when too tight. Tightening it will only prevent any blood circulation and cause more damage to the injury.
Elevate the Injury
Elevating the injury above your heart will help blood circulation from the affected area to the heart. This will help you reduce swelling and completely get rid of any waste that could negatively affect the injury.
However, this solely depends on where the injury is. Assess the area and see how you can elevate it and at the same time avoid adding any pressure.
Use Heat
With heat, you need to be very careful not to add to the problems. This is mainly because when you use too much heat, it may cause more inflammation. However, when the heat is applied right, it will help increase blood circulation to the injured part and fasten the recovery process.
To do this right, only use heat 3 days after your injury and alternate with the ice at 15-minute intervals.
Consult a Doctor
If the pain proves to be too persistent and you can’t handle it anymore, consider consulting a doctor. Going to a doctor will prevent you from buying over the counter drugs that could lead to addiction. It will also help you get a clearer picture of the situation at hand and be more equipped to deal with it.
When you get to your doctor, you either have the option of getting nonsteroidal medicine or laser therapy for the pain. Laser therapy is a good option especially if you don’t want to use any medication. A laser therapy machine will help you reduce any nagging pain and boost your recovery process.
Avoid Cutting Calories
The most obvious response to not training is to avoid eating too many calories to avoid gaining any more fat. However, when you cut on your calories, you not only lose muscle strength but also slow down your recovery.
You need to feed your injuries if you expect to heal at an accelerated pace. After you heal, you can then work on losing the extra fat gained.
Conclusion
Having a workout injury is not the end of your training. There are so many ways to help you recover from this and bounce back better. When you do recover, remember to take steps to avoid any more injuries.
Give yourself enough time to recover before you think of working out again.
