Injuries are something we never expect happen to us, until they do. This may not be the case for extreme athletes and people who play contact sports, but for the rest of us, they generally come as a surprise. Maybe you were on your way to enjoy a harmless night of vino and gossip with your amigas when a reckless lunatic jumped an “orange” light and wrecked both your car and your back? Perhaps it was an innocuous seeming movement while playing backyard basketball with your nieces that sent you into a spiral of pain, ending in years of surgeries and physiotherapy?
No matter what your story is, if you’re reading this article you’re probably looking for a little bit of inspiration. Recovering from injury can be a slow and sometimes lonely process. If you haven’t yet experienced it, and hopefully you never do, the information in this article may come in handy one day, either for yourself or a loved one. Here are 4 amazing methods that can help you get your body and your life back.
Aquatic therapy
Scientific studies and substantial anecdotal evidence from clinicians and patients seem to prove beyond doubt that in-water rehab has a powerful healing effect and can drastically speed up the process of recovering from injury. In water, your body can move more freely as the weight of gravity is reduced, making you feel up to 80% lighter when you’re fully submerged. This means less pain and thus a higher likelihood that you’ll continue your treatment until you’re fully healed.
Aquatic therapy can help with just about every kind of injury, including muscular & joint problems, bone fractures & breaks degenerative injuries. They’re also suitable for just about everyone. The limiting factors associated with age and being in poor physical condition are both minimized by in-water therapy. Another bonus of this therapy is that being in the water is known exert a calming influence on the human mind.
Yoga & meditation
Talking of calming influences, Yoga and meditation offer this and so much more. Whether you’re struggling with the mental, emotional or physical aspects of recovering from injury, there are answers to be found in these ancient Eastern practices. While there are many styles of Yoga to choose from, some are more suited to the purpose of healing the body and managing injuries than others.
A great place to start would be styles such as Iyengar, Yin and Restorative Yoga. Iyengar is a great way to learn more abut your body and how to strengthen different areas. Yin and Restorative Yoga are both gentle, slow styles that allow you to work deep into your muscles, joints and other soft tissues by holding poses for a long time. This also brings a meditation aspect into the practice. Meditation can be a powerful tool and has even been known to facilitate ‘mind over matter’ situations where people heal themselves of all manner of injuries and diseases.
Recovering from injury using diet
As with almost every other aspect of our health, diet has a huge role to play when it comes to healing the body and recovering from injury. If you’re not giving the body the right materials to rebuild, recovery will be much slower. In the worst case scenario, you may even go backwards without proper nutrition. The right kind of diet for injury recovery has plenty of fruits and vegetables, a good amount of protein (try to avoid red meat or even try going plant-based) and avoids foods that cause inflammation, such as sugar, trans fats, refined carbohydrates, alcohol and processed meat.
In general, fighting inflammation is probably the number one goal when recovering from injury or trying to manage a chronic one. Luckily, nature has you covered. Of the many foods that contain compounds that fight inflammation, turmeric and ginger stand proudly on top of the pile. These amazing roots have incredible healing abilities that put pharmaceuticals to shame. Learning to integrate them into your diet is a key part of recovering from injury.
Working with a pro
While it’s certainly within your powers to recover unaided, this path requires extreme discipline and extensive research. Ultimately, having the help of a professional, or even a few, is a faster and more effective route to recovering from injury. If you’ve had a serious injury, you’ve more than likely already visited medical professionals like physiotherapists, chiropractors and perhaps even surgeons. All have their own role to play and many are nigh on miracle workers.
But the medical aspect is only one part of recovery and health in general. Nutritionists, Biokineticists, Yoga teachers, Personal trainers and Wellness professionals from a host of other fields can help with the other important parts of the recovery process. Many also offer the kind of personal support and general life coaching that can make all the difference on your road to recovering from injury.
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