Nobody wants an injury to slow them down, but you shouldn’t just continue on as if everything is normal in the wake of an injury because that can lead to more damage. We understand that you want to get back to your normal life, but you need to be mindful about how you work to return to normal physical activities if you want to make the strongest and quickest recovery possible. In today’s blog, we take a look at the right way to return to normal physical activities following a back injury.
Safely Returning To Activities Following A Back Injury
Whether you’re hoping to return to sport or just get back to doing some physical activities around the house after a back injury, you need to be smart about how you protect your body and work to strengthen it after an injury. The following is some general advice that many will find helpful, but remember that this is no substitute for care from a physician who can view your injury in person. Here are some of the ways we help our patients get back to the physical activities they love after a back injury.
- Short-Term Rest – For the first 24-48 hours, oftentimes resting and protecting the area from further stress is the best thing you can do. Remove yourself from the activity that caused the injury and give your body some rest. Sit or lie down for a bit and then limit stress on the area for a day or too. This is typically when injuries are the most painful and the most susceptible to additional injury.
- Controlled Movement – After a day or two, oftentimes your body will respond better with light, controlled movements. This will help to get blood moving and your heart pumping, and it will slowly start to strengthen injured structures and expand your range of motion. Do some gentle stretching and some light walking, but nothing too strenuous for your spine.
- Slowly Increase Workload – As you are starting to feel better, slowly increase your activity level. Don’t just jump back into athletic activity, start with some exercises that put a little more stress on your spine and your body to see how it responds. Returning to physical activity too soon after an injury is a recipe for a setback, so take your time increasing your workload. If you haven’t been able to be as active because of your injury, there’s also the possibility that your fitness and conditioning have declined, so you’ll want to work to increase those as well as you gradually increase your workload.
- Listen To Your Body – As you’re working your way back to full health, be sure you’re listening to your back and your body throughout this process. Understand that recovery may not always be a straight path forward, and that you may have to ease off a bit if your body isn’t recovering like you had originally hoped. If something just doesn’t feel right, shut it down for the day and try again at a different point.
- Heed Your Doctor’s Instructions – Finally, if you’re really interested in recovering as quickly as possible, connect with a specialist and get an individualized diagnosis. They’ll be able to give you treatment advice based on your specific injury and return to activity goals. Stick with their recommendations, and don’t go beyond these guidelines without first clearing it with your specialist. They are charting your recovery and giving you specific activities to pursue and avoid for a reason. If you think you can take on more activity than is currently advised, reach out and talk with your care team before jumping into unapproved physical activities, because this can easily lead to a setback.
If you listen to your body and your care team and you take it slow, we’re confident you’ll make a full recovery and avoid a setback as you work to return to all of your normal physical activities after a back injury. For more information, or for help with your back pain, reach out to Dr. Sinicropi’s office today.
