After a strenuous workout, there’s nothing more frustrating than picking up a niggling injury that, while not being debilitating, is still very painful and uncomfortable.
Injuries can happen to us all, at any time, no matter how careful we are when warming up and training. Dealing with an injury can not only be uncomfortable and painful, it can also affect your training and set your progress back considerably.
Luckily, assuming you aren’t dealing with a serious injury which requires surgery, there are a number of things you can do to recover much faster and speed up your rates of recovery.
Here are 4 tips for injury recovery.
Replace lost fluids
When it comes to exercise of any kind, whether you are injured or not, one of the most important things to remember is that you must always stay hydrated.
When we exercise we perspire (sweat) and when we sweat we lose water as well as valuable electrolytes which serve numerous purposes when it comes to health, fitness, and general wellness.
If you pick up a minor injury when exercising, one of the first things you should do as soon as you finish training is replenish your water stores and drink more water.
Water helps to speed up numerous metabolic processes and it can also help to enhance nutrient absorption rates. The more nutrients you absorb, the more your body will be able to use to repair the injury you picked up.
Rest
For some people, rest days are incredibly stressful and frustrating because, in their minds, if they aren’t training they’re losing all of their “gains” and progress that they made when working out.
The truth of the matter, though, is that rest plays an essential role in recovery, especially if you happen to have picked up an injury.
The body heals itself when you rest, so avoid the temptation to exercise, and instead, do very little and, well, rest.
If you try to exercise and work through an injury, not only are you not giving your body enough chance to recover and repair itself, but you could potentially even make the injury worse, which is the last thing you want.
Eat the right foods
If you are dealing with an injury, it is absolutely essential that you dial in your nutrition and get your diet your right.
After training, your glycogen stores will be empty, so you will literally have no fuel to function. If your body has no energy, how can it be expected to heal an injury that you picked up in the gym or when out training?
Your body needs energy and the right macros and nutrients to repair damaged tissue, heal any injuries, and facilitate muscle growth and repair via protein synthesis.
For optimal results, consume plenty of healthy proteins, as well as carbohydrates, healthy fats, and a serving of fresh veggies for added nutritional quality.
Use ice
If you can isolate the location of your injury, you could apply ice to it.
Ice helps to ease swelling and painful inflammation and helps to reduce muscle soreness and speed up rates of recovery. The contrast in temperatures helps to constrict blood vessels and dilate them, in order to flush lactic acid and toxins out from the muscle tissues and fibres.
Apply an ice pack to the site of your injury, but be sure to leave it on there no longer than 15 minutes, in order to avoid frostbite.
