Whether you are a professional athlete or a passionate exerciser, sports injuries or the injuries that you receive while working out at your home can leave you frustrated, primarily because they keep you from doing things that boost your mood and make you happy.
It is utterly disturbing for athletes to miss their practice sessions and daily workouts. Since these activities are an integral part of their lives, they can’t stay away from them for a long time. The idea of avoiding the gym, or not going for a long run hurts them mentally. It lowers the self-confidence of the people, and sometimes even lead to conditions like stress, anxiety, and depression.
It applies to both athletes and people who love exercising to keep themselves healthy and active. It takes a lot of courage to give up those things that you enjoy the most, even if it’s for a short time.
Injuries not only decrease your physical fitness but they also create a lot of mental health issues. So, you have to be strong both physically and mentally to deal with them effectively.
Whether you are suffering from sports injuries like a muscle strain, foot and ankle injury, ACL injury, labral tears, Achilles tendons or an auto injury, the fact remains that you have to devote sufficient time to your recovery process, to enjoy your life with same enthusiasm again.
You can’t afford to take whimsical steps like getting back to the gym a day after you injured yourself because that will only aggravate your problem. If you do so, rather than healing your injury, it will increase the pain, which will eventually enhance your recovery time. So, rather than losing your patience, you have to think deeply about your condition, and then proceed towards the recovery process.
Here are some excellent ways of coping with the physical and mental challenges that one experiences when they receive an injury.
Give Your Body Time To Recover
Most people including athletes want to recover from their injuries as soon as possible; however, it’s essential to understand the fact that your body needs some time to heal naturally. There is no quick-fix to recovering from injuries that affect your muscles, tendons, ligaments, bones, joints, and nerves, etc.
And even if you find something of that sort, it might lead to side-effects; therefore, it’s better to believe the fact that it will take some time to heal injuries, rather than feeling suffocated by thinking that you are missing your workouts or unable to participate in a competition.
See a Physical Therapist
Seeing a physical therapist can shorten your recovery process as the treatments they offer help in enhancing your body’s ability to deal with injuries naturally. Your physical therapist will use unique techniques to minimize the pain, after examining your symptoms and range of motion.
For example, if you have injured your back, then your therapist might use a technique like Kinesio taping to enhance the blood flow to the affected part to accelerate the healing process.
According to Springfield Physical Therapy, “Kinesio Taping, which helps in healing injuries like lower back pain, knee pain, shin splints, and carpal tunnel syndrome, etc., is quite comfortable to wear.”
Engage In Postive Self-Talk
One of the best ways to calm down your disturbed mind is to engage in positive self-talk. It helps you stay optimistic in all the circumstances, which eventually start reflecting on your life. One of the best ways to practice positive self-talk is right after you wake up in the morning as it will set the stage for staying positive the entire day.
You can use statements like “I am strong enough to deal with such situations,” or “All the mental and physical issues that I am facing are temporary.” Besides, you can also say, “When I will get back to my sport, I will perform much better,” or ” After my recovery, I will participate in as many competitions as possible.”
All these statements help you feel better and give you the strength to work towards your recovery. Staying positive can bring tremendous changes in your life; therefore, you must engage in positive self-talk on a daily basis without fail.
Accept Reality
There is little dispute on the notion that nobody wants to get injuries; however, it’s also true that you can’t always avoid them. Therefore, accepting the reality that you are injured, and you have to work towards your recovery sincerely, can bring a world of difference in the way you handle the situation or circumstances.
Use Your Time Effectively
When you are on rest, make sure that you use that time constructively. Don’t just waste it by sleeping all day or worrying about things that you can’t control. Instead of that, try to focus on things that you can do without indulging in high-intensity physical activities.
For example, you can keep yourself busy by watching videos about your sport or read blogs and articles on how to stay fit while playing a game. All these things will not only increase your awareness of the sport you play, but you will also be able to prevent injuries in the future. You will become more aware of how to play safely, and enhance performance at the same time.
Besides, you can also watch movies that give strong messages to keep yourself motivated.
Focus on Nutrition
Consuming a healthy diet plays an instrumental role in shortening your recovery period. Therefore, make sure that you eat food rich in protein, fiber, vitamins, omega-3 fatty acids, calcium, zinc, glucosamine, and creatine, etc. In short, you should consume a balanced diet that contains meat products, fresh fruits, vegetables, pulses, dairy products like milk and cheese, and nuts, etc.
When it comes to enhancing protein in your diet, make sure you stick to foods like fish, meat, eggs, nuts, peas, and beans, etc. A high protein-diet helps in building strength and muscle mass.
Similarly, for enhancing the intake of fiber-rich foods, you can go for avocados, pears, artichoke, broccoli, brussels sprouts, kidney beans, split peas, oats, almonds, and popcorns, etc. To up the intake of omega-3 fatty acids, you can consume foods like mackerel, salmon, oysters, herring, anchovies, and cod liver oil.
If you live a disciplined life and follow an effective workout routine along with consuming nutritious food, you will recover from your injuries quickly.