The Importance of Rehabilitation after a Sports Injury
Every athlete dreads injury. The thought of not being able to play for a while and the agonising pain is enough to get any sportsperson down, which is why injuries can cause our mental health to deteriorate rapidly.
Injuries are unfortunately just another part of the sports we love most and are extremely common. It’s estimated that 43% of athletes will suffer at least one injury per season, which shows just how prevalent they can be.
We understand that if you suffer a sports injury, you’ll be thinking about nothing but getting back on the field, track or court but you mustn’t rush it. Most athletes will be aware of the R.I.C.E. treatment in the immediate aftermath of the peptides for injury repair but proper rehabilitation is just as important.
Within this guide below, we’ll explore why rehabilitation is so important and what you need to do to ensure you come back stronger after a sporting setback like this.
Why is rehabilitation so important?
Rehabilitation is essential after an injury because it can:
- Help the injury improve and heal more successfully
- Prevent injuries from reoccurring down the line
- Restore muscle strength and endurance
- Reduce pain during recovery
The 7 principles of rehabilitation
During rehabilitation, you’ll go through the seven principles on your road to recovery. These are:
- Avoid Aggravation – don’t aggravate your injury by jumping back into action too soon. This can make the injury worse or setback your recovery time.
- Timing – the perfect time to start your recovery exercises as soon as you can do it without risking making the injury worse.
- Compliance – ensure you follow the exact course of action set out by your medical professional or physio and ask for a full breakdown of the rehabilitation schedule as this should keep you more accountable.
- Individualisation – you may react to recovery exercises slightly differently from others, so you must continue to assess your progress and not be afraid to switch things up to tailor your recovery to your individual needs.
- Specific Sequencing – Ensure a therapeutic exercise programme follows a specific sequence of events.
- Intensity – knowing when to ramp up the intensity is vital. Too little intensity and you might not improve but too much intensity could make the injury worse.
- Total Patient – While you’re injured, try to work on your whole body, so you’re not neglecting it for the single injured feature. You can do this by continuing to work on your cardiovascular systems and the muscular endurance of other body parts too.
We understand that injuries may not be your fault and that can make it more frustrating. So during your sports injury recovery, consider talking to a specialist to see if you could be owed compensation. This can give you a big boost during your rehabilitation and can recoup any financial losses as a result of your inability to live your normal life.