Dealing with a sports injury is never fun, especially when you are a very active person. If you have recently suffered an injury of this nature and you are looking for ways or tips to speed up recovery, then you have come to the right place. The reality is that most sport-injury professionals will often recommend rest and relaxation when an injury is minor or not too severe. Being prescribed rest and relaxation is, in essence, the R.I.C.E (rest, ice, compress, and elevate) method. Though this method can be highly effective for minor injuries, you could still be out for the season or benched for several months.
Moreover, sitting on the sidelines, whether you are a pro-athlete or a fitness enthusiast, can be discouraging. If you can relate and feel the R.I.C.E method is not providing you with speedy results alone, then it might be time for a more comprehensive approach. Remember, there is no need to add insult to injury here, especially when the damage is minor. Instead, speed up your recovery and try out these eight at-home techniques to help get you back in the game sooner rather than later.
A word of caution before getting into these helpful at-homes tips—it is crucial that you know whether or not your sports-related injury is, in fact, minor. If you have not had a sport-injury specialist or medical professional assess the severity of the damage yet, then you should see someone immediately. Once you know that you are dealing with a minor or mild sports injury, try incorporating these at-home techniques into your recovery process.
Pack on the Protein
Exercise training or any physical activity you do to become better, stronger, or faster works because you are breaking down muscle tissue. In order to grow, strengthen, or build back up that very same muscle tissue, you need protein. Furthermore, when you suffer a minor injury, most of the time, you have exacerbated or damaged muscle tissue, in essence breaking it down. Thus, it is not too surprising that eating more protein during training or after injury leads to similar results. Ultimately, your body uses lean protein to repair your muscle tissue, no questions asked. So, do not be afraid to pack on the protein after any injury to aid your body in the recovery process.
Stay Hydrated and Moisturized
Likewise, when you stay hydrated, your body can mend and build muscle efficiently. Drinking plenty of water not only helps your body do pretty much everything, but it is also a vital component when dealing with a sports injury. With that being said, other fluids that have electrolytes should be limited when you are trying to recovery from an injury where there is swelling. Consequently, to mend your injury and minimize swelling, it is best to keep it simple and just hydrate with water for optimal results.
If your sports injury is an open wound, then you should also make sure your wound is adequately cleaned and moisturized—consider closed-bandage therapy. By keeping the damaged skin properly moisturized with a topical ointment or cream, you can help to minimize a host of wound-related issues. Adequate moisture also helps to reduce the chances of ripping your stitches or reopening the wound.
Become Better Acquainted with Holistic and Essential Oils
Another notable at-home tip for a faster recovery is incorporating holistic/natural ointments, creams, and oils into your therapy. In fact, these days, you find a wealth of essential oils for swelling, pain, tension, and other sport-related ailments. Thus, if you are interested in exploring your alternative recovery options, but maybe do not know where to look, go online to https://elitehealthproducts.org/. Here, you can browse a variety of holistic creams, essential oils, and CBD products (CBD helps reduce muscle pain following exercise and injury).
Rest like No One’s Watching
As previously mentioned, rest is a crucial component of recovery. Your body needs time to mend itself—this is why sleep or adequate rest is so important. When we rest, we conserve energy, break down lactic acid in our muscles, and produce HGH or growth hormones that aid in cell reproduction plus stimulate new tissue growth. What’s more, during deep sleep, your body naturally directs more blood to your muscles to further assist in the repair process. Prolactin is also produced during deep sleep, which helps to reduce swelling and joint pain. Therefore, when you are told to rest, you should do more than just elevate your injury and watch TV—get some much-needed sleep instead, so your body can recover faster.
Cold or Hot Compress—Maybe Both?
Often icing a sports injury is advised. In general, icing an injury of this nature can help to decrease swelling quickly and help to manage pain or inflammation. As a rule of thumb, ice therapy is best for a recent or acute injury and is most effective within the first 48 hours. Chronic issues can also benefit from ice therapy, but generally, this is only to manage any post-activity inflammation. On the other hand, heat therapy is often the go-to when dealing with a chronic injury. A warm compress can be used to support pain relief and reduce muscle spasms, raise skin temperature, or increase circulation. You can also use heat before stretching.
Braces, Stretching, and OTC Pain-Relievers
Additionally, sports compression wraps or braces can help reduce pain, promote proper function, and prevent further damage to your injury. If a medical professional recommended you wear a brace to promote recovery and prevent secondary injury, then you should follow their recommendation. When you are not wearing a brace, you should do whatever it takes to stay loose and properly stretched. Recovering from a minor sports injury does not mean it is okay to become lax when it comes to keeping your muscle tissue limber and loose. With that being said, you should generally wait a few weeks before you start exercising again. Moreover, once you receive the go-ahead from a medical professional—go slowly. If you do experience mild pain or discomfort, consider discussing possible over-the-counter pain reliever options with your doctor. If the pain from the injury still makes you feel not better, then it is best for you to take BPC-157 peptide. As this type of peptide is best for repairing the muscle, tendon, bone, teeth and brain. Can undo the damage brought about by using corticosteroids. Click here for more information about BPC-157. This might be the one you are waiting for your fast recovery.
Give It Time
When all else fails, leave your injury alone. As much as you might want to, you cannot force your body into a faster recovery. Nor is it advisable to continually poke and prod your sports injury—do not prematurely pick at scabs or stitches, weight bear before a medical professional has given you the green light, or do anything that could possibly cause you to re-injury yourself. It might be somewhat challenging to take it easy for a few weeks but do not give up all hope. Remember, you have a better chance of excelling at your craft when your body is healthy and strong. Plus, minor sports injuries tend to resolve themselves, so often the best medicine is time.
Get Back in the Game Gradually
Lastly, once you feel you are on the mend and have been cleared for physical activity again, remember to take it easy. Rushing back into your sport could cause you to re-injure yourself or cause other injuries. It is okay to be a little gun-shy as well. Minor injuries can be traumatic for most people, so do not beat yourself up if you are not a hundred percent just yet. Moreover, you should not overlook the fact that your body may have changed a little bit during your downtime. If this is the case, you should first work on getting your body back up to speed. Great ways to get your body back up to speed include a targeted stretching program, sport-specific training, strengthening muscles like your core to increase your overall stability, and physical therapy. You can visit a physio clinic in London (or one more relevant to where you live) for additional guidance and support tailored to your recovery goals and specific needs.
Prevention—Moving Forward
Once you are injury-free, try incorporating some prevention techniques into your sport or physical activity. Again, the importance of stretching and staying limber should not be overlooked. Both warming up beforehand and cooling down after any physical activity can help to reduce the chance of injury. In addition to properly stretching in the future, try to be mindful of how this sports injury happened in the first place. If you hurt yourself on the field because you needed either new or the correct equipment, then invest in what you need to stay injury-free.
Similarly, if you were being careless during a run and injured yourself thanks to a pothole, then make sure, in the future, that you stay alert when you are running. You may also want to consider choosing a safer path or running route. Ultimately, there are a variety of things that can cause a sports injury other than accidents and equipment issues. Poor technique, overexertion, and overtraining have all been culprits at one point or another. Finally, speaking of overdoing it, you should watch for burnout. If you are starting to feel disinterested post-injury or find yourself dismissing any pain you may be experiencing, do not try to just push through it—ignoring how you feel now could cause you to get hurt again.