When you have been injured in an accident, those physical (and sometimes mental or emotional) injuries can cause a major setback in your life. You might find that you’re unable to do certain things that you once took for granted, and even if this is a temporary problem, it will still be upsetting.
One of the best things you can do after an accident if you want to recover more quickly is to be as active as you can. However, you do need to be careful, as you don’t want to undo your good work and become injured again. With that in mind, here are some of the best ways to stay active and exercise safely after an accident.
Speak To A Doctor
The first thing you need to do while you’re looking for ways to recover and stay fit and active at the same time is to speak to your doctor. They will be able to advise you on the best kinds of exercise you need to do and what you should avoid doing while you’re still getting over your accident and healing from your injuries.
It’s always a good idea to follow a professional’s advice since they will know precisely what your body can and can’t do – at least to a point, which leads us to our next point.
Listen To Your Body
Even if you speak to your doctor and they give you advice and information about how to exercise safely after an accident, you must also always listen to your body. Everyone is unique, and how their body responds to exercise when it’s healing will be different from someone else’s. You can use your doctor’s advice as a guideline, but if you start to feel pain or become unwell, you must stop, even if you’re doing less than they recommended.
If you just try to push through because you feel you should be able to or because your doctor suggested that you could try, you’ll only end up hurting yourself and taking steps backwards rather than forwards.
Start Slowly
Often the best thing to do when you are looking for ways to exercise after an accident in order to keep up with your fitness levels or to help with your recovery is to start slowly. If you start with high-intensity workouts and lifting heavy weights, your body will react badly to it, and, once again, you might find that you move back rather than forward.
It’s far better to start with low-intensity exercises and move up when you feel ready. This could be something that a physiotherapist helps you with, and if you are able to obtain compensation for your accident from a good personal injury lawyer, this is a good option for you.
Make Sure You Warm Up
No matter what stage of your recovery you have reached, it is crucial that you take the time to warm up and ensure that you are able to work out safely. Whether you are going to the gym, taking part in a class, running, swimming, or doing anything else at all, you must make time to stretch and warm up at the start.
This can seem like a waste of time, especially if you are starting slowly, as we’ve mentioned above. However, it will ensure your muscles are ready to move like you want them to, and it will give you a prior warning that exercise might be too much if you find warming up a challenge.
