No one likes being sick. Being ill can take you away from your life as you know it and throw some barriers in your way. But being ill for a few days or weeks is something you can quickly recover from, typically with the help of over-the-counter medications, and you’re back up and running quickly on your way. But what happens when your illness or an injury puts you out of action for longer? When it causes massive disruption to your life?
Globally, 2.4 billion people live with a health condition that needs rehabilitation. Many more are living with chronic health conditions; 133 million people have chronic health conditions in the US, and those recovering from long-term illnesses or juries bring this number up again.
Rehabilitation is the best chance for many people to get back on the road to recovery. Even if you don’t feel like your illness was severe enough, or your injury wasn’t that major, you will likely need to go through a period of rehabilitation, even for a short while, to help you ease back into day-to-day life.
The Oxford Dictionary defines rehabilitation in this context as;
The action of restoring someone to health or normal life through training and therapy after imprisonment, addiction, or illness.
With this in mind, what can you do to support your rehabilitation back to full health and get you back on the road to recovery following an illness, injury, or long-term health condition?
Rest Is Key
Rest is often underrated when it comes to recovery; however, pushing yourself to do too much during this time can set you back further, especially if your body cannot meet the demands you are putting on it.
Healing takes time, and you should ease yourself back into your usual duties slowly and with care. Your body won’t be the same as before the illness right away, and you will need to build up your stamina to avoid any further issues and get back to your normal.
Avoid pushing yourself too far or trying to do too much, and allow your body to rest when you need to. That being said, medical professionals agree that too much rest isn’t always beneficial for everyone, so where possible, it is best to move around when you can but avoid doing anything too strenuous at first and take frequent breaks to help you rest when needed.
Movement Is Key
Flowing nicely from the above point, the last thing you should do is confine yourself to bed rest if your situation doesn’t explicitly call for it. There are times when full bed rest is warranted, but if this isn’t the case for you, you must avoid being completely sedentary; this is even more important for older adults.
A lack of movement can weaken your muscles, lead to compound joint issues, affect your posture, and increase pain. While the odd day or so lying in bed won’t make much difference, extended periods of not moving can have huge implications for your health. Aside from the muscle and joint issues, you put yourself at risk of heart disease, obesity, high cholesterol, and type 2 diabetes, too.
Try to add some gentle movement into your day and build from here. This can be chair-based exercises or indoor walking routines at first; then, you can move onto light duties around the home or take short walks outside. Any movement is good, but do not rush into anything too strenuous, as this helps you regain your stamina without causing more health complications.
Follow Doctors Orders
This cannot be stressed enough, but you must comply with all the recovery plans and treatments your doctor has put into place. They will have your best interests at heart and want you to have the recovery you deserve. Their guidance and directions will be put together based on their expert knowledge, the services and medication available to you, and your specific requirements based on your situation.
Going against them can hinder your recovery, put you at risk for an extended recovery period, or even set you back. While it might be tempting to think you know your body better and don’t need to do what they tell you to, they also know what your body needs at this time, so follow your doctor’s advice to help you get the most from this period and support your rehabilitation and recovery in the right way.
Support your Mental and Physical Health
Depending on your circumstances and the reason behind your recovery process, you might find that your mental health struggles just as much as your physical health. A massive change to your life and a period of stress and ill health can impact your mental health, and it’s okay to admit that you are struggling mentally and physically. In fact, it is preferable for you to acknowledge this as you can get the support you need.
If you are recovering from a severe accident with a long road to recovery ahead of you, you need to be in the right mindset to push through the barriers and work towards getting your life back on track and finding your new normal. This requires great mental strength, and you won’t be able to do it if you can’t admit you aren’t in the right headspace. Talk to your doctors and loved ones and ask for help to support you mentally and physically. While working with an injury lawyer can help you to get closure and compensation for your accident, a therapist can help you to support mental health while you support your rehabilitation and give yourself the best chance of recovery.
Eat and Drink Well
Never underestimate the power of a healthy diet and proper hydration when it comes to helping your body recover. Let’s start with hydration; chances are you’ll only drink when your body tells you you need to. At this point, you are already a little dehydrated. Avoid this by drinking little and often, and make sure you drink at least 8 cups of water daily to stay hydrated. Your body needs water to perform any tasks. Even breathing uses water and will dehydrate you if you aren’t drinking enough.
From here, support your health with a well-balanced diet. Even if you aren’t able to eat a lot, you should still aim to include whole foods, fruits and vegetables as much as possible. This way, you give your body the nutrients it needs to recover internally and provide you with energy and an excellent foundation to work with during this time. If you’re unsure of how to eat to support recovery, it can be a good idea to talk to a nutritionist to help you get a meal plan together to show you the foods you need to eat for optimal recovery.
Sleep
The power of sleep should never be underestimated, and it’s important to note that rest and sleep are two different things. In the beginning, you may find all you need to do is sleep, and provided you are getting good quality sleep through the night, this shouldn’t be discouraged if your body needs a power nap or two during the day to boost your reserves.
When you are asleep, you give your body time to rest and heal. Depending on the type of illness, accident, or health condition you are recovering from, you might find that your sleep isn’t restorative, meaning you need to sleep more as your body isn’t fully resting. It is still working through whatever is going on. But as you begin to recover, you should aim to get a minimum of 8 hours of unbroken sleep per night.
This will help your body perform the vital duties it needs to repair, recuperate, and restore balance to your body. You cannot expect to attain optimal health without a good night’s sleep, regardless of your current health condition.
Don’t Rush Things
No recovery period is the exact same, and no rehabilitation process is completely linear either. What this means is that you need to accept the process and work through it at your own pace and don’t try to rush anything. Forcing your body to do things before it’s ready can push you back. While there’s no harm in increasing momentum, you need to do it gradually and in stages without missing a step or two.
Think of it as going to the gym. If you walk in fresh off the bat and try to lift the heaviest weights possible with no prior training or lifting, what is going to happen? You aren’t going to be able to do it correctly or at all as you haven’t trained your body to do so, and this will likely result in failure. However, by working up towards the heavier weights by progressively lifting from the smaller weights and increasing the weight over time, you will eventually be able to lift heavier and heavier weights. Your rehabilitation process should be treated in the same way. You need to progressively and constantly build your body up to do bigger and better things to avoid complete failure.
Your recovery and rehabilitation process is something that will be unique to you and your situation. Try to give your body the rest it needs to recover, have a proper sleep schedule in place, and eat and drink well to help you get back on the road to recovery and your life as you know it as soon as possible.
