Getting injuries can suck. No matter your age, gender, or skill level, no one is immune to injuries. Whether you got an injury from playing too hard, lifting too much, or just from overuse, injuries are hard to avoid when you're an active person.
Of course, the best way to deal with sports injuries is to not get injured in the first place, but sometimes injuries are unavoidable. What's important is to know how to recover from these sports injuries and how you can prevent them from happening in the future!
Disclaimer: I'm not a doctor and this is not medical advice. The information provided is for educational and informational purposes only and is solely used as a self-help tool for your own use.
If you think you injured yourself, the first thing you should do is to stop doing the activity you were doing and analyze the injury.
Ask yourself these questions:
Call a doctor and seek medical attention immediately if you feel that the injury is serious.
No one likes to be injured. Not only does it hurt, but depending on the injury, it may hamper your quality of life. It might hurt to use the injured body part and you may not be able to do the activities you want to do for some time. Basically, injuries suck. But once it has happened, it's too late. Once you get injured, you should focus on recovering from that injury as fast as possible.
Learning about how you got injured, what you need to do after you get injured, and how to prevent the injury from happening again is crucial to helping you recover and stay recovered.
Don't push yourself too hard when you have an injury. I know you're itching to get back to playing sports or hitting the gym, but doing so can make your injury even worse!
On the other hand, don't let this injury discourage you. Injuries are lessons that can make us stronger, both physically and mentally. By overcoming the injury and analyzing how you got injured, it's much more likely that you won't get injured a second time from the same mistake.
Depending on the injury, you may be able to do some light exercise. Of course, consult your coach, doctor, or physician before doing so, but doing some light exercise or stretches that get the blood flowing may promote recovery.
For example, if you twisted your ankle, once you feel that it's starting to get better, you can start doing some ankle circles. Once you're starting to feel more recovered, don't jump straight into intense exercises like running or playing sports. Start gently with something that doesn't put much strain on the injury, like a stationary bike.
Once you're feeling like you have fully recovered, you can jump straight into what you were doing before! Or that's what you'd like to think.
Depending on the injury, that might not be possible. Once you've recovered from your injury, your body is still not back to its previous strength. You need to take your time gaining back your lost strength, which may take an extra week or two. I know this step seems tempting to skip, but trust me, you don't want to risk injuring yourself again right after you recovered.
When you start warming up, listen to your body. If your injury still hurts or feels "off", there's a reason for it. If you feel good warming up, take your time and slowly ramp yourself up when playing sports or lifting weights.
Injuries suck. Whether it's from overuse, poor form, or an accident, injuries can be unavoidable. But what's important is knowing what to do after you get an injury, so that you can prevent it from happening again in the future. Remember, listen to your doctor before everything else for any injury, and to take your time getting back into the groove of things!
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