By: Nick Unger, PTA
Sometimes in life unexpected things happen, like getting hurt. Injuries come in a wide variety of severity and can hinder or alter your ability to carry out activities of daily living or hobbies like exercising. Working in a rehabilitation setting, physical therapists (PT) and physical therapist assistants (PTA) like myself see a plethora of different physical ailments that befall patients every single day. These include runners plagued by patellofemoral pain syndrome, overhead athletes who suffer from labral tears in the shoulder, wrist sprains from slipping on ice, or the all-too-common low back pain which comes out of the blue. The list could go on and on!
Injuries can be very frustrating, especially when an active patient thinks their ability to exercise has to come to a complete halt in order to recover. Although resting for a couple days is important in the initial stages after an injury to let symptoms subside, there are ways to stay active during your recovery.
To follow are some tips on how to exercise while recovering from an injury.
1. Decrease the Volume/Frequency/Load
One of the most common injuries we see during our day is an overuse injury. Oftentimes, people are performing daily activities or exercises at rates and repetitions that do more harm than good. A great example of this is “tennis elbow” or lateral epicondylitis. Tennis players will get this overuse injury causing pain on the lateral side of their elbow from repetitive serving and volleying. However, despite its name, people also commonly develop this injury from upper body lifting at the gym. In addition to physical therapy, here are some additional options to help improve symptoms while maintaining an increased activity level.
- Consider decreasing the volume and frequency of the “offending” exercise. A dumbbell or barbell row can be painful and difficult for those with tennis elbow. Try to decrease the repetitions of rows you incorporate into your workout, and maybe only do this exercise once a week as opposed to multiple times per week until symptoms are improved. Then, gradually reincorporate rows back into your normal routine.
- It can also be helpful to decrease the resistance of an “offending” exercise. Hammer curls are a common exercise that people like to do at the gym, but they can be particularly uncomfortable for those with tennis elbow. After recovering from acute stages of tennis elbow, you may want to reintroduce those hammer curls. Instead of grabbing the 25-pound dumbbells, try the 10- or 15-pound dumbbells instead.
- In acute stages or severe cases, of course, it is best to stop the “offending” exercise altogether and focus on other areas. For example: if you are suffering from tennis elbow, lay off the upper body pulling motions where the wrist extenders are active and focus on different upper extremity exercises, lower body movements or cardio to still achieve a well-rounded workout.
Decreasing the load, frequency or volume of your training can often significantly help reduce pain. The key is to not jump back to your pre-injury workouts too quickly, as you do not want to end up back where you started. In medicine, we like to use the phrase “start low, and go slow”: start with a small amount of a particular exercise, and gradually increase the amount based on how well you tolerate it.
2. Modify the Movement
As I briefly mentioned above, sometimes there is the ability to modify an exercise to allow you to continue performing an exercise, or a derivative of an exercise, instead of cutting it out completely. If decreasing the overall volume/frequency/load does not help, then try and modify the movement to accommodate your healing process. If running on concrete or a treadmill hurts your knees, try to substitute that movement with an elliptical or stationary bike. This way, there is less impact on the knees, while still accomplishing a great cardio workout.
If squatting past 90 degrees gives you hip pain, squat to a box or chair to decrease the depth of the movement and see if that reduces the symptoms. Exercise should not be painful, and simple changes like modifying a movement can have a great payoff in regard to the ability to continue to exercise while recovering from an injury. Once the injury has resolved, slowly reintroduce the original movement back into your routine and remember to “start low and go slow.”
3. Sleep, Hydration, and Nutrition is Key
Let’s bring it back to the basics: good sleep, staying hydrated, and healthy eating habits. These three simple things are the most underrated aspects of injury recovery and healing. The body works as a whole system, so if you only address the one aspect of rehabilitation, then you are missing out on optimal and efficient recovery. Giving your body the proper rest and nutrients is only going to help recover from an injury that much quicker. Remember to get at least seven hours of quality sleep at night, aim to drink at least eight glasses of water throughout the day, and be mindful of maintaining a balanced diet full of nutrients that your body needs to heal!
The tips above are just a few ways to maintain an active lifestyle while recovering from an injury and to help aid the healing process. As always, make sure to talk to your doctor about what your unique limitations and restrictions may be before exercising after an injury, and visit your physical therapy clinic so we can help you formulate a goal-driven plan to get you back to your A-game!
Nick is a Physical Therapist Assistant, Certified Personal Trainer (NASM CPT) and Corrective Exercise Specialist (NASM CES) at the Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center Sports Medicine and Orthopedic Rehabilitation center located inside the JCC. Nick received his associate degree as a Physical Therapist Assistant from Essex County College and a bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science from East Stroudsburg University. Nick has experience in inpatient, outpatient and subacute settings through his clinical rotations while attending Essex County College. He began his career as a clinician working for an outpatient orthopedic facility in River Edge, NJ. While working in River Edge, Nick assisted patients of all age groups rehabilitating from surgeries, musculoskeletal disorders and sports injuries. He stays up to date on current research through continuing education courses and reading new journal articles regularly. In his spare time, Nick enjoys attending sporting events, going down the shore, exercising and spend time with his friends and family.
The Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center Rehabilitation centers are open and ready to help you achieve your goals. With locations in West Orange and Livingston, the experienced and compassionate staff at Cooperman Barnabas Rehabilitation offers adults and children the specialized care they need to resume an active life after surgery, injury or illness. They are committed to providing patients with the most advanced services in a safe, caring and soothing environment. For high-risk patients who are unable to visit in person, telehealth is an option. Patients do not need a prescription for physical therapy services.