If you have been out of commission for a while due to an injury, be it from a sport that you love playing or some other injury that’s required you to be in assisted living or a rehab facility for a while, you might be itching to get back out there and get playing again. But before you put your gear back on, you’ll need to make sure that you’re ready for your body to reach this level of physicality again.
To help you in doing this, here are three tips for getting back into sports after an injury.
Start Out Very Slowly
Although mentally you might be ready to jump back into the sports you love, if you do this, you could wind up hurting yourself even more, which could make it so that you have an even longer time to rest and recuperate before you’re really able to play the way you want to. So to avoid this, you’re going to want to start out very slowly.
In your first few days back, try to just get used to getting your body moving again. Work on your mobility, flexibility, and the fluidity of your motions. Then, as you come to understand what your body can tolerate and what levels of pain you might be dealing with still, you can slowly add a little more, either in time or in resistance, to help you get back into fighting shape.
Be Flexible
Along with needing to make sure that your body has the physical flexibility that it needs to do many types of sports, you also need to think about having mental flexibility as you try to get back to where you were physically prior to your injury.
While some days you’ll be feeling great and want to push yourself a bit more, the days after those great days might be harder for you to get through. And if you’re able to understand this and be flexible with what you try to get your body to do, you’ll be able to see a forward progression over time, even if you seem to take a small step backward a few times.
Accept A New Normal, For Now
Depending on the extent of your injury and what kind of downtime you were experiencing to heal, it could take quite a while for you to get back to the shape that you were in before you got hurt. So to help yourself alleviate some of the frustration that can often come with this, try to accept that where your body is at now is your new normal. And while you may be able to make some progress and get stronger and fitter, giving yourself time to do things the right way will be the best thing you can do for your health.
If you’re wanting to start being active again after having an injury, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you on this journey.
