How to stay motivated during injury rehabilitation

6th June 2022

As an injury rehabilitation clinic, our goal is to help clients stay on track with their recovery journey in order to see the best results. Despite this, we also understand that at times, it can be difficult to stay motivated throughout the process, and that recovering from an injury can leave you feeling quite isolated and lost.

Being injury rehabilitation specialists, we are here to tell you that recovery doesn’t have to be this way! There are so many ways you can stay active and social throughout your injury rehab journey, so get out your pen and paper, make some notes, and prepare for your recovery to become a lot more manageable.

Engage in active rest

When people experience an injury, they are often told to rest, relax, and not think about it to help the injury recover. However, that doesn’t mean all activity needs to be banned and that you are to be banished to your bed for the foreseeable future!

Remember that despite the injury, the rest of your body isn’t broken and it is still possible for you to exercise in other ways. A lot of our clients at the clinic are seasoned runners for instance, so when an injury occurs, it can feel like their much-loved hobby has been snatched away from them, along with the endorphin rush and mental health benefits that running brings. Although they cannot train in the way they normally would, it doesn’t mean that all exercise is impossible.

Try to be creative with the activities you do! Although it may not seem like it in the first place, injury rehabilitation is a great opportunity for you to experiment with your exercise routine and try something new. Think about the areas of your body that aren’t impacted by the injury and what alternative exercise you could do using those muscles instead. You might even find a passion for something new in the process! 

Manage your injury rehabilitation pain endurance

Whilst resting the injury is important, leaving it untouched for a long period of time can weaken the muscle and lead to loss of use. When the injury begins to feel like it’s on the mend, we would recommend slowly integrating some exercises back into your routine that train the injured muscle group. 

When beginning to do so, ask yourself what the pain level is on a scale of 1 to 10. If your answer is from 1 to 3, we would say this is a good level of activity to be reintroduced to the injury for strength to build over time. For any pain level above 3, we would advise you to consider a lighter form of exercise subtly targeting the muscle. If you can’t find an activity that causes less pain than a 4, the muscle isn’t ready to be used just yet in that manner.

Make injury rehabilitation social!

As mentioned above, we know that injury rehabilitation can feel quite isolating and lonely at times. Not only does recovery impact your physical health, but it also takes a hit on your social interactions. Be open with how you’re feeling, and speak to those close to you about what struggles come with your rehabilitation journey. You can only fix what you have identified as a problem.

If you do find that you’re feeling lonely, remind yourself that injury rehabilitation doesn’t have to be something that you tackle by yourself. If anything, people are always waiting for someone to ask if they want to start exercising together! Don’t forget the people that are closest to you. Chances are, you have a group of friends and family out there that love you dearly and would happily exercise with you if you ask!

Our virtual exercise classes are also a great way to connect with other people throughout your injury rehabilitation, and as they can be undertaken safely at home any time of the day or night, can be really practical for fitting around work, children and day to day life. Being surrounded by people who are experiencing something similar to you can often help you feel less alone, and that you aren’t on the journey by yourself.

Play the injury rehabilitation long game

When you start injury rehabilitation, the road ahead can feel intimidating, which is often why people give up, causing delayed recovery, or rush ahead, frequently causing further injury.

As explained above, there are many ways you can still get on with your day-to-day life including socialising and exercising even when going through the recovery process! Plus, the longer you continue with your rehab, the stronger you’ll become. You won’t be stuck at the start forever, you just have to play the long game and keep the end goal in sight.

When handled in moderation, injury rehab often sees quicker results as opposed to diving in at the deep end, or not embracing recovery the best you can.

Remember, you’re never alone throughout your injury rehabilitation at Balanced Bodies. Any thoughts, questions or concerns you may have, we are here to help. Get in touch today for more information.