When you sustain an injury and need to recover, it can feel frustrating and difficult. You’ve already got pain to deal with, medical appointments, rehab, and legal issues like insurance claims and personal injury lawyers. Now you also need to figure out how to safely and smartly get back to being active?

Don’t rush it.

Most people get this part wrong, which leads to further injuries and setbacks in recovery.

But there is good news. With the right approach to rehabilitation fitness, you can actually recover faster, stronger and with a lower risk of re-injuring yourself.

In fact, 62 million injuries (Source) require medical treatment in the United States alone every year, and a large percentage of those people need help with safely rebuilding strength and mobility during recovery.

Your guide to recovery:

• Personal Injury Recovery Basics
• Why Fitness Matters During Rehabilitation
• The 5 Best Safe Exercise Strategies
• Common Mistakes That Slow Recovery
• Building Long-Term Strength After Injury

Personal Injury Recovery Basics

The first thing you need to understand is that recovering from a personal injury isn’t a passive process.

The most common misconception about injury recovery is that people just need to take time off, take medications, and wait for their bodies to heal naturally. While rest is definitely an important part of recovery, it’s equally important to actively participate in your own healing through rehab exercises and fitness.

And in fact, inactivity during an injury recovery period can make things worse. Remaining sedentary actually slows down the healing process.

The reality of personal injury recovery is that your body needs rehabilitation to heal properly. This goes for any type of personal injury, whether you got hurt in a car accident, work injury, slip and fall or otherwise.

If you were injured and are looking for legal help, getting expert legal advice helps to navigate your case and protect your rights while you focus on rehabilitation.

The legal process is important, and it ties directly into injury recovery because all of the medical records, visits and rehab will document and prove your injury and recovery progress for a personal injury case.

This is why it’s best to take a proactive approach to fitness during rehabilitation. Think about how it goes if you rush back to activity too quickly or perform the wrong exercises: your injury can get worse, which means you’re back at square one (or worse).

The smart way?

Actively participate in a safe fitness recovery program so that you can heal faster and come back stronger than ever before.

Why Fitness Matters During Rehabilitation

Injury recovery is about more than just healing from injuries. It’s also an opportunity to reset and come back better than before. While a proper rehabilitation plan is critical to recovery, getting back into fitness also has important benefits.

You want to recover? Controlled movement (aka exercise) actually helps injuries heal faster. Blood flow increases, muscles stay engaged and natural healing processes are maintained.

Resting completely? Old-school thinking that leads to muscle atrophy, reduced flexibility, slower recovery and higher re-injury risk.

Of course, I’m talking about controlled movement, not jumping into your regular workouts. Controlled movement means following a strategic rehabilitation program that will gradually rebuild your strength without putting too much stress on the injury.

The 5 Best Safe Exercise Strategies

The following 5 exercise strategies work best for safe and effective personal injury rehabilitation. Let’s dig in…

1. Start With Low-Impact Activities

Low-impact exercises are your foundation for a smart return to fitness after an injury. This includes any form of movement that doesn’t put stress or impact on the affected area. Walking, swimming, stationary cycling, gentle yoga and stretching are all examples of low-impact activities that can help rebuild strength.

Don’t get me wrong, “low-impact” does not equal “no impact.”

You’re still working your body, just in a safe and measured way.

2. Listen To Your Body (Literally)

Listen to your body and it will guide you.

There’s good pain and bad pain.

Sore muscles from working out? Normal. Sharp, stabbing or shooting pain in the injured area? Your body is telling you to stop. If an exercise causes pain in the injury, cease immediately and get advice from your doctor or physical therapist.

3. Build Strength Gradually

Don’t jump right back into your pre-injury weights or exercise intensity levels. Start with bodyweight exercises or light resistance and focus on proper form, controlled movements, and rest days in between sessions.

As you get stronger and more comfortable, you can gradually increase the intensity. Patience here is key.

4. Focus on Flexibility and Mobility

Stretching is your friend during injury recovery. Stiffness, reduced range of motion and muscle tightness are all common.

Combat this with a daily stretching routine that targets not only the injury (when cleared by doctor), but the surrounding muscles, joints and the opposite side of the body as well.

Hold each stretch for 20-30 seconds, and never bounce or force a stretch. Gentle, gradual progress is the goal.

5. Work With Professionals

Professional guidance is non-negotiable during injury recovery. A physical therapist is your best resource for a personalized rehab program that is tailored to your specific injury.

They will show you safe exercises, correct your form, and adjust your plan as you progress.

Side note: Around 95% of personal injury cases settle out of court, which means most people are dealing with insurance companies while also trying to recover from injuries. Documented physical therapy sessions and rehab records not only help your recovery, but also support your personal injury claim in legal matters.

Common Mistakes That Slow Recovery

Here are some very common mistakes to avoid while recovering…

Doing Too Much, Too Soon

You want to get back to normal ASAP, I get it. But overexertion is the fastest way to reinjure yourself and start over. “Scheduled” rest means you must rest. Scheduled no running means you mustn’t run.

Simple, right? But people constantly ignore this and rush rehab.

Skipping Warm-Ups and Cool-Downs

Even when you’re recovering, your body needs proper warm up before exercise and cool down afterwards. It helps prevent further injuries and prepares your body for activity.

Ignoring Pain Signals

Pain is your body’s way of saying “hey, something’s wrong here.” Listen to it. Don’t “push through” pain during injury recovery. This will only lead to more damage.

Neglecting Rest and Recovery

Active recovery is still recovery. You must schedule rest days into your rehabilitation program as much as you schedule exercise days.

Building Long-Term Strength After Injury

Once you complete the initial rehabilitation process, you might think you’re done with fitness…

Wrong.

Your goal in this stage is to build long-term strength and resilience to avoid future injuries. Keep up with your rehab exercises. Keep stretching daily. Start a consistent strength training routine.

Focus on exercises that counter the imbalance or stress that caused the injury in the first place.

Personal injuries often come with legal and financial considerations, too. While you focus on your own fitness recovery process, don’t forget to keep records of your rehabilitation efforts, adhere to doctors’ orders and take note of all your expenses related to recovery.

All of this contributes to your overall case and having the most support for your personal injury claim possible.

Importance of Recovery

Fitness during injury recovery is not a sprint according to MyHealth Alberta, it’s a marathon.

You need patience, consistency and the right guidance to rebuild your strength and mobility without risking a re-injury. With the right exercise strategies like starting with low-impact activities, listening to your body, building strength gradually, focusing on flexibility and working with professionals… you can set yourself up for a full recovery.

Most personal injury cases take 6-12 months to fully settle.

This often coincides with the timeline for complete physical recovery.

Use this time wisely to rebuild your body the right way so that you come back even stronger than before.