Exercising while injured? What??!!

So maybe you have an ongoing injury, or chronic pain? It’s understandable that exercise may not be the first thing you would think of doing and it may be the last thing you feel like, however if you are avoiding movement entirely you may be hurting your chances of a best possible recovery. Within only a short time changes to the body happen and we start loosing muscle.

We all know exercise in general is good for us, but still 70% of Australian adults fall under the Australian guidelines for physical activity. Currently, this is set at only 30-60 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise 5 days per week, however evidence suggests that for most of us this is still too little. The benefits of regular exercise is widespread and varied depending on what it is that you’re undertaking. We would need a much bigger article to explain all the benefits! Generally you are looking at:

Decreased:

  • all cause mortality

  • risk of developing metabolic (eg. diabetes) and cardiovascular (eg. hypertension) conditions

  • weight and fat mass

  • falls risk

  • risk of some cancers such as bowel and breast cancers

Increased:

  • ability to manage depression, anxiety and PTSD

  • muscle and bone mass and strength

  • cardiovascular capacity

  • functional ability

Specific exercises and programs can be designed to rehabilitate injuries and improve the functioning of that area of the body. Of course, due to the nature of injuries having such a wide variation you will be better off getting an individual program written for you by a trained professional, eg. accredited exercise physiologist. Whether your injury is sustained at work, gym or sports, a customized exercise program is absolutely important to get you back to your daily activities. If you are unsure, why not book a Free Assessment with our Exercise Physiologist to see how we can help?