As I currently manage my own injury, it got me thinking about how easy it is to get off track with our rehabilitation when things don’t go the way we expect….
Recovery from an injury can be a challenging process.
Many people’s expectations of rehabilitation is that once an injury begins to heal the process will continue along an upward trajectory, getting better and better.
Unfortunately in many instances this is not the case. Recovery from an injury is not a linear process and many factors such as; nutrition, behaviours, stress, sleep, beliefs, cognitions and emotions can influence it.
Pain is also a major influence on our rehabilitation. Understanding that pain is a multifactorial experience and often unrelated to tissue damage is very important in ensuring you are confident when implementing your management plan. My earlier blog ‘Pain is an alarm’ provides more information about what pain is.
If your pain and or symptoms have flared, or your progress has plateaued it is very easy to become disheartened and at times distressed about what is going on.
It is common to feel frustrated, anxious or down. Your sleep can be negatively impacted, in turn influencing your thinking and general wellbeing. These feelings can also impact your commitment to your management plan and in some cases stop you from actively engaging in your rehabilitation.
Staying positive and prioritising healthy lifestyle choices is really important in these situations. Working alongside your health professional to have a plan in place for possible setbacks can be really helpful in ensuring you have a strategy in place when obstacles present themselves.
It can also be helpful to reflect on where you have started from and the progress that you have made.
The road from injury may not always be straightforward but persistence and positivity will see you make progress towards your end goal and allow you to get back to the things that you love.