Let’s paint a picture:
Recovering from your injury was both physically and emotionally challenging, but through strong perseverance you’ve accomplished your goals and returned to life before this whole debacle. As you leave the physiotherapist after the final appointment, they give a program to work on, and you feel that the journey is over.
You keep doing the exercises that were prescribed, knowing that they were helpful. But you’re pain free now! What’s the point? How long do you do the exercises for anyway? A week, a month, the rest of your life?
Slowly you stop focusing on the injury, which means stopping the time dedicated to looking after yourself. Initially it feels great, but the pain starts to slowly creep back, or worse yet.. a new issue arises.
And then you find yourself back at the clinic, feeling that you’re “injury prone” or “can’t catch a break”, or even blaming yourself for getting “old”.
This cycle is frustrating, but it’s a common experience. As physiotherapists and patients, we both understand that healing and recovery can take a while. Ankle sprain symptoms can persist for 12 months post injury, re-current hamstring strains occur in 1/3 of returning athletes within a year, and more than 2/3 of back pain patients have another episodic back pain within a year.
So why do we stop when the pain goes away, and how do we stop these recurring injuries?
Becoming Resilient
The good news is we can change this cycle. We can mitigate re-injury, bounce back from setbacks, and handle demands of everyday life without the fear of pain.
After recovery, we can become resilient.
Physiotherapy can assist after the problem is fixed. Through progressing exercises, identifying movement deficits, and providing ongoing gym programs, we can build a body that is capable of enduring what life throws at us – whether we’re on the field or in the office.
Our physiotherapists and exercise physiologists at Physiologic can help provide you with a pathway forward to ensure an injury-free life stays that way. Whether you want a gym program tailored to your needs, or want a 1-on-1 session to further enhance your resiliency, don’t hesitate to book in with our team.
Author: Guy Velik