Have you dealt with a back injury off late? If yes, then you need to be a lot more careful about your day to day activities including your regular exercise. Most people who have dealt with an injury are confused as to whether they can undertake any kind of back exercise or not. Well, there is no one size fits all answer to this question. However, there are a few guidelines that are applicable to most individuals who have dealt with a recent injury.
Take rest, but only as much as required
If you have just dealt with a back injury, then switching to your exercises immediately will not be the advised solution. The muscles at the site of the injury enter spasms. This is done in a bid to prevent further injury to the area. Muscle spasms may lead to acute pain. Lying down on a firm surface can help ease out this pain. It is for this reason that bed rest is strictly recommended for anyone who has just dealt with a back injury.
While bed rest is important to recover from the injury, rest for prolonged periods can have negative effects. Give your back the required rest but make sure that you do not stretch the period for too long. Too long a period of rest will weaken your back and slow down the healing process. So, take rest but for a few days only.
Get back to your normal course of activities
After you have taken rest for a couple of days, the next step would be to return to your normal routine of activities. In most cases, maintaining normal activity speeds up the healing process.
Start exercising
Once you start getting comfortable with your daily activities, the next step would be to start exercising. In case you have acute back pain or have dealt with a severe injury, it is suggested that you wait for a few more days before you start exercising. However, you need to be very careful when you start exercising.
You need to follow the golden rule of 'slow and steady' when you exercise. Do not just get back to push ups and crunches. Instead, go in for low impact and easy exercises like walking. This will help you bring your back to a normal position. Continue low impact and light exercises till the time you think your back is in a comfortable position.
After the pain has reduced and you do not find any difficulty in moving, you can get back to your usual exercises. But, make sure that you have given your body enough time to recover before you get back into the usual exercising spree.
There is no reason for you to stop exercising if you have dealt with an injury. Simply follow the above mentioned guidelines and get your back on track again.
|