Whether you’ve been injured in an accident, from an illness, or sporting activity, you must do everything you can to make a full recovery. At Premier Injury Clinics of DFW, we believe in doing everything we can to ensure our patients receive the care and attention they need. We are strong advocates for combining various techniques and therapies during the recovery process, such as chiropractic adjustments and active exercises. While in the past it was thought that resting and “taking it easy” was the best option for overcoming certain ailments and injuries, we now know that is not the case. Being active and getting back to your normal daily activities as soon as possible is a much better option.
Preventing Common Sports Injuries
For those who are used to exercising regularly, being sidelined with an injury or illness can be disappointing, to say the least. Regardless of what type of exercise you like to engage in, finding the right treatment to help you make a full recovery is undoubtedly a top priority. With this, it is also important that you learn how to safely return to exercise and your normal activities following an injury or illness. The last thing you want to do is damage the healed body part or suffer a new injury altogether. By coming into Premier Injury Clinics for a chiropractic adjustment along with working with one of our experienced coaches in an active exercise program, you will be on your way to recovery. Here are a few quick tips for preventing common injuries:
- Warm-up before you work out – This will increase blood flow to the muscles, giving you more flexibility and in turn decreasing injuries.
- Stretch – To prevent strains and sprains, you should get in the habit of stretching your muscles regularly before any physical activity.
- Exercise more often – Life gets busy, but the more you exercise, the less likely you are to get hurt or sustain an injury.
- Don’t push it – One of the best pieces of advice we can give is to quit while you’re ahead, which means not to overdo it. Engaging in regular exercise is important to any healthy lifestyle, but we often see people in our clinics who have just taken it too far, resulting in injury.
Best Active Exercises for Recovery
The type of exercises we recommend for recovery will depend on a host of factors, including the type of injury, your age, medical history, and how healthy you are. Let’s take a look at some of the most common active exercises we recommend in conjunction with chiropractic adjustments:
- Back injuries – To support your spinal health following an injury, some of the best active exercises are:
- Pelvic tilts – Lie on the ground with your back flat and knees bent, feet on the floor. Place your hands on your hip bones and slowly tilt your pelvis towards and then away from your rib cage.
- Shoulder injuries – We offer treatment for a wide range of common shoulder injuries, including bursitis and tendonitis. These injuries can take a long time to heal, but the following exercises may help improve your recovery time:
- Pendulum – When standing, bend forward at the waist while supporting your weight with one arm on the counter or chair. Let your injured arm hang down heavy, gently swinging it back and forth, side to side, and then in circles.
- Crossover arm stretch – With your shoulders straight and relaxed, gently pull one arm straight across your chest, holding the stretch for 30 seconds. Repeat on the other side.
- Knee injuries– Knee injuries are among the most common, namely because it is the most used joint in the body. The knee is also very susceptible to wear and tear, especially for those who are physically active. If you’ve sustained a knee injury, keep the following active exercises in mind:
- Leg raises – When lying on the ground with your back flat, bend one knee and place the foot on the floor. Extend your other leg out straight, slowly raising it to the height of your bent knee. Repeat 15 times per leg.
- Step-Ups – Stand at the bottom of a staircase and bend one knee, lightly touching the other foot to the ground behind you. Raise the foot back up and repeat 15 times on each side.
These are just a few of the most common active exercises we recommend for injuries. When done alongside chiropractic adjustments, you will be on the road to a much faster recovery. To learn more about our active exercise program or to schedule an adjustment, please contact one of our five clinics in the DFW area.
