Healing an Injury is About More than Resting

You suffered an injury recently – you pulled a muscle or twisted an ankle while out enjoying this unseasonably warm weather. You’re probably thinking you will just take it easy for a while, the injury will heal and you can be back hiking, walking, biking, etc. when spring arrives. Well, you are partially correct.It’s important to make sure you rehabilitate that injury before you get too active again. Rehabbing injuries is THE most important part of recovery. If you don’t rehab an injury properly, then it’s more likely that you will suffer that injury again…and again. It is incredibly important to first, increase range of motion and second, rebuild strength to the injured area of the body. Rehab maintenance should be a part of your workout to keep that once injured area healthy and strong.A study published in the British Medical Journal looked at exercise therapy versus arthroscopic surgery for a torn meniscus in middle-aged patients. Arthroscopic surgery is considered a low risk procedure. However low risk this procedure may be, surgical repair increases medical costs, insurance costs and doesn't appear to produce superior results. On the other hand, a strong rehabilitation exercise program produces increased strength in the large muscles supporting the knee joint.In the most recent study, researchers tested the quadriceps (thigh) muscles of the participants at baseline, three months and 12 months. They found the individuals who underwent rehabilitation experienced similar results to those who had arthroscopic surgery, and exhibited increased strength.The authors of the study said: "Supervised exercise therapy showed positive effects over surgery in improving thigh muscle strength, at least in the short term. Our results should encourage clinicians and middle aged patients with degenerative meniscal tear and no radiographic evidence of osteoarthritis to consider supervised structured exercise therapy as a treatment option."Improved strength in the knee joint may reduce your potential for further injury and may improve your ability to perform daily activities. This goes for other injuries as well. Your initial injury most likely happened because of weak surrounding muscles or because of repetition. Therefore, it’s vitally important during the rehab stage of your injury that you increase range of motion and build the muscles surrounding the injury.It’s also vitally important in your healing process to stick to the exercises I give you. These exercises are crucial to your rehabilitation.