London Physiotherapy - Are you getting enough Rest?

Enough rest during injury rehabilitation is often ignored by athletes on the path to overcoming injury. A challenging query to answer which comes up in most clinics around the world, is “How much rest do I need?”. Although no definitive answer exists, we can best advise on your situation to create some sensible recommendations for your recovery plan. The question of rest gets tougher to answer depending on its affecting the physiotherapy patient. When an athlete has an injury where healing is moving at snails pace and recovery is dragging on and on, it’s vital to understand the sort of affect the injury has on their everyday life

“But, i’ll get fat.”

A lot of patients of physiotherapy clinics often think the journey of physio will be a lengthy grueling process of tough exercises, stretches and visits to the clinic, when in most cases; it’s the opposite. The most common reason i’m told by patients for not starting physiotherapy sooner is the worry of “Getting fat” or “Putting weight back on” Surprisingly to some, this worry is typically aired by people in great physical health, who are actually less likely of getting fat or out of shape during their rest period. Doctors and Physicians can often be a culprit in advising those with injuries to keep up with a good level of fitness, where more often than not, large doses of rest should be what’s been written and signed off on that prescription sheet.. Don’t be concerned about getting out of shape, when you should be focused on getting healthier.

“Training through the pain”.

A common mistake of those who believe they know what’s best is that they can train through any injury, however this Hollywood training montage mindset will land you in hot water when it comes to making injuries worse through over training. Exercises that were easy to perform become tougher to complete. There’s only one solution: Get some REST. With a lot of injuries you need to give the tissue time to heal, be your own best friend and look after you body, it will then look after you. With years of practice at London Physiotherapy I regularly see patients in this situation of delayed recovery, simply by not taking a step back and winding down activity levels. This is a shame, as rest is cheapest method of recovery, and something you may actually enjoy.