How to Care For Yourself After An Injury

How to Care For Yourself After An Injury

Many things can result in injuries. Slip and fall injuries are some of the most common ones, and they are caused by things like damaged sidewalks, poor snow or ice removal, inadequate lighting, torn carpeting, and wet floors, among others. Healing after such injuries can take some time. However, the length of time it takes to heal can be lengthened or shortened depending on how you take care of yourself. Here is how you can speed up healing by taking care of yourself after an injury.

Pain Management

Injuries can be quite painful. If you have been injured, or you are a parent to a child who has been injured, you need to find ways to manage pain. Pain can make you angry, frustrated, and less motivated to do the things that you enjoy doing. There are several ways to manage pain. For instance, you can take some time to rest, use a hot or cold compress, and can use pain medications. Massages have also been shown to be quite effective when it comes to sore muscles. If the pain you are experiencing is too much to handle, it’s advisable to talk to your doctor so they can come up with more effective pain management plans.

Exercise and Stretch

After being injured, it’s crucial to find time to exercise and stretch so you can regain full range of motion, balance, flexibility, and endurance. This is especially crucial if you have an injured muscle. Exercising regularly will prevent your muscles and joints from getting stiff and weak. Research also shows that exercise can help reduce pain and inflammation. Depending on the type of injury, your doctor will tell you the amount and type of exercise you need to focus on. Even if you feel like doing more, it’s important to stick to what your doctor says. Going against their recommendations can slow down your healing.

Depending on the injury, you can just start by being active without engaging in serious exercises. For instance, you can spend time landscaping your yard. This will help keep you active, and it will increase the value of your property and stop things like erosion. Two factors impact how much soil erodes off of a landscape—the section of bare soil and the length of the period of exposure. To stop erosion, you can plant a lawn.

Eat Healthy and Drink a Lot of Water

Eating a balanced diet is crucial if you are trying to recover from an injury. Your body needs all the resources it can get so it can heal and rebuild itself. You must ensure that you eat fresh foods that supply your body with plenty of vitamins and protein. These are necessary raw materials for repairing the damage. You must try to eat even when you are in pain. The recovery process can be quite frustrating, and that can diminish your appetite as well. However, if you remind yourself that your body needs resources to heal, you should be able to keep on eating well. You mustn’t forget to stay hydrated by drinking a lot of water.

See a Doctor

Any serious injury should be assessed and monitored by a doctor. If you are a parent, you should never keep your injured child at home. Going to their doctor is the only way you or your child can find comprehensive care and proper treatment. Even if you are not going through a lot of pain, you need a doctor to thoroughly examine you so they can ensure you are in good shape. If you have been injured at work, chances are your employee will make provisions for you to see the doctor. About 69% of employees admit that having a wider array of benefits like medical insurance increases their loyalty to the organizations that employ them.

Most injuries will start healing within three days. If you are a parent, you should keep checking your child’s wounds to see if there is any progress. Around day three, the pain, swelling, and bruising will start to go away. This is also around the time when the blood that would have been trapped by your skin will start to break down. When you notice this, you can start applying heat to the injured area so you can promote the circulation of blood. However, keep in mind that this might not work for open wounds and fractures. More serious injuries need to be managed medically, and you should remain under the supervision of nurses and doctors.