For keen athletes and lovers of sport, sitting out because of an injury can be challenging. Whether you have simply pulled a muscle or have a more serious injury, rest and recovery are just as important for your training regime as the physical workouts.
Speeding up recovery time and ensuring your training doesn’t fall to the wayside are important for many. Here, we look at how you can get back on track and safely return to sport after an injury.
Why is Full Recovery Important
For more dedicated athletes, recovery from an injury can be a mental battle as well as something physical that needs to be overcome. Many will be eager to get back to their sport and may be willing to ignore pain or treat the symptoms without assessing the cause.
This can do more damage.
Giving yourself time to fully recover can help prevent the development of even worse injuries that require longer time too help and more intensive treatment plans.
When to Return
Although you may feel like you’re ready to dive back in, knowing for sure that you’re not risking your body and doing any more harm is important.
The following progression of exercises can be used as an indicator of whether you are ready to return to your usual activity. The number of exercises you can do comfortably will show where you are in your recovery.
- Walk with no limp.
- Jog with no limp.
- Run with no limp.
- Running in figure 8 and zig-zag configuration with no limp.
- Double and single leg hops.
- Drills specific to your sport.
- Contact drills.
- Ability to return to competitions.
A physiotherapist will be able to help you map out a more precise timeline and regime of exercises for your recovery.
What Can You Do to Aid Your Return?
If you’re itching to get back to the game, the following things can help support recovery and get you back on the road to peak performance.
Physiotherapy
If you have over-exerted an injury but don’t require immediate medical attention, you may want to seek the help of a physiotherapist or sports injury specialist.
As previously mentioned, they will be able to help you with targeted treatments and will give a more specific timeline about when you will be able to return to sports as normal.
Going to physiotherapy sessions at the first signs of an injury is often the best thing to do if you want to reduce potential recovery time. Leaving symptoms unresolved can lead to chronic injuries which will require more intensive intervention and will take far longer to heal.
CBD For Muscle Recovery
Recent years have seen the rise in the use of CBD for muscle recovery to help support athletes’ return to sports.
CBD products work as a natural anti-inflammatory agent which can effectively reduce muscle soreness and decrease recovery time. Many also use CBD to aid sleep and relaxation, which is another essential component needed for a successful recovery.
Since the World Anti-Doping Agency has removed CBD from its list of prohibited substances, professional athletes can rest assured they won’t be scrutinised for using CBD products during and even after periods of recovery.
It should be noted that CBD is not a treatment for sports injuries, but rather an aid that can be used to support the recovery process. If you experience a serious injury, you should seek the help of medical professionals and conventional medicine.
Don’t Push Yourself
In theory, this is one of the simplest things you can do, but in practice, many athletes struggle. Before it is safe for you to return to normal, you need to make time for yourself and your body to relax!
Try not to push yourself too hard before you are ready. Preventing further injury is key, so you’ll thank yourself in the long run for taking it easy.
Here at ElleVance, we are dedicated to providing high-quality CBD products for a variety of uses. If you are interested in using CBD to support your return to sports, why not browse our range of specialist products?
