Sooner or later, almost everyone gets sidelined by an injury that keeps them from being physically active. Twisted ankles, tendinitis, pulled muscles and the more serious torn shoulder rotator cuffs used to mean weeks of inactivity and, with it, unwanted pounds that only complicated recovery.
These days, "we approach injury much like we would with any athlete," says physical therapist Thomas Papke, a spokesman for the American Physical Therapy Assn. Professional athletes "wouldn't sit out eight weeks while they recovered.... It's appropriate to work through the healing cycle."
But that doesn't mean shooting up with cortisone or playing through pain. "Pain is a wonderful messenger to tell you when to stop," Papke says.
Finding ways to stay active can help healing.
"When most people have an injury, it usually involves just one body part," says registered dietitian Leslie Bonci, director of Sports Nutrition at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. "There's no reason you can't exercise the rest of the body, although it will depend on the severity of the injury. "
It's also important to eat well but not too much, because injuries often limit activity, which translates to burning fewer calories.
Some use an injury as a license to overeat high-calorie comfort food. Others, worried about weight gain, cut back so much on calories that they risk hampering healing. "You want to be selective about what you eat, not [be] in an elimination mode," Bonci says.
Here's what Papke and Bonci recommend (along with consultation with your physician or other health professional):
* Rest, ice, compression and elevation (RICE) is still the standard remedy for a new injury, when inflammation is worst. After that, use heat. Seek prompt medical attention to foster recovery. "Most of the problems that we deal with in our practice didn't get help early on," Papke says.
* Keep moving. The most painful and acute injury phase "lasts about a week to 10 days," Papke says. That's followed by stiffness. Once stiffness sets in, recovery is often lengthened -- which makes it important to try to move as much as possible during the acute phase. "So if you have a shoulder injury, rest that body part, but keep walking or biking or do breathing exercises or stretch other parts of the body," he says. Water exercises can often be an option for those with leg, hip or back injuries.
