Injuries=Bed Rest, Is It?
By vishwa on Health, Inspiration, Training
February 16, 2015
These are the wise words of Al Kavado in a book titled Stretching Your Boundaries. These are his views about injuries and how to get over them.
Excerpt
“In those times when we nurse tendinitis or getting over a strained muscle, movement is the best medicine – you’ve just got to be careful with the dosage!”
I have discussed this numerous times with my gym clients–movement has the ability to cure. Moderate movement and light stretching promotes circulation which is paramount to recover from an injury. The more circulation occurs the faster the recovery. However, we cannot go overboard and strength train intensely without heeding to the injured area. For the same matter, intense stretching will likely leave you sore. However, absolute rest may not be the order for the day for every injury you stumble upon. I would like to state what Frank Forencich says in his book Exuberant Animal to further establish my point of view. He says that back in the dark ages of the mid-to-late 20th century, physicians prescribed bed rest for back pain. However, now treating back ailments has taken a huge step forward. For example, when I injured my back a few years before, the sports physiotherapist whom I visited never asked me to abandon training. However, he asked me to not perform few movements that weren’t safe at that moment.
Moreover, these are the times we learn more about our body. We learn how intricately the body behaves. In other words, injuries are great teachers. Injuries teach us to honor and respect the body and to not take it for granted.
So, active recovery is the way to go. Healing through movement, many fitness experts mean it.