If you are a gym bunny, a sports enthusiast, or an avid runner, the chances are that you will encounter a sports injury from time to time. Some of these injuries will brew underneath the surface, slowly creating a constant niggle that can prevent you from enjoying your exercise.
Other injuries are more acute – the sorts of instant pains and strains that cause you to pull up quickly and audibly yelp in pain. Whatever the injury you suffer, you want to recover quickly to help you get back to the gym or your workout plan as quickly as possible. Take a look at these three sure-fire ways to speed up your sports injury recovery.
1. Increase Your Protein
Many sports injuries are caused by overworking your muscles. You want to strain them so that the fibres tear and rejoin in a stronger way. However, if you go a little too far, too many muscle fibres can tear, resulting in a full-on muscle strain.
To recover more quickly, you need to eat more protein to fuel your muscles. Your muscles are made from protein, so eating more of this food group will power your muscles to build more tissue and recover faster. Increase your levels of lean protein to give your tissues the greatest capability to recover.
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2. Supplements
There are a whole host of supplements on the market that state that they can help your body recover faster from sports injuries. The most effective will help your pain levels and tissue recovery. Companies like CBD Performance supply elite athletes with high-quality cannabidiol in the form of muscle ointments, multi-vitamin gels, and oral supplements that will reduce your injury recovery time.
Other supplements such as green tea ointment are effective to treat injuries. Green tea extract smells good and is full of anti-inflammatory properties. When formulated into an ointment, you can apply a little amount to your joint or muscle two or three times a day and feel its soothing effects as it gets to work.
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3. Rest Up
It can be so difficult for an active individual to remain sedentary for any length of time. However, sometimes rest is necessary to facilitate a full recovery. If you head back to the gym or sports hall too quickly, you could find that your injury turns into something more serious with tendon and ligament damage becoming a risk. You need to rest your muscles when you head to the gym anyway. By giving each muscle group a rest each time you embark on a workout session.
Ensure that you rest your ankle or wrist if you’ve tweaked it. Use a hot water bottle and cold compress alternately every thirty minutes to try and reduce inflammation. Stay at home for 48 hours at least to aid recovery. Don’t be tempted to return to the gym too fast. Drink plenty of water to hydrate your muscles to aid recovery.
4. Consult Specialists
You’re not going to be able to do everything by yourself. The likes of rest, good nutrition, and supplements will be great for your recovery, but maximizing it fully will require a little extra help. Professional athletes of all creeds will tell you that sports masseuses, a chiropractor, and any other kind of specialist with the mind and body will improve things even further. This, obviously, isn’t going to be the highest of priorities in your life, but it’s worth thinking about. Not only will you feel direct benefits, but you’ll pick up little tidbits from them along the way, so you’ll receive some long-term benefits, too.
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Sustaining a sports injury is not pleasant and can keep you out of action for a while. Follow the above 3 steps and speed up your sports injury recovery time.