Injuries can seriously inhibit your everyday life, especially if they require you to take time off work or go on bed rest. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to make the road to recovery easier. If you’re healing from an injury, here are five things to remember.

Get Plenty of Rest

The body undergoes most of its healing process while you’re sleeping. Deep REM sleep signals your body to start repairing and removing waste from brain cells, which benefits the rest of your systems as a result. Get plenty of sleep and try to stay on a healthy sleep schedule if possible. If possible, try to nap often to help reduce sleep deficit.

Attend Physical Therapy Sessions

Burlington physio and sports medicine establishments employ skilled physical therapists that can help you gradually regain mobility and control. If your doctor recommended physical therapy for your recovery, make sure to attend all your appointments. Follow all the instructions your therapist provides and stay on top of at-home exercises and prescriptions, too. If you’re not seeing a physical therapist but feel it would help, don’t be afraid to ask your doctor for more information.

Stretch Often

Muscular tension and overextension are two very common causes of injury, and failing to stretch your muscles can impede your ability to heal efficiently. Make an effort to stretch your body every day, especially if your doctor or physical therapist recommends it. If your injury is especially severe, talk with your doctor and find out what kind of movements you shouldn’t be doing.

Exercise Where You Can

Exercise is a sort of natural medicine; it boosts blood flow and oxygenation, encourages the production of positive hormones and allows your body to move and burn calories the way it was meant to. Get up and move however you can, even if you can’t do much right away. Walking, light yoga and swimming are all very beneficial for the body and pose little risk of harm to most recovery efforts.

Listen to Your Body

No matter what tips you learn for recovery, you know your body better than anyone. Don’t push yourself if certain movements or exercises don’t feel right. Listen to your body carefully, find out where your boundaries are and take caution not to push past them if you’re not ready.

Recovering from an injury can be a lengthy process, but having a healthy attitude can help you toward a quicker recovery.