5 Tips for Safely Exercising While Rehabbing an Injury

Putting the pain aside for a moment, the most frustrating thing about an injury is the setback it causes in your training or workout routine.

Some injuries are acute, occurring suddenly, as in the case of broken bones and torn ligaments. Others are chronic, developing gradually from overuse or misuse, as in the case of tendinitis or stress fractures. No matter the type, though, every injury needs to be rehabilitated in a safe, slow manner to ensure the area regains full function — sufficient strength, endurance, power and flexibility.

“What this looks like exactly and how long before you’re back to full activity varies by the specific injury,” says Dr. Vijay Jotwani, a sports medicine doctor at Houston Methodist. “The overarching principles, though, are always the same — build back slowly, listen to your body and see a sports medicine doctor if you have any uncertainty about your injury or recovery process.”

Proper rehabilitation isn’t just important for ensuring you return to the activities you enjoy as strong as you were before. It’s also critical for preventing re-injury or a progression of the injury into something even worse, which can cause even further setback.

Here are Dr. Jotwani’s five tips for safely returning to exercise after an injury:

Sometimes it’s obvious you need to see a doctor about an injury, like when you feel or hear a pop and immediately know there’s a problem.

Other times, it’s not so clear. Feeling some pain, you wonder: Is it a short-term thing that I can power through? Or might I make things worse if I keep working out?

“It’s really a question best answered by a specialist,” says Dr. Jotwani. “If you’re having pain for more than a week and it’s not going away on its own, it’s time to get it evaluated by a sports medicine doctor.”