How to Return to Sport After an Injury

It's not always easy facing the possibility of returning to a favorite sport following an injury. While you may be impatient to get back into the sport itself, the awareness of new limitations and a possible fragility that weren't there before can be paralyzing. Fears aside, it is important to plan your return to sport carefully post-injury to ensure that you don't exacerbate the existing injury or push yourself too far too soon. Steps: 1. Build up your general condition slowly. The healing process deserves adequate time. It is better to take the time now to fully recover than to go back too early and destroy your chances for a lifetime. Patience at this stage counts for everything. 2. Start with the warm-ups specific to your sport. Do warm-ups that don't hurt you apart from healthful stretching. Be sure to have run the warm-ups past your health adviser first. Build these up over time, easy does it. Increase gradually. 3. Ease into a work-out on a regular basis. Every few days participate in general activity such as walking, running, swimming, cycling, skipping, skating, etc., whatever you enjoy for fitness purposes and can do without exacerbating the injury. You'll be out of shape, so there will be some physical discomfort but stop if there is intense and ongoing pain and review with your health adviser. Gradually build this up to daily. 4. Keep building up until the length of time and intensity of exercise increases. Practice the skills of your particular sport by performing repetitive exercises, to build back the strength that has been lost due to the injury. For example, practice kicks, swings, dribbling, throwing, shooting at net, etc. over and over again, without having to concentrate on the whole requirements of the sport. 5. Grab a teammate. Get someone who can now start to train with you and challenge you some more. Continue the general conditioning work outline above but also add in two-way sport, such as returning the ball with your teammate, practicing defense, competing, etc. 6. Return to live practices. Follow your health adviser's rulings on the extent of your involvement and inform your coach of your current limitations. For example, you might be able to participate in the practices, in drills, in specific elements of the sport but not in rougher elements of the sport yet. Keep the involvement low intensity, take more breaks than usual, avoid contact that can result in damage and keep reviewing your technique to ascertain whether you need strengthening in any areas or change of tactics from your old methods. 7. Recommit to the game or live action. Eventually, when you feel confident that you're back in the swing, that you've honed the new techniques needed, and that your strength has returned, get back into the game. Trial a full practice, then trial positions, races, or activities that are least demanding for starters and work your way back into full play or participation. 8. Don't neglect your mental preparation either. Conditioning your mind is an important part of this whole process. What you think and how you perceive your injury will have great impact on your recovery process. Visualize a safe, healthy, and gradual successful return and you will have won half the battle. Tips: • Always get medical clearance from your doctor before returning to sports after the injury. This is especially important with head injuries. Receiving a second blow before the first one has had a chance to heal can lead to second impact syndrome(SIS), a life threatening condition. • Pull back immediately if your symptoms revive at any stage during reconditioning or return to your sport. It means you're not ready yet and it won't do you any good to push it too far too early. • Seek medical attention for any worsening or plateauing of injury and symptoms. • Always talk with your coach about where things stand for you; unless your coach is aware of the situation, he or she might think that you're ready to take on more than you can, or worse, they might think that you're not pulling your weight. Make the progress clear to them and they'll be your ally. Things You'll Need: • Medical clearance and ongoing advice originated by: Chaeli, IngeborgK, Anonymous, Maluniu Source: www.wikihow.com