Dr. Hayden Cohen (Osteopath)
Injuries 101
Most people know the basics of an injury or trauma, rest and time then some sort of exercise that gets you back to pace. Here’s a simple rundown of injury 101.
Most injured tissue, initially needs a break. Time to recuperate. But is this rest a passive process?
Even at rest, those injured regions are sucking nutrients, cells are dividing, nerves and blood vessels are firing and pumping, and the whole area is being drained constantly to get rid of the unwanted damaged tissue or cellular debris. So you can rest assured, that even at rest you are still healing!
Now step out of the microscopic level, is there anything we can do on a macroscopic level to encourage this process to speed up a bit?
Some things just won’t be the same again unless they get a bit more support and are developed.
Nutrition
Tissue healing requires adequate levels of vitamins, minerals, energy, protein and fats/oils. A balanced diet that ticks off these categories is usually sufficient, as well as steering clear of highly processed, sugary, or acidic foods which can create an environment for more inflammation.
Rest
Actual rest where you completely stop is still important, it winds back the activity of your fight/flight response. Allows for your parasympathetic nervous system to kick in which pulls the body out of the ‘break down’ processes and into the ‘repair/build/improve’ mode. It also feels good. Some things may need a more tailored type of rest, such as elevation, a holiday, splinting in a certain position etc.
Stimulation
Some things, like a muscle tear, a strain, a sprain, whiplash, or other traumas such as emotional require some stimulus. This can help reconnect with the site of the injury, find out where it’s at, test its strength or capacity, and begin to stimulate it in the way that will rebuild or develop it in a way that suits the purpose or goal your aiming for, be it general function or a more specific use such as rock climbing or doing headstands. Exercises, be it physical, mental, emotional, social, intellectual or otherwise can help this process.
Things to avoid
Obviously, at this time, there are some things we want to avoid. Triggers of inflammation such as alcohol, poor diet, lack of hydration are of course high on this list. But other things to consider might also be avoidance of over straining e.g. if you have an irritated low back then lots of a lifting and bending over at work or in the garden is going to be a no no. Or, if you have a recurrent ankle sprain then exercise requiring agility such as netball or basketball is going to have to take a back seat for a while.
Something to consider
The emotional side of an injury is often a missed perspective here. The feeling of setback, failure and the loss of doing what you enjoy can all be factors that, if not addressed, can lead to prevention of healing and lack of adherence to a good recovery regime. Lacking the clarity and understanding of what is required to redevelop and heal is often the initial hurdle.
A lot of people get stuck on the principle of self-care, myself included. People spend a lot of time caring for others, so that when they go through an injury themselves, that process of going internal to connect with yourself and your body can be a bit of a struggle. Things like meditation, goal setting, planning a training schedule and development program can help keep you centred on what you need to do to, bringing that attention back to yourself.
So, what’s next?
With a general understanding of the basic principles of healing, the next step a lot of people get stuck on is finding someone with the experience or understanding to help guide them through. Things often happen ten times quicker when you have someone that’s either been through, or has an expert understanding of the type of injury or trauma you are recovering from.
as a general rule of thumb, Osteopaths consider your life, not just your injury.
Hands on treatment, discussion of your complaint, exercise prescription, meditation exercises or other strategies are informed by these two factors to see where a good balance might sit to bring you back to full function.
If you would like help booking an appointment to get your recovery process started, give us a call or send us an email.
PH: (03) 5215 1106
E: health@quayosteo.com.au