3 Reasons to Keep Exercising While You Rehab an Injury

One of the more common questions that I get from my physical therapy patients at IFAST Physical Therapy is whether they should continue their exercise program while they rehab their injury.

Absolutely!

There are several reasons to exercise regularly while you’re in physical therapy:

1. During vigorous exercise, your brain releases chemicals that make it easier to learn. Physical therapy often involves learning new movements or refining current movement to alleviate your pain. Exercise = faster learning and faster resolution of your symptoms and a quicker return to your normal, active lifestyle.
2. Your exercise program can help reinforce the goals of your physical therapy activities. Our IFAST training staff is specifically trained to understand our IFAST Physical Therapy approach and take the same concepts and apply them in the gym within your fitness program. This eliminates the common problem of the conflict between physical therapy and generic, random fitness programs provided by a typical personal trainer that slow down or even make your symptoms worse.
3. As you gain fitness, you’ll gain confidence and overcome the fears that are associated with reinjury. One of the most common concerns we all have after an injury is that we’ll injury ourselves again. Increasing your fitness levels make your entire body more robust and resistant to injury. Fitness and rehab, when done correctly, are the perfect combination.

Your fitness program is the perfect adjunct to your IFAST Physical Therapy program. Even athletes should keep exercising and training to prepare themselves for their return to play. It accelerates the entire process to resolve pain quickly and restore strength, speed, and agility.

If you know someone who’s struggling with a pain-related limitation or trying to get back on their exercise program after an injury, please help them contact IFAST Physical Therapy at 317-578-0998 or email us at [email protected]. 

If you’re making your comeback to the gym, and you’re not sure where to start, download a free copy of All Gain, No Pain and then call IFAST to make your comeback complete!