5 Tips for Staying Healthy & Sane While Injured

If that strain on your ankle is cramping your physical and mental wellbeing, there’s no need to put your routine on ice. Instead, get ready to beat the blues and get back on track, all while allowing your body to heal. Take 5 with these tips for staying healthy and sane during your downtime:

Toss the bagels and chomp on blueberries: Fresh is always best, and with an injury, your body needs foods to help it heal. If you’ve had a surgery or are on medication, detox foods like vegetables and fruit help the body eliminate waste and toxins quicker. A diet low in hard-to-digest fatty foods like red meat and fried cheese, and rich in antioxidants like berries, beans, and cold water fish is a perfect compliment to an injured body.

Move it or lose it: While lounging on a lazy boy watching telly all day might seem like the ideal situation, the sooner you begin to move, the quicker you get back on your feet. If you must use the remote, do so to check out aerobic exercises or strength training videos that utilize the uninjured muscles of your body.

Go gaga with yoga: Namaste to low-impact exercises like yoga, water aerobics, and swimming. They give your body the daily exercise you need, without putting an additional strain on your injury.

Chill out with some ‘active’ rest: You’ve built up some energy with all this exercise; now let it work for you. Plenty of relaxation and uninterrupted sleep allows the body’s energy stores to be utilized efficiently. This secret agent works best when you rest. 

Mine your mojo: Self-pity will get you a lot of sympathy and chocolates, but it won’t get you better. Injuries are not pleasant, but they are a fact of life –even if this is a tough pill to swallow. Allow yourself to be sad and mourn what you’ve lost, but give yourself time to heal and to deal with what is. Use the time to develop some serious brain power – read books, learn a language, and become a chess master. You’ll be so busy impressing everyone; you won’t have time to feel sorry for yourself.

That’s a wrap.