Recovering After an Accident

If you have suffered an injury – whether at work or outside of work – you need to be able to recover properly. There’s no use in trying to push yourself back into your usual day-to-day routine until your body is ready to do so. All you’ll end up doing is hurting yourself further and not being able to recover properly.

Without an effective treatment plan, the process of rehabilitation after an accident can take a lot longer. Physical rehabilitation is the normal thing to do to restore the body to optimal form and function. Sometimes you need the help of an OT in the house to be able to assess whether or not you need specific types of help or support. The exercises and methods of rehabilitation that you need after an accident will very much depend on the severity of your injury and the type of injury you’ve suffered. The process itself is broken into stages and we’ve outlined these for you below.

1. Recovery. The first stage of physical rehab is the recovery stage and it’s the most important one to think about after you’ve had an accident. Depending on the severity of your injuries, it can also be the longest stage because you need your body to recover properly. The whole goal of this stage is to recuperate, allowing your body to begin that healing process that is so important for your continued health. It’s always important that you rest and prevent aggravating any injury or site of surgery. Treat your injuries and your recovery in the way that your doctor has instructed you to do, so that you know you’ve got it right.
2. Repair. After that healing process has begun, you need to start recovering your movement and mobility and that means the repair stage kicks in. The goal of this one is to ease your body back into those pre injury levels of range of motion or as close to that as possible. Your OT will be able to help you with aids in the shower and with your stairs if you have them in your house, but it’s important that you are also following the exercises given to you by your physio. Small weights, if you are allowed to, can be used during exercises if it’s safe. You shouldn’t do too much intensive strength training at this time, however.
3. Strengthening. Once you’ve recovered your range of motion as much as possible, the next stage is restoring your strength. Resting during recovery can help your muscles to relax, but that can also lead to wastage if your rest is not balanced. In the strengthening stage, the goal here is to minimize any muscle loss and work yourself back to full strength.
4. Function. This is the final step of recovery after an accident, and it’s all about you being back to your usual functional self. Effective treatment can identify any deficiencies in your capabilities at this point and determine how significant they are. This gets you back to you again.