Why Movement Still Matters When You’re Injured! 🤕
So you’ve injured yourself… maybe through the gym or maybe through some bad luck… first of all - I’m sorry to hear about it.
Injury often comes with a natural instinct to rest completely. While short periods of rest can be helpful in reducing immediate pain, and SOME injuries may necessitate larger periods of rest (ie. broken bone), avoiding movement altogether is rarely the best long-term solution.
In most cases, movement is a key part of recovery, not a barrier to it.
When we stop moving, the body adapts quickly - and not always in a helpful way. Joints stiffen, coordination declines, and pain sensitivity can increase. Prolonged inactivity can actually slow healing and the combined factor of fear of re-injury can result in people avoiding similar movements in the future, which makes the return to normal activity harder than it needs to be.
Movement, when chosen and progressed correctly for the type and stage of injury present, sends important signals to the body and mind. It improves blood flow to injured tissues, helps maintain strength and joint health, and supports the nervous system in relearning safe, confident movement. Just as importantly, it helps people stay engaged with their bodies rather than becoming fearful of pain or re-injury.
This doesn’t mean “pushing through pain” or training as if nothing happened… in fact that’s the complete opposite of what I am preaching as it’s a great way to ignore your incredible body’s ability to warn you when something isn’t right.
Smart movement is specific, controlled, and scaled to the injury and the individual. It might start with gentle range-of-motion work, light loading, or modified exercises - and gradually build from there.
Example:
You’ve hurt your back doing gardening.
Returning immediately to heavy gym training might not be a smart idea while your back is in an acute phase of injury.
Instead, maybe we could swap out some more challenging exercises like squats or deadlifts, for machine leg press to reduce the stress on your lower back but still allow you train to some capacity!
Rehabilitation is not about eliminating movement; it’s about finding the right movement at the right time. Staying active within safe limits often leads to better outcomes, faster returns to activity, and greater confidence in the body’s ability to heal.
If you’re injured, the goal isn’t to stop moving - it’s to move better, with guidance and intention.
If you’re looking for the best osteopath or coach in Brisbane with experiencing guiding people of all backgrounds and ages through an injury and back to enjoying an active life, feel free to contact me for an obligation-free conversation!
+61 420 555 885
