When embarking on the journey to recover from pain and/or an injury, we often see the road to recovery as being a straight line of progress with time. Unfortunately, the reality for the vast majority of people is that this road has a few bumps and turns in it despite the overall pattern of recovery heading in the same direction. There are many reasons for the undulations that many people experience , some of which we will discuss below.
One of the most common reasons is that finding the right balance of enough but not too much load is often a delicate balance that may need adjusting along the way. We can also easily forget that injured or painful areas have a threshold that is reduced, and hence even some of our “normal” loads and activities can be too much. This also makes monitoring load more challenging as we disregard these activities which contribute to the overall volume and intensity of load.
Recovery is a process that involves the coordinated effort of our body systems to achieve. For tissues to regenerate or heal they need certain nutrients and also appropriate rest. Unfortunately, pain and injury often negatively impact on our sleep quality and quantity. We may be woken up by pain or become more restless throughout the night as we change position frequently. All of this can slow and influence our recovery.
Another factor which is commonly overlooked is stress. When we are stressed, our inflammation levels elevate and our body shifts its focus from recovery to survival mode. It is easy to dismiss the effects of stress on our body, however technological advances in body monitoring have made it easier to identify. Heart rate variability is a marker that many smart watches record that can do just this. A low beat to beat variability in heart rate indicates the body is in fight or flight mode vs rest and digest mode.
In more recent years, there is more and more research showing that your attitudes and beliefs towards your recovery are a large predictor of your outcome. The saying “if you think you can or you think you can’t you’re right either way” holds true. A lot of this comes down to your understanding of what has and is happening to the body during recovery. If you have any questions about your recovery, it is important to ask. Common questions may be around discomfort during exercises, activities to avoid or what the normal length of time to recover is.
As mentioned at the start, there are other reasons that may influence your recovery journey however the key thing to remember is that while you may have your ups and downs, try to look broader at the overall picture. While you may temporarily feel las though you are going backwards in your recovery when you have a bad day, often you are still better than where you were at the start of the journey and you recuperate at a faster rate to a level that is higher than where you were before.