Injury Recovery Isn’t Just About Ice Packs—Here’s the Full Picture

In the world of health problems, traumatic injuries can be some of the worst. Not only have you sustained some kind of physical damage, but these kinds of injuries also mess with your mind. If you’ve ever had a bad fall, been in a car accident or had a sports mishap that has caused physical damage, you know what I’m talking about. Healing the emotional wounds can often take just as long or much longer than recovering from the physical trauma.

Physical Healing

In most cases, healing physical damage that you’ve sustained from a fall or an accident has a fairly clear course of action, however some steps depend on the severity of your injury, your level of pain, the need for surgery or further interventions, and how quickly you tend to heal.

What you do in the early hours and days after an injury can make or break your recovery process. Even if you’re not sure of the extent of your injury, getting to a doctor or emergency department immediately after you’ve been hurt can give you a diagnosis, a clear pathway to treatment, and help prevent doing further damage.

You may be sent home with a prescription to control your pain along with instructions for a protocol called RICE.  This means Rest, Ice, Compression (such as an ace bandage to prevent swelling), and to Elevate the injured area, which also prevents swelling. You may also be provided with a splint or cast to immobilize the affected area. Certainly, for more serious injuries, you may be hospitalized, need further tests, or imaging and possibly surgery. The severity and extent of your physical damage will determine the length and course of your recovery.

Beyond the RICE protocol, of course healing takes time, but there are some concrete things that you can be doing to help speed up the healing process:

• In addition to resting the injured area, get enough sleep. It’s vital because your body heals and rejuvenates itself while you’re sleeping.
• Eat well and stay hydrated. Your body is flushing out cellular debris and rebuilding tissue. Getting enough fluids and eating a wide variety of whole foods gives your body the tools it needs to do these tasks.
• Being in pain slows down the healing process. You may need pain medications in the early days after your injury, especially if a fracture or surgery is involved. And this is where acupuncture can also be a great option for controlling pain.
• When the time is right, as recommended by your doctor or practitioner, slowly begin moving your body. Gentle exercise or stretching can actually help reduce your pain, increase the circulation of blood and healing nutrients and speed up healing. A physical therapist can be helpful at this stage, as they can prescribe stretches and exercises that promote healing, increase your range of motion and help you to begin to build strength, without incurring further injury.

• That said, don’t be tempted to over “test” your injury. Pushing it before you’re completely healed is a recipe for a setback.
• Consider acupuncture to support your healing journey. Scientists have found that acupuncture can help in managing your pain, reducing inflammation, promoting circulation and relieving muscular tension and spasms. In addition, studies have concluded that acupuncture can help with nerve regeneration and promote faster healing.
• Find a practitioner that offers, Cold laser therapy or LLLT. Cold laser uses low intensity red and infrared light to reduce pain, reduce inflammation and stimulate the healing process. The red and infrared light penetrates deeply into the tissue to produce reactions at a cellular level and trigger the healing response. Healing time can be significantly reduced when laser therapy is applied.

Emotional Healing

If you’ve fallen and broken bones or have been involved in an accident, you understand that the trauma is far more than just physical injuries. Some incidents in which you have been injured can cause post trauma symptoms, such as reliving the accident, fear of it happening again, avoiding certain situations that may remind you of the accident, and all of these feelings being triggered by seemingly unrelated thoughts or events. In addition, many people who have been traumatized in this way find that their capacity for handling stressful situations is greatly reduced.

So, what can you do? There’s no simple answer, but in most cases it gets better. These feelings recede, but may never go away entirely. However, there are some things that you can do to help yourself:

• It’s important to acknowledge that you have some level of post-traumatic stress from your accident, and that it’s a normal reaction. This gives you permission to treat yourself with kindness and understand where your feelings are coming from.
• Tell a friend or family member about what you’re going through. It can be really freeing to explain to others how your accident has affected you emotionally.
• Get help from a mental health professional if you find your trauma-based emotions are sliding toward depression, anxiety or if the trauma is leading to flashbacks, nightmares or disrupting your daily life.
• Meditation, visualization or yoga (when you’re physically ready), which can be helpful in reducing stress.
• As you heal both physically and emotionally, rejoin your previous life by reconnecting with your friends and getting back into regular routines. That said, don’t push it; make sure these are things that you enjoy doing.
• Think about incorporating acupuncture into your emotional healing plan. It’s well-known that acupuncture is an effective way to reduce stress, as it increases the circulation of neurotransmitters that promote feelings of relaxation and calm. In addition, the act of having acupuncture is inherently calming, as you lay down, relax and listen to soothing music during your treatment.

One last word: Being involved in a traumatic accident or injury can rock your life. However, it also teaches you how resilient you are. It gives you the opportunity to treat yourself with kindness and take stock of your vast toolbox of strengths. If you’re recovering from a traumatic injury of any kind, I’d like to be a part of your team. Give me a call to find out more about how I can help.

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