You can rebuild yourself

Having a physical injury is bad enough, but adding insult to the pain is the fact that being laid up can take a toll on your physical (and mental) health as well. Truth is, just sitting and waiting to heal while doing nothing is not the answer. In fact, it can often prolong and even inhibit the healing process.

On her website at www.sheilawagner.com, physical therapist Sheila Wagner gives several tips on staying fit and healthy while rehabbing. First off, you should get plenty of rest and eat healthfully (and possibly eat less if your activity is severely restricted) so that your body has plenty of energy and nutrition to heal tissues.

And, even though you’re injured, you have to move. With the assistance of a doctor/physical therapist, get into a new routine that works out the parts of your body that are not injured (in a way that doesn’t aggravate your injury). And, if at all possible, keep your cardio up: If your leg is injured, use an arm ergometer (stationary arm bike). Back injury? Water workouts might be the answer.