Fitness Guide on Healing: Gentle Exercises For Recovery
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- July 11, 2024
We often see and hear of patients who have been involved in some accidents or are recovering from ailments but still want to exercise at the gym. This could be a personal decision or something recommended by the medical professional. Recovering from an illness or accident requires a lot of rest and sufficient physical activity. Listening to your body and recharge through sleep is essential, but engaging in gentle exercise routines would also help build your body’s immunity. This fitness guide will point out gentle exercise routines to help you recover.
Neck Rotations and Shoulder Rolls
Whatever level of exercise you’re about to do, it’s important to prepare your body by loosening up. A perfect way to start is by engaging in neck rotations and shoulder rolls. They are simple but effective exercises that relieve tension and improve flexibility and relaxation in the neck, shoulders, and upper back.
Water Aerobics
This form of treatment is also known as hydrotherapy and is very common with patients with spinal injuries. This routine involves using water and its unique properties, such as buoyancy and resistance, to provide a low-impact and highly effective workout that can benefit individuals recovering from injuries and surgeries. Aquatic aerobics gives patients a rehabilitation environment for neuromuscular strengthening and decreases muscular pain. Immersing the patient in warm water increases blood circulation and lowers heart rate.
Core Stability Exercise
The pelvic tilt is an effective core stability exercise that involves lying on your back with your feet flat on the floor or gym ball. You gently tilt your pelvis upwards, flatten your lower back on the floor, and then release. Do this as much as your body can take.
Deep Breathing Exercises
This involves laying on your back, knees bent with hands on your abdomen, inhaling deeply through your nose, letting your tummy rise, and then exhaling through pursed lips. This particular breathing exercise is called diaphragmatic breathing.
Stationary Cycling
Also known as indoor cycling or spinning, patients use this form of exercise during recuperation as it’s highly beneficial for their recovery process. It’s a low-impact exercise routine mainly for the well-being of the patient’s heart. Since it’s for a recovering patient, therapists and physicians advise that such exercise is done in an indoor environment that can be adjusted to suit the patient’s needs. Another benefit of this exercise is that it helps to improve joint mobility in patients.
These exercise routines help those looking to get back after an injury or sickness and also double as a guide to beginners seeking gentle exercises to help them blend into the ways of the gym culture. Incorporating these gentle exercises into your recovery routine can help promote healing, reduce discomfort, and improve overall well-being. Remember to listen to your body, start slowly, and gradually increase the intensity and duration of your workouts as you progress on your journey to recovery.
