4 rehabilitation exercises to do after a car accident

After a car accident, your number one priority should be your physical health. Hopefully, this will allow you to return to the job you did before the accident and perform daily tasks at home as you did before. But sometimes, you might need to do a few rehabilitation exercises either at home or at the therapist’s office to have the support you need. 

Stretches

There are numerous types of stretching exercises you can do after a car accident. If you use weighted bands, then you can begin to increase your muscles’ resistance, which can then stretch your muscles even more over time. 

When you are stretching, there are some things to keep in mind to prevent muscle strains:

• Increase your water intake

• Start slow

• Warm up your body before stretching

Try not to stretch areas of your body within 72 hours of the accident. This is usually when severe injuries will show up, and you don’t want to damage your body further by stretching or pulling your muscles before they are ready.  

Massage Therapy

Sometimes, the best exercise to start with after an accident is massage therapy. This can get muscles relaxed and ready for more intense exercises that can strengthen them. 

Massage therapy should affect the entire body to discover the areas where you are hurting the most. Once your therapist determines the areas that need to be worked on, various types of massage can begin each week in order to relieve tension in the muscles. 

Once all damaged tissues are stimulated, the healing process can sometimes proceed faster than it would if you were to only rely on exercises. Massage can also reduce some of the scar tissue that can form in your muscles.  

Temperature Therapy

When you think of rehabilitation exercises, you might picture walking on a treadmill or riding a bike. Using heating pads and ice packs are a good option as well. Ice can be used to reduce the inflammation in your muscles. This is good to use in the beginning, soon after your accident, and before you start using other types of therapy, and before heat is introduced. If your muscles are sore, ice can act as a numbing agent.  

Heat is used to help increase the blood flow to your muscles. Once the blood starts flowing better, more oxygen can be delivered to your muscles and other areas of your body, enhancing the recovery process. If there is any inflammation, you don’t want to use heat as this could just continue irritating the area and delay the recovery. 

Ultrasound therapy is an option to consider as well, as it uses sound waves to stimulate the muscles. In conjunction with heat therapy, this is an excellent solution to consider if you don’t want to exercise every day of the week or even every other day.

Strengthening Exercises 

Once your muscles are stretched, and the inflammation is under control, you can work on strengthening your muscles. This will help with your overall flexibility and your range of motion, which can then assist you with daily activities in your life. 

Try to move around as much as possible during the recovery process instead of resting, as this can sometimes result in a setback in your therapy. Ways you can strengthen your muscles include walking, squatting, and lifting your legs and arms.

To Wrap It Up

These are just four of the many types of exercises you can try after a car accident to speed up recovery. Still, if you were severely injured, you might want to talk to a licensed therapist when choosing the right exercise for your condition.

Some traffic accidents can be so damaging that it might take years before full recovery is achieved. In most truck accidents involving a passenger car, for instance, full recovery is rarely an outcome. So, you might also want to talk to an experienced truck accident lawyer if medical and therapy bills are mounting. He or she can help you make those responsible for your injuries shoulder the costs.