5 Ways to Speed Injury Recovery!

I think we can all agree that injury recovery should happen as quickly as possible. To ensure that we recover quickly from any injury, we need to know what to do before we get injured so we can respond quickly. Let's have a game plan ready so we know what steps to take to heal as fast as possible.

Let's take charge of our own healing so we can quickly recover from any running injury!

Running injuries can often take a long time to heal but if we are more involved in the healing process, we can heal much faster. I believe that the methods described below will not only help you recover faster but regular use of them will also help prevent new injuries from developing.

Note: Always seek and follow professional advice.

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Practices to speed injury recovery

We can start any of the following practices on our own immediately and in conjunction with any professional advice we receive:

1) Self-massage

As most running injuries occur in the lower body, we can easily use self-massage to speed injury recovery. We can begin as soon as we notice pain or tightness in an area. Self-massage helps get blood circulating in the painful area and will kickstart the healing process. In addition to using our hands, we can use tennis or golf balls to gently massage parts that are more difficult to reach.

Whatever way we choose to perform self-massage, it will be much more beneficial if we remain mindful during the process. Being mindful helps develop a stronger mind and body connection, which is instrumental in achieving long-term injury free running.

2) Utilize the power of our thoughts

Thoughts do create things. So let's stop focusing on our injury and stop trying to figure out what we did wrong. Negative thoughts have a negative effect on our body, which is not conducive to healing. If we continually tell ourselves that our body is weak, we will begin to believe it and continue to have injuries in the same area. Remember: Our Cells are Listening and responding to our thoughts.

Let's be kind and generous to ourselves and choose to think positive thoughts. What we think, we believe and what we believe becomes our reality. So let's start thinking about what we want. We want to have strong healthy bodies and we want to be happy. So let's keep those thoughts active in our mind because we know and believe this to be true: "My body knows how to heal itself and I am already starting to feel better!" Right?

3) Visualize healing

When a part of our body is sore or injured, it is difficult to remember what it is like to run without pain. We can speed injury recovery by helping ourselves remember what running pain-free feels like. Visualizing helps our body to repair itself as the mind cannot distinguish the difference between a mental picture and physical reality.

Start with this short visualization exercise:

Sit comfortably with your eyes closed. Breathe slowly and deeply to relax your mind and body.

Visualize heat forming in the injured part of your body. Allow the heat to build as you imagine breathing into the area. The heat brings healing to the area and you have confidence in its power. You feel good!

Then, in your mind's eye, see and feel yourself running strong and healthy again. All pain is gone and you feel great. Your body moves easily and in perfect form. You feel each foot as it lands firmly on the ground for a brief moment and releases again in a continuous and powerful movement.

Hold this image of yourself in your mind for a minute or two or as long as you can. Then let it go and give thanks that you are being healed.

Read more about Visualization Techniques

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4) Meditate on the injury

Meditating on injuries can really help in speeding injury recovery, but if our minds are not in a positive, healthy place, we will not feel like meditating. If you tend to feel like this, use positive affirmations (see below) until you feel better and then try meditating on your injury.

Use the meditations in this article to help you with injury recovery: Meditate on running injuries or download this recorded Running Injury Healing Meditation. Listening to a guided healing meditation can be especially helpful as you can relax and give your full attention to healing.

5) Positive Affirmations

Positive affirmations help us feel better and when we feel good, we heal faster. Use a positive affirmation such as: 'I have a strong and healthy body' or create one that is specific to your injury. It is easy to get down or even depressed when we are injured and are not free to live life as we usually do. Positive affirmations help keep our mind in a positive, healthy state which is essential to faster injury recovery. See this article for more positive affirmations.

Try these self-healing practices. You will be amazed at how quickly you begin to recover from your injury.

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