Thriving In Rehab.
The period post-injury or surgery can be both disappointing and frustrating for many patients. You may feel like you’ll never get better or are not improving as quickly as you thought you would. It can even be intimidating to work with a physical or occupational therapist if you don’t know what to expect.
Don’t fret! We here at Hands That Touch Home Health have 3 tried, tested and research-based tips to help you stay motivated and come out of your rehab process healthier than you’ve ever been.
1. Rome wasn’t built in a day
The rehab process takes place in stages. Before you can begin working on strength and flexibility, your muscles have to be “re-taught” the proper way to function. Using these simple exercises to begin and then progressing to more difficult exercises ensures that you not only recover from your injury/surgery, but also aids in the prevention of future injuries to the same muscles or joints.
Don’t let yourself be frustrated if you don’t show signs of improvement early on. Keep reminding yourself that although the process may feel lengthy, it will all be worth it in the end.
2. Reward Yourself
A study at The University of Pennsylvania found that students who pair their workouts with something that they actually want to do, say watching an episode of their favorite tv show, were 29% more likely to work out than those that did not.
You can use a similar concept to help you stay motivated during your rehab process. Save that latest show episode, sweet treat or next chapter in that captivating murder-mystery you’ve been reading for AFTER each rehabilitation appointment. This “temptation bundling” will help your body and brain associate rehab more with the positive reward at the end-of-the-tunnel rather than the negative thoughts most people have.
3. Mood Music
A 2009 British study found that listening to music during physical exertion distracts athletes from “bodily awareness”.
What this means is that cranking the tunes during your rehab process will trick your body into thinking it’s not working as hard as it actually is. In fact, the study found that your performance can benefit up to 15%.
The more uptempo the playlist the better. Faster tunes have more information for our brains to process, which takes your mind off the stressful task at hand.
As always, you can contact us at Hands That Touch Home Health Services Inc for a free consultation about your skilled-nursing and physical therapy needs. We look forward to providing you and your family with the highest-quality, capable care for recovery or long term care at home.