Lifestyle Changes to Prevent Further Injury and Improve Recovery

Check out this go-to guide that explains lifestyle changes after a car accident and how they can help recovery.

Written by CrashMD staff

Lifestyle changes after accidents can be very difficult to achieve. The last life event that anyone wants to partake in is an accident, and specifically a car accident. While cars are built to help keep us safe, the force of impact can create injuries or issues that can prevent the car accident victim from walking away unscathed. If you have recently been in a car accident and are trying to put the pieces together for your recovery, there are steps that you can take to prevent further injury and improve recovery. 

While pain medications, alternative treatments and minimally-invasive options are the ideal therapies for recovering from an injury and subsequent pain symptoms, there are additional steps a person can take to help their body heal as quickly as possible. Suffering from an injury is painful enough, and chronic pain and surgical methods should be avoided at all costs. With the help of lifestyle changes, you can increase your chances for a safe, healthy and expedited recovery process. 

Lifestyle Changes After Accidents Promote Healing

Sometimes the best treatment options are the ones that are “simple,” or “why didn’t I think of that?” solutions. In a world of prescriptions for pain medication, surgeries and long-term care assistance, it could be easy to overlook some of the more basic options. This is where lifestyle changes – or enhancements! – come into play. 

Of course, certain lifestyle changes are only made possible depending on the severity of the injury. But, there is a great opportunity to incorporate some or all of the available and most widely recommended lifestyle changes to best help in both improving recovery as well as preventing reinjury after a crash. 

Some of the key lifestyle changes that an injured person can make include: 

• Rest: taking a break is an often overlooked but wildly helpful treatment option for those who are experiencing pain. Not only can it help to prevent further strain, it can also help to give the body some time to heal. Low-impact exercises such as walking, swimming and light exercise can also help with active recovery. It’s important to not push yourself too hard when you’re healing. It can be frustrating to not be able to enjoy your normal daily activities, but remember that it’s only temporary and a few helpful days or weeks now could yield better results for years to come. 
• Nutrition: eating a balanced diet has proven helpful for speeding recovery. By giving your body the necessary protein, nutrients, amino acids and vitamins, you’re able to accelerate the healing process because your body has everything it needs to heal from within. It can be difficult to get all of the nutrients you need when you’re injured and, for example, bed ridden, so if you aren’t able to cook your own foods or go grocery shopping for fresh fruits and vegetables, you can resort to nutritional supplements, which are a convenient and effective way to get the support you need. Anti-inflammatory rich foods are also a good option during this time of healing, so be sure to incorporate those certain key food groups to help with pain relief. Also, it’s important to drink water because that will both help your muscles and soft tissues feel better, and can also help your food and supplements be absorbed into the body. 
• Low-impact exercise and stretching: both low-impact exercises and properly stretching can help to ease your body back into a more active lifestyle. It’s important to both warm up and cool down properly, as well as utilizing specific stretching techniques to help increase flexibility and motion. This will help to alleviate pain symptoms and reduce muscle tension and spasms during the healing phase, as well as promote greater motion and flexibility that will help prevent future injuries. It’s important to focus on strengthening exercises that target the specific muscles in the affected area, or also where the pain is felt. 
• Body awareness: it’s important, both during the recovery process and to avoid future injuries, to listen to your body and recognize when something feels painful or even just not normal. Oftentimes a minor ache or pain can be exacerbated by ignoring it, so if you feel like you’re experiencing more headaches than usual, or your knee hurts as a result of the car accident, you should seek help. Additionally, while you’re receiving treatment, make sure that you are not taxing your body with needless exercises. You will soon be back to enjoying your normal daily routine, so it’s crucial to allow your body to rest when it needs it. 
• Relaxation techniques: taking advantage of breathing exercises, meditation, biofeedback and yoga can all help to manage stress and reduce chronic pain symptoms. These techniques have shown to effectively reduce pain intensity, increase pain tolerance, and enhance overall well-being. An added benefit is that a person is able to feel more in control of their pain, or management of pain, which helps to combat feelings of helplessness and despair. 
• Weight loss: maintaining an ideal weight and BMI can significantly alleviate chronic pain because it can reduce joint stress, decrease inflammation, improve mobility, and allow a person to sleep better. If you think about it, every added pound not only puts more pressure on your body when moving, but also creates more stress for your organs and bodily systems. By focusing on a health weight, you can aid in your recovery methods now, as well as prevent additional injuries in the future. 
• Quitting smoking: we all know that smoking, or the use of tobacco products, is bad for you, but did you know that there is a direct correlation with smoking and chronic pain? Quitting smoking has been linked to improved circulation, decreased inflammation, better lung health, enhanced pain management, and psychological benefits, such as reduced chances of expressing depression or anxiety. By not smoking, a patient can expect to experience reduced pain, a shortened period of recovery, better pain management, and an increased quality of life. 
• Get enough sleep: sleep goes hand in hand with injury recovery. A person who is in pain might find it difficult falling asleep or staying asleep, which creates feelings of tiredness during the day. When a person is overly tired, their pain symptoms are heightened, which in turn leads them to becoming increasingly unable to fall asleep and stay asleep. By utilizing relaxation techniques and low-impact exercise routines, a patient is able to better manage their overall health and feelings of pain so that they can hopefully end the sleep/pain cycle. Also, while we sleep, our bodies, specifically our cells, repair and relax. 
• Staying hydrated: drinking enough water on a healthy day is crucial, but it’s even more so crucial when you’re in pain. This is because water helps our bodies stay properly regulated, meaning that our brain and muscles can function properly. If the body is lacking water, it leads to decreased circulation to our tissues and organs, which can cause fatigue, muscle cramping, and other system issues. Drinking the appropriate amount of water for your body size will help to ensure that the body is properly set up to help aid in the healing process and reduce pain symptoms. 

Lifestyle Changes After Accidents Improve Quality of Life

While there are a myriad of lifestyle changes or enhancements that a person can make to improve their recovery, the best way to move forward is to partner with a skilled pain management specialist who can recommend the best lifestyle changes that will make the greatest impact for your overall health and lifestyle goals. They are able to create personalized rehabilitation plans that will target both your underlying cause of pain as well as the symptoms. It’s essential to utilize a balanced approach that includes physical activity, nutrition and mindfulness techniques that will best allow your body time to heal properly. 

By giving your body the tools it needs to heal, as well as empowering your mind to actively manage your pain symptoms, a person suffering from pain can take charge and reduce their feelings of pain while improving their quality of life. Also, focusing on a health lifestyle can help to proactively ensure that you are avoiding any future ailments (that are within your control) because you will be a healthier, more mobile, and better functioning body. The best news is that many of these lifestyle changes can be done at home. Everyone can benefit from improving their lifestyle and all it takes is partnering with a pain management specialist who can make necessary recommendations. 

If you have recently suffered from an injury as a result of a car accident, seeking guidance from a pain management specialist is a great way to enjoy the best chance of comfortable and efficient relief from your pain symptoms. They will be able to recommend lifestyle changes for you to help aid in treating your symptoms now as well as preventing reinjuries after the crash. The CrashMD team has successfully helped patients improve their lifestyle with the goal to reduce their pain symptoms, all without having to result in surgical intervention or long-term pain medication use. If you’d like more information about what lifestyle changes could benefit you, please schedule an appointment with the CrashMD team today.