Do you need rest?

Something I get asked often by patients when they have an injury is "should I rest?”. And the answer, as with most things, is never straightforward. This not only can depend on the injury, and how acute it is, but also on the person. It quickly becomes multi-faceted. And though rest is crucial to your body’s healing process, so is movement.

Personally I am a MOVER. I gravitate towards movement as medicine, and though this can be beneficial, it also can be challenging. One of the hardest parts of pain, or an injury, is the MENTAL side of things. I know for me personally, I workout and move my body as part of my mental health, not just physical health. So if you too gravitate towards movement, then sometimes we need reminders to take more rest, or it needs to be a clear part of your rehab program.

But others can easily gravitate more towards rest, or FREEZE, and not moving. And though your body needs rest to recover and replenish, it also needs movement to move nutrients around the body. Your body needs movement so that new patterns can be created, and old pain patterns can be unlearned. And this has its own mental load: if you are used to not moving, then movement requires battling what your brain deems as “safe”. Getting through the hurdles of moving, and prioritizing movement becomes best for these people.

Now, whether you gravitate towards movement or rest, neither is “good” or “bad”, but you truly need BOTH to heal. And finding the balance of the two is the tricky part. When deciphering what is needed, these are the main points I think about and look at:

• avoid a pain inducing activity or motion as much as possible

• how can movement still occur (pain free) within the joint or region

• mobilize the surrounding areas- think above and below the primary joint/ region

• what is the best way to rest (while still maintaining mobility)

• does rest need to be “programmed” in- for us “movers” you might need to put it IN your schedule

• lifestyle factors: nutrition, hydration, occupation- do you need to supplement with a protein or vitamins or electrolytes? Are you getting adequate nutrition, and what could help you achieve this? Maybe a supplement, or some basic meal planning/ prepping

• what is realistic, and what is optimal

Now the last point is probably the hardest, yet most critical: what is realistic, and what is optimal. And this is where people really struggle. Because often, you have a notion that it will just “go away on its own '' or that “the body will fix itself”. Yes your body is incredibly intelligent, but it is mostly very ADAPTABLE. And this is great, you can be so thankful you are adaptable and able to re-pattern your neuro pathways throughout life, BUT these pathways auto correct to the path of least resistance, and the path of least resistance isn’t always the OPTIMAL path. That may sound counter-intuitive, but for example if you step on a thorn and it goes into your foot it will cause pain. Your body will compensate and change your gait pattern to avoid this pain- phew! But this compensation comes at a cost, your ankle might be rotated, which is going to play a role on the outside of your leg, which is going to have an impact on your hip which will effect your low back over time, etc (not necessarily optimal). Now once that thorn is removed, it takes CONSCIOUS effort for you to walk “normally” again, and for that gait cycle to feel regular. Eventually you will get there, but it takes effort, and your body does not like putting forth effort all the time.

So building a treatment or rehab plan that is both realistic, and optimal is incredibly important and tedious work. The question then gets turned away from movement or rest, and towards movement AND rest, and finding the right focus and balance for the individual.