5 Common Lifestyle Factors That Can Affect Musculoskeletal Healing

Posted by painPRO Clinics on June 30th, 2021

Do you have a musculoskeletal injury that you need to heal? Sprains and strains can take anywhere from a few days to a few weeks to heal. In more severe cases, you might need to recover for months before getting back to your old ways.

Recovery isn’t always smooth sailing. There are a lot of external and internal factors that could delay your progress and slow down your healing. Your lifestyle, for instance, could be what’s causing you not to heal properly from your injuries. Here are just a few of the factors that can affect your healing progress:

Eating Habits

What you eat can affect your healing because certain foods can exacerbate or cause inflammation. Processed foods and foods high in sugar and carbohydrates, for instance, are highly inflammatory. If your diet is riddled with these foods, it will surely take a long time for you to heal your injuries.

You can switch to a whole food diet instead. Eat more plants. Go for meat and fishes. Some fishes contain omega-3 fatty acids that are also good in keeping inflammation at bay. Eat fruits and vegetables that contain a lot of vitamin C as well. This vitamin is essential for tissue healing.

Stress

We are exposed to stress on a daily basis. But when we get inundated with stress, that is when our body suffers the most. Too much stress can trigger an inflammatory response. Your body will always be in a fight or flight mode, which can drive all resources into fighting off stress.

Obesity

Being overweight can take a toll on the muscles. If you have injuries in the lower extremities, the weight from your body will press down on it, making it more difficult to move around and making it harder for the injuries to completely heal.

Bad Vices

Bad vices such as drinking alcohol can slow down healing. Alcoholic drinks even have diuretic effects, which can dehydrate the muscle tissues. Also, avoid smoking. The chemicals in cigarettes will be absorbed by the tissues and can cause faster cellular death.

Inactivity/Sedentary Lifestyle

One common misconception people have when it comes to healing from injuries is that they should be sedentary. But this is more harmful. Not doing anything weakens the muscles more. Consider getting physio in Vancouver instead.

If you are not sure how to start exercising during your recovery, get physio in Vancouver. An expert in physio in Vancouver from clinics such as PainPro can guide you as to what to do. Your physiotherapist can assist you in performing exercises that can strengthen the injured area.

What this does is improve your mobility, speed up your healing and prevent more injuries to the same spot from happening.

Make sure you consider all these factors when trying to recover from an injury. That way, you can find the right treatments that will work for you.

Graham Arnold is the author of this article. For more details about Massage Therapy in Vancouver please visit our website: painproclinics.com