Enhance Your Diet And Exercise Routine After A Nebraska Car Accident

According to a recent Gallup poll, Americans are exercising more frequently than ever, with 55.5% indicating frequent exercise in June 2015. This figure is the highest on record since Gallup and Healthways began tracking the metric in January 2008. Although you may have maintained a solid exercise routine over the years, a car accident can quickly throw your routine off track. In terms of maintaining physical health and emotional stability, exercise (combined with proper diet) could not be more important.

A 2010 Australian study found that “a dietary pattern of vegetables, fruit, beef, lamb, fish and whole-grain foods was associated with a reduced likelihood of major depressive disorder, dysthymia, and anxiety disorders.” After adjusting for age, socioeconomic status, education, and health behaviors, a nutritious diet (as outlined above) was much less likely to produce psychiatric disorders in patients when compared to a diet of processed or fried foods, refined grains, sugary products and beer.

A 2011 Nurses’ Health Study involving over 50,000 American women concluded that women who were more physically active had a reduced risk of clinical depression over 10 years of follow-up evaluations. A nutritious diet and regular physical activity strengthens your body, aids in the healing process, improves your mood, increases energy levels and promotes overall well-being. Although you should always discuss diet and exercise concerns with your doctor—particularly if you suffered from a serious injury after the accident—strongly consider moderating your carbohydrate intake (particularly if you’re overweight, diabetic or insulin resistant); limiting consumption of processed vegetable oils and sugar; and eating enough green, non-starchy vegetables, protein and health fats.

Exercising with an injury

Now that you understand the proven benefits of proper diet and exercise, the question remains: how can you successfully achieve your goal? More importantly, how can you maintain a healthy exercise routine while healing from an injury? As always, you should ultimately refer to your doctor for professional advice regarding your diet and exercise limitations. However, the following exercises can help you maintain an ideal level of fitness regardless of your current injuries.

• Tendinitis in shoulders, elbows, or other upper-body area: Variation may help you navigate overuse injuries like tendinitis, so be sure to regularly mix up your routine. Avoid the benchpress in exchange for body-weight dips on the Olympic rings to develop upper body strength with less strain on your shoulders. Work on opposing muscle groups, and listen to your body to avoid overdoing it.

• Knee injury or strain: Squats are a popular exercise for men and women, but if you feel your knees buckling inward with this exercise, it may be caused by a muscle imbalance in the hips. Your inner abductors (groin muscles) are typically stronger than the gluteus medius and other outer thigh abductor muscles. Talk to your trainer about wrapping a medium-strength TheraBand around the outside of both knees when performing squats to exert an outward force to strengthen hip abductors and improve movement patterns.

• Lower-body injury: Whether you have a sprained ankle or a broken foot, there are many high-intensity upper-body workouts you can try to stay fit without aggravating your injuries. Start with a few rounds of dumbbell rows, push-ups, sit-ups, triceps dips and seated dumbbell presses. Work your way up to a comfortable intensity level that your doctor recommends.

• Swimming, walking, yoga, and other light exercise activities are also excellent options for maintaining health and fitness while recovering from an injury. If you sustained particularly serious injuries, and you are experiencing significant difficulty getting back into your fitness routine, consider hiring a personal trainer to help you achieve proper form and determine an appropriate routine.

For immediate insight into your Nebraska car accident, call Inkelaar Law to get the justice you deserve at (877) 537-4665, or visit www.JusticeYouDeserve.com.