Healing

“Healing takes time,” said Hippocrates, the father of medicine.” And despite all the medical progress in over 2000 years since, that remark is still valid. One of Flow Motion’s objectives is to avoid the sort of complications that prevent rehabilitation.

The complications which arise are often an outcome of inactivity. As well as avoiding complications, Flow Motion assists the recovery process together with a safe return to full activity, at the same time as reducing to a minimum the chances of further injury.

But if recovery requires time and the necessary rest why don't we just leave all (sports) injuries alone and let them heal by themselves?

There are at least eight major reasons, or possible complications, why we advise against complete rest until injuries are healed.

1. Rest leads to stiffness in the joints. The joints are lubricated and fed by fluids and to ensure that these fluids do their work properly and are spread over the joints, movement is vital.

Keeping the joints motionless for any length of time reduces the health of the cartilage covering the joint so the smooth-flowing, natural movement of the joint, becomes impaired.

2. Keeping the joint still for any length of time, causes stiffness in the bands, muscles, and sinews. In combination with stiffness in the joints, this leads to a noticeable reduction in the body’s natural capacity for movement and flexibility.

3. A third complication is reduced to poor blood circulation. The blood flows through the veins back to the heart and lungs. Muscle activity is the major force driving the blood back to the heart. During lengthy periods of rest, the muscles are inactive leading to an inadequate flow of blood through the veins back to the heart and lungs.

Rest also leads to loss of the normal tension present in the veins, thereby hindering the normal process of circulation. Poor circulation can lead to congestion, blocking the blood flow, leading to swelling in the inactive parts of the body.

4. Osteoporosis is the reduction in the strength of the bones through dilution of the calcium which gives the bones their strength and firmness. The bones in the body are in a continuous process of breakdown (of the old) and reconstitution (of the new).

This is a natural process and quite normal; the bones become firmer if they are regularly put under strain through activity. Where the normal strain on the bones disappears through lengthy periods of rest, the organism reacts to this by withdrawing the calcium from the bones.

5. The fifth complication arising from lengthy rest is the noticeable reduction in muscle power and muscle mass. This is of particular concern to sportsmen and sportswomen. The process starts in fact after a few days of inactivity.

6. The sixth complication is a factor which most people are unaware of: pain tolerance is reduced and the pain threshold lowered. Following a period of rest, the injured area becomes more sensitive because the nerves are sensitised by pressure and activity and this in turn stimulates the pain.

7/8 The last two complications that arise during prolonged periods of rest are the gradual reduction in the aerobic and anaerobic capacity of the body.

Having read the list of complications that can arise; you will now understand why we advise patients against resting completely during recovery from injury.

With Flow Motion you keep your muscles toned up and give yourself as much room as possible to make the movements.

You keep in condition by regularly invoking and bringing into play all the other, healthy, unaffected parts of the body.

When we do that we can reduce to a minimum the complications brought about by complete rest. By doing so we also ensure a return to normal activity in as short a time as possible.