Navigating Injuries: Maintaining Your Fitness Routine Post-WLS

We all know that staying active is crucial for maintaining a balanced, healthy lifestyle and achieving the best results after weight loss surgery (WLS). But what happens when you sustain a sudden injury or an old injury resurfaces?

Understandably, this can disrupt your routine and make it challenging to stay as active as you’d like.

However, with a bit of planning and expert guidance, you can find alternative movements or modifications to stay active safely, without further harming the injured area. This way, you can stay on track and continue working towards your healthier future.

The Importance of Staying Active

While rest is essential during the initial rehabilitation of any injury, staying active in any way possible helps you maintain the progress you've made on your journey. It also aids in dealing with the injury mentally and transitioning back to your full routine.

Maintaining some level of physical activity while injured is important not just for weight management but also to prevent physical deconditioning. Research indicates that even short periods of bed rest can lead to changes in soft tissue and bone, such as muscle weakening, decreased flexibility, joint stiffness, and reduced bone mineral density.

In the initial stages of an injury, it's crucial to prevent further damage to the injured area. However, under the guidance of a trained professional, you can often work on moving body parts above and below the injured area. This might include flexibility exercises, aerobic activities, or resistance training, as long as the injured area is not stressed, causing pain or discomfort.

Once the injured area starts to heal, typically within a few days depending on the injury, it's important to focus on restoring pain-free movement with gentle exercises and stretching.

How to Stay Active with an Injury

Here are some tips to help you stay active when an injury occurs:

1. Seek Professional Advice and Treatment

Always consult a qualified rehabilitation professional, such as a physiotherapist or exercise physiologist. Pushing through injuries without proper guidance can lead to chronic issues that may last for months or even years, negatively impacting your physical and mental well-being. A professional can provide a comprehensive plan to manage and treat your injury with strategies tailored to your situation.

2. Listen to Your Body
If an activity causes pain, it is likely not beneficial. Avoid pushing through the pain to prevent further damage.

3. Focus on Uninjured Areas

Use the injury as an opportunity to work on other parts of your body. For example, if you have a neck or shoulder injury, consider walking more or working on lower limb flexibility. If you’ve injured your ankle, focus on abdominal exercises and improving posture.      

4. Enhance Other Aspects of Your Well-Being

During the initial rest period, concentrate on other aspects of your health:

• Nutrition: Develop a meal plan for the week or month to stay on track with your dietary goals.
• Activity Planning: Create a gradual plan to ease back into your full routine.
• Mental Health: Try incorporating meditation into your daily routine to build a healthy mental habit.

5. Gradual Progression
When resuming your routine, start slowly and gradually increase your activity level. For example, if you enjoy running or walking and are recovering from a muscle strain, plan to increase the distance or speed that you walk by 10% each week to allow your muscles to adapt and recover properly.

Staying active, even with an injury, is crucial. It will help you maintain the gains you’ve already made and keep you on track to achieve your health and fitness goals. Remember, with the right approach and mindset, you can overcome this hurdle and continue your journey toward a healthier you.