How to Accelerate Your Recovery After a Motor Vehicle Accident
Motor vehicle accidents can be costly, frustrating, and painful. Even a minor incident can have major ramifications – especially when an injury is involved. Knowing how to reach a fast and full recovery will help you get back to normal and enjoying your life.
Try These 4 Recovery Tips
Every situation is unique. Your recovery is going to be much quicker if you have a fracture, versus a traumatic brain injury (TBI). But regardless of your condition and physical injuries, there are some steps you can take to speed up the recovery process and increase your chances of reaching a full recovery. Let’s take a look:
Listen to Your Medical Team
The best piece of advice is to listen to the advice of your medical team. They’ve spent years studying medicine and working with patients like you. In all likelihood, they’ve seen patients with identical conditions and symptoms. They know what’s best and you can accelerate your healing by following their instructions to a T.
This isn’t to say you should blindly do whatever your doctor tells you. If you’re skeptical or unsure of something, ask for an explanation. As you learn the “why” behind your recovery plan, you’ll understand the importance of following each step along the way.
Get Your Financials in Order
Unfortunately, there is a financial component to recovering from a serious accident. While you may wish to ignore this side of things, you have to be realistic and think about finances.
Insurance should cover many of your medical bills, but depending on the extent of your injuries, it may not come close to the total amount. This is why it’s helpful to have an attorney on your side. Even if you don’t end up filing a claim, you can get the expert advice you need on how to proceed.
Manage Your Diet and Nutrition
“When your body is on the road to recovery, it is burning up your intake of nutrients at a much higher rate. Keeping track of your food intake is crucial while in recovery,” Dr. Rahul Dubey explains. “When your body is regenerating tissue, it requires protein rich foods as well as foods rich in Vitamin A and Vitamin C.”
It’s also extremely important to stay hydrated. Drinking lots of water helps you reduce inflammation and swelling, aids in tissue and muscle recovery, and adequately supplies your organs with the fluids they need to function properly.
You need at least six to eight cups of water every day after your accident. Avoid alcohol, soda, and sugary drinks at all costs. Some flavored waters are okay if you’re having trouble drinking enough plain water.
Get Plenty of Rest
As hard as it can be to sit still, rest is one of the crucial ingredients to recovery. Your body needs time to heal and repair, which is impossible if you’re pushing to return to normal activities right away. Again, follow the directions of your medical team and don’t engage in physical activities until you’ve been cleared to do so.
Putting It All Together
A motor vehicle accident is hard on many fronts. Not only are there physical ailments and injuries, but you may also have to deal with some of the emotional and psychological ramifications of a serious accident. Taking a lackluster approach will yield poor results. Under the guidance of your medical and legal counsel, be proactive and accelerate your recovery as much as possible. In doing so, you’ll find that your life normalizes sooner rather than later.