Chris Judd: How to recover from an injury

Injuries are a fact of life, especially for active people, and I’ve definitely had my fair share. Whether it’s a minor niggle or twinge that inhibits your exercise, or something more significant that puts you out of action for a while, an injury is never much fun.

Whatever the case, staying in control of your recovery is the fastest and most effective way to return to your peak performance. And it’s not just about your physical rehab – recovery is a mental thing, too.

I could tell plenty of stories about what went wrong with injuries I’ve had, but they would all come back to not respecting the recovery process as much as I should have.

I had a shoulder reconstruction after the 2006 Grand Final, and I was told not to run while I was in the sling. I disregarded that advice and started running three days after the surgery. Eight months later, I got really bad osteitis pubis. I suspect it was related to the imbalance caused by running with an injury.

It’s definitely a pattern for me. In 2013, I had an elbow operation and a wrist reconstruction on a Friday, and I had my 30th birthday planned for the Saturday. I decided not to cancel the party, despite the fact that the wrist reconstruction was the most painful operation I've ever had.

I waltzed along to my 30th the next day and started trying to party while heavily medicated. About 90 minutes in, I got sent home from my own event. In hindsight, maybe it wasn’t as great of an idea as I thought.

Recovery is a mental game as much as a physical one. It’s essential to have a plan on how you’re going to get better.

Remember, surgery may not be the only thing that will help you to recover from an injury – that’s when having the right mentality comes into play.

Some people are the inverse, though. They have an operation, and it becomes their whole identity for years. They use it as a crutch or an excuse. In a way, that's worse than disrespecting your physical recovery by coming back too early – at least in that case, you just wanted to get moving again.

Once you’ve got a plan, particularly goals you can achieve during your recovery, you start to retake control of things. Without a plan, it just feels hopeless, and the victim mentality takes over. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

As I learnt after my shoulder reconstruction, you need to respect medical professionals. Operations are really common, and there are lots of people having more serious procedures than you. The surgeons have seen it all before.

At the same time, you have to take ownership of your recovery. Sometimes people think they’ll just go to a surgeon, and he or she will fix whatever is wrong. Unfortunately, that’s not always how it works.

One thing I’ve found invaluable is taking the time to search for a medical opinion I can trust. Specialist physios are great. If you've got a shoulder injury and want to get a really good program, chances are a physio who only does shoulders will give you a more tailored one than a generalist. It’s just finding that balance, and not having too many voices with conflicting views.

In the end, you’ve got to do the rehab yourself, and invest the time to do it properly. People can get into this habit of searching for some magical panacea, but once you’ve gathered enough information from the experts, the main thing is to get on with it.

Then you’ll hit the ground running once again, hopefully stronger than ever.

Former Australian Rules footballer Chris Judd is familiar with how to get your heart rate up and push yourself physically. Twice winner of the prestigious Brownlow Medal, Chris is an honoured sportsman and father to four children, Oscar, Billie, Tom and Darcy. The information in this article is general information only and is not intended as medical, health, nutritional or other advice. You should obtain professional advice from a medical or health practitioner in relation to your own personal circumstances.