The idea of putting your body under strain to help you recover from an accident may sound like a bad idea, but the truth is that kettlebell training may actually help a person whose mobility was compromised in an accident.
It’s scary to imagine your life being completely altered by a major vehicular accident, or worse, a motorcycle crash. In fact, according to a motorcycle accident lawyer, among the many types of motor vehicle crashes, motorcycle accidents are the most dangerous. Motorcycle riders are more likely to sustain severe injuries because of the fact that they are completely exposed in an accident.
If you’ve found yourself injured in a motorcycle accident, kettlebell training is one of the best exercises to assist in your recovery. Here’s why:
Strength Training Stimulates Muscle Growth
Strength training exercises enable a person to strengthen muscles besides those in the injured area. This not only helps you compensate for the limited mobility of the injured limb, but by strengthening other limbs, the injured limb is given a better chance to recover. What sets kettlebell workouts apart is that they also factor in control and mobility. The ballistic movement needed to perform kettlebell exercises helps stimulate growth in supporting muscle groups.
Strength Training Also Stimulates Bone Growth and Density
The shearing and compressive forces of strength training triggers an increase in both bone density and strength. This means that even people with broken bones can completely recover, as the stress that bones go through during strength training activates osteoblasts, which are the cells responsible for bone formation.
Why Kettlebells?
While regular weight training is a good way to start your recovery, there will eventually come a need to transition into an exercise that implements a lot of movement and flexibility. It’s not enough to regain the strength in a limb. In order for a person to fully recover their mobility, they must also re-learn how to use the injured limb in tandem with other limbs. Most kettlebell exercises are a balanced mix of strength training, mobility training, cardio, and flexibility training and they help a person master control over inertia.
Psychological Health
Another thing to consider is that an immobilized person runs the risk of falling into depression. It’s a scary prospect to be fully mobile one day, only to have simple functions be impeded after an accident. Exercise not only benefits the body, but the mind as well in how it stimulates the production of neurotransmitters such as dopamine, oxytocin, and serotonin. As most rehabilitative therapists know, recovery happens in the mind just as much as it happens in the body.
The prospect of losing mobility is something that all athletes fear. There are few things more heart-breaking than reaching the full capacity of what your body can do, only to have it taken away in a few seconds. If you’ve been involved in an accident, use these tips to help you on the road to recovery.
