If you’ve suffered an accident or injury to a joint, it is important to keep your body in motion during the healing process. Severely limiting movement can make injuries worse and encourage the body to take a longer time to heal. For this reason, physical therapists and rehabilitation specialists rely on a variety of exercises and equipment to help their clients reduce discomfort and experience faster healing. The elliptical machine is one important tool that these professionals use to assist in the important goals.
How do Elliptical Machines Support Effective Rehabilitation Efforts?
Elliptical machines are found in rehabilitation centers across the country for a very good reason. They provide a number of recognized benefits to assist with recovery from accidents and injuries that affect the health of the joints. Consider the following five benefits that can come about from using elliptical machines in the rehabilitation recovery process.
- Provides an Easier Source of Exercise Following Injuries
It’s true that you want to keep exercising regularly even after suffering an injury. However, the type of exercise you perform does need to be modified to account for the effects of the injury. Elliptical machines provide a fluid motion that makes it easy to increase your heart rate without placing additional strain on the areas of your body that have been injured. Remaining in motion can reduce the pain, inflammation, and joint stiffness that often accompanies injuries.
- Increase Blood Flow to the Injured Area
Movement encourages the muscles to remain warm and limber, which cuts down on pain and stiffness. Exercise also helps promote a healthy amount of blood flow to the injured area, which speeds the healing process. As long as the form of exercise engaged in is low-impact, the benefits of remaining active are enormous.
- Low-Impact on Knee and Hip Joints
The unique gliding motion and the fact that the feet remain stationary while using an elliptical machine make it one of the best ways to get low-impact exercise. With regular walking and jogging, the feet are raised and then make a striking motion against the ground with each step. This action is avoided with the elliptical machine. By avoiding repeated impact with the ground, you will effectively take the stress off your knee and hip joints.
- Strengthens Supporting Muscles to Increase Joint Strength
In order for joints to be healthy, the muscles that surround them need to be strong. These supporting muscles help maintain proper mobility and keep you from injuring your joints as you engage in various activities, exercises, and sports. These supporting muscles cannot get stronger or maintain their current level of strength without exercise. The elliptical machine allows you to effectively exercise these areas without placing a strain on the joints that have suffered an injury.
- Maintain Cardiovascular Health as You Heal From an Injury
You likely engage in physical activity for a wide variety of reasons. One main reason that people all over the world exercise is to maintain a healthy cardiovascular system. No one wants to lose their cardiovascular stamina while they are recovering from an injury affecting their joints. The resistance on an elliptical machine can be altered in a manner that results in an effective cardiovascular workout while still keeping your joints safe and protected. This can offer much peace of mind that your general state of health will remain intact as you continue to support the long-term healing of your injury.
Recovery from accidents and injuries is a lengthy process that can take months for some individuals. If you are experiencing joint pain and stiffness, you may be tempted to opt out of exercise entirely until the condition heals. However, avoiding exercise can allow supporting muscles to further weaken and can promote stiffness. This, in turn, causes the healing process to slow down. Elliptical machines provide an effective cardiovascular workout that is not stressful on the knee joints. Elliptical workouts support overall healing in the fastest way possible, getting you back to your active lifestyle promptly.