If there’s one thing that’s true of people who’ve been injured on the job, it’s that they want to get back to work as quickly as possible. Though workers’ compensation benefits are there to help you through your recovery, the truth is that all you want is to get better and get back to normal. To make that happen, many physicians are employing prescribed exercise plans and diets to speed their patients’ recoveries. How does a Prescribed Exercise Plan Help? Everybody knows that exercise and healthy eating are two of the main pillars of recovery, but you need to know exactly what you’re supposed to be doing in order to make sure that you’re maximizing your time, focusing on the right muscles, and not risking further injury. A prescribed exercise plan is written specifically for each individual’s health status and goals and can be adjusted as you make improvements or experience challenges. What does an Exercise Prescription Consist Of? An exercise prescription starts with your physical exam and physical assessment. Your physician’s exercise recommendations will take into account your fitness baseline so that you know what can be safely performed, as well as set up a series of goals. Once your recuperation and fitness goals have been identified, the next step will be to determine what types of exercises will provide you with a balanced routine to build endurance, strength, flexibility and fitness. These exercises may include cardiovascular exercises to increase blood flow to the muscles and raise your heart rate or strength training to focus on specific muscles or restore strength. The plan will specify how often you should be doing each exercise in order to ensure that you are staying safe while making progress, as well as how long you should be doing each exercise per session. Perhaps most importantly, it will define for you how intensely each exercise should be done, again with the goal of avoiding further injury. Your physician may also prescribe a specific diet plan to go along with your exercise program. This may be to help you lose weight, build muscle, or make adjustments to address other health problems that have been detected. The more diligent you are in following the prescription, the faster your recovery is likely to be and the sooner you can get back to work. If you’ve been hurt on the job and need help with getting the workers’ compensation benefits that you need and deserve, we can help. Contact us today to learn more.