Recently I had botox injections to loosen up my tight muscles. I get injections twice a year, and have developed a rehab routine that helps me to gain the most out of my injections! Here are some tips that I’ve learned throughout the years, hopefully this will help you rehab better from your next injections!
Pace Yourself!
When I was younger, I was stubborn when it came to my rehab program after botox. I always wanted to progress my program faster than my physical therapist thought was best for me. I used to try to do above and beyond what my PT gave me to do as a rehab program because I thought it would help me rehab even better (which was utterly incorrect!!!). Sometimes I would even not be a hundred percent truthful about how my body felt because I wanted to progress my workout program as fast as possible….. Looking back, this was ridiculous and not helpful for my rehab at all! Many times I had a minor setback from my injections because I overdid my workout program. Now that I am older and wiser, I have FINALLY learned that it is best for me to be one hundred percent transparent about what I am feeling after my botox injections, so my physical therapist can give me the best program for where my body currently is. This also helps me avoid any injuries to my muscles that are way looser than what I am normally used to.
Stay Committed to Your Rehab Program
While it may be extremely inconvenient and exhausting, it’s important to stay faithful to doing the rehab program your physical therapist provides you one to two times a day. A tip I have is that if you feel tired prior to doing program, just lower the reps of all your exercises to only a few. This will still give your body the opportunity to create new muscle memory and movement patterns, while not over fatiguing your muscles.
Be Patient
In all honesty I struggle with this one myself! It will take your body at least a few weeks to get adjusted to the botox and your new movement patterns! During this time it is highly probable that you will be more fatigued than normal. It is extremely important to not push yourself during the first few weeks of botox because it may negatively affect your muscles and how you feel. For someone like myself who enjoys working out, it is hard to not be tempted to do more than what my body can handle after botox. But trust me, it is ABSOLUTELY not worth it to push yourself to the point of exhaustion!
Hopefully these tips will help you rehab from your next botox injections more effectively! Thanks for reading!
Fitness on Wheels 