Tips for a Healthy Adult: How to Recover From an Injury

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Welcome to Spotlight. I’m Colin Lowther.

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And I’m Liz Waid. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.

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Have you ever seen a person try to stand up and then make this sound? Did it make you think they were old? Did it make you wonder what happened to them? As we grow, our bodies become less able to move. We must slow down when we move or exercise or play sport. We must be careful. If we are not careful, we can hurt our neck, our knees, or our back. When this happens, it can take weeks or even months to feel better. And even simple things, like sitting down, become a problem. This does not only happen to much older people. It starts happening as we enter adulthood.

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This program is part of a series of programs called Tips for a Healthy Life. Other programs focused on pregnancy, the first year of life, childhood, and the teenage years. Today’s Spotlight is on how to live a healthy adult life and recover from injury.

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Before we begin, we should note that all information in this program is not meant to replace going to a doctor. If you have a serious injury or sickness, you should go to a doctor for help.

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The human body is an amazing thing. It can fix itself. This is a miracle that most people do not think about. Julie K. Silver is a doctor who specializes in helping people recover after serious sickness or injury. She is amazed at how the human body works to repair itself after an injury. She wrote for AARP.com:

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“Your body works hard to help you recover. Even if you do little to help the process along. There is a lot happening in your body, both day and night, to help you to heal. When you are injured, white blood cells go to the injury to stop things getting worse. Other blood cells remove dead cells and help to control inflammation. If you break a bone, bone cells build the rough edges back together. There are so many cells assisting us in healing that we could never count them all. These processes happen on their own. But there are things smart patients can do to speed and strengthen their recovery.”

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So what are these things that can help people heal faster and better? The first and best thing you can do is to sleep more. Everyone knows that a good night of sleep makes you feel great. But scientists in many different fields of study believe sleep helps in growth, recovery, and mental health. Most healthy people are not getting enough sleep. And Dr. Silver says that people recovering from an injury need even more. She says,

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“If you are like most people, you need seven to eight hours of sleep each night. During sickness you may need more rest than that. Your body’s healing processes require sleep to work. For example, your body produces the chemical melatonin when you sleep. This chemical increases your immune system and helps repair your body. It may even help prevent some forms of cancer. But if you are not sleeping enough at night, your melatonin levels can be reduced.”

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The next tip for recovering after injury is to continue to move in healthy ways. Do not make the injury worse. Many athletes continue to exercise and play sport when they are injured. They do not know the difference between pain from effort and pain from injury. In these cases, they may need total rest. But many experts say that light activity can help people heal faster. In fact, a study from 2005 showed that wounds healed faster when people moved.

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Researchers from Ohio State University in Columbus studied a group of older adults from ages 55 to 77. All the adults were healthy. During the study, about half of the adults exercised three times a week for three months. The other half did not exercise during this time. Each person in the study also received a small but deep wound on the upper part of their arm. Researchers took pictures of the wound over time as it healed. And the adults recorded their exercise. At the end of the study, researchers discovered something amazing. The wounds of the people who exercised healed about ten days faster than the wounds of the people who did not exercise.

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The next tip to recover after an injury is to eat good food and drink enough water. Food is the first medicine. What we put in our bodies becomes our bodies. Foods like fish, eggs, and yogurt can help with broken bones. Meat, nuts, and seeds can help our blood. Fruits and vegetables contain vitamin C. Vitamin C helps people stay healthy and heal from cuts on the skin. Eating good food is important for all people. And it is very important when recovering from a sickness or injury.

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The final tip to help recover after an injury is to work on the mental parts of recovery. An injury often requires us to change the way we live. This can be frustrating. We want to be able to live at the same fast speed that we always did. But an injury can make us slow down. Carrie Cheadle is a professor of sports psychology at John F. Kennedy University. She told Outside Magazine how people cannot deny what it will take to recover. She says:

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“You should not ignore the frustration and sadness that come with injury. But you should look at all the good things in your life. Let yourself have some joy. It makes you understand that everything is not horrible. It is often as simple as focusing on something that makes you happy that is not exercise or sport. You may even try keeping a journal and writing down three things you are thankful for every night. This can help move your thoughts away from your injury.”

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Have you ever had an injury? What did you do to recover? Tell us what you think. You can leave a comment on our website. Or email us at contact@spotlightenglish.com. You can also find us on Facebook and YouTube.

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The writer of this program was Adam Navis. The producer was Michio Ozaki. The voices you heard were from the United Kingdom and the United States. All quotes were adapted for this program and voiced by Spotlight. You can listen to this program again, and read it, on the internet at www.spotlightenglish.com. This program is called, ‘Tips for a Healthy Adult: How to Recover From an Injury’.

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Visit our website to download our free official app for Android and Apple devices. We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight program. Goodbye.

Question:

Have you ever had a serious injury? What helped you recover?