Having been a professional martial artist for 20 years, I have learned much about how to bounce back from injuries stronger than before.
When you are injured you may think it's best to not work-out at all. In many cases that's not the case and to do nothing can slow down the recovery process, cause depression, irritability and weight gain.
If your ankle is sprained, I find the stationary bike actually feels good and seems to get the blood flow to the area and it hurts less after. You can still do most of the weights at the gym because most of it is sitting or laying down.
Stretching the body is great and helps reduce the pain because when a body part is injured we tend to over-compensate and one usually walks in a way that puts the back and the rest of the body out of alignment.
If it's shoulder or upper-body problem and you can't participate in a certain sport or activity, walking is great, it helps get rid of lactic acid and is very natural to the body.
Training in the pool is another way to stay in shape by swimming and doing other non-impact exercises. Running, jumping drills, legs kicks and punches under the water work well because you are pushing against the resistance of the water.
Often times deep stretching is all that was needed all along for severe back or shoulder pain. Most injuries are due a lack of flexibility, proper warm-up and cool down. Luckily lots of stretches can be done laying down. It is important to note that if the injured area feels any of the bad pain while stretching or training around it, stop immediately. It helps to elevate and ice the inflamed area.
The beauty of an injury for a person who is obsessed with their particular sport,
is that those muscles that are over-trained and strained finally get a chance to heal and restore.
Another blessing of injuries is having to dig down and tune in to the body and let it instruct you on what it needs. An injury is the way our bodies talk to us when we have come out of alignment in some area of our life. By necessity to get out of pain, I have created many stretches that have adjusted the problem. Which has enabled me to share this and help others.
Cross-training around the injury gets those endorphins going, restores that healthy feeling and helps one come back to their original sport or work-out stronger.
Proper nutrition, supplements, massage and plenty of sleep also greatly speed up the process.
It also helps greatly when you meditate to put your hands one the injured area and send Love to it. Completely flood it with Love. Then visualize yourself completely healed and well. That is your true state -- Perfect Health. Claim it, feel it, be it no matter what the appearance of things are.