Why Rest Isn’t Always the Best: Active Recovery vs. Avoidance

When your body hurts, it’s tempting to think, “I should just rest until this goes away.” And while rest absolutely has its place in healing, it isn’t always the best or fastest solution. In fact, too much rest can sometimes hold you back from getting better. The key is knowing the difference between active recovery and avoidance.

What Is Active Recovery?

Active recovery means giving your body the space to heal while still moving in safe, supported ways. This could look like:

• Gentle strengthening

• Walking or light cycling

• Specific physical therapy exercises

• Breathwork or mobility drills

These activities promote blood flow, reduce stiffness, and help tissues repair. Instead of “shutting down” the system, you’re keeping it online, but at a level your body can handle.

What Is Avoidance?

Avoidance happens when you stop moving altogether because you’re afraid of pain or making things worse. While it might bring short-term relief, over time avoidance can:

• Weaken muscles

• Stiffen joints

• Increase pain sensitivity

• Build fear around movement

It’s a vicious cycle: pain leads to stopping movement, ceasing movement leads to reduced blood flow and weakness, reduced blood flow and weakness leads to more pain.

Why the Balance Matters

Healing isn’t about choosing between all rest or all activity, it’s about finding the sweet spot. In most cases, complete rest is only helpful for very short windows (like immediately after an acute injury or surgery). After that, your body typically benefits from gradual, guided movement.

That’s where physical therapy shines! We help you find the just right level of activity so your body can recover without setbacks.

How to Tell If You’re Resting or Avoiding

Here are some guiding questions:

• Am I moving in any way today? (Even gentle walks count.)

• Do I feel less stiff or sore after light movement?

• Am I skipping activities because of fear, not because my body truly can’t do them?

• Has my “rest” turned into days or weeks of inactivity?

If you notice that you’re avoiding more than actively recovering, it may be time to get guidance.

The New Guidelines Include: PEACE & LOVE

• Protection: Stop movement patterns or activities that increase pain immediately after the injury

• Elevation: Elevate the injured body part, whenever possible, above the heart level

• Avoid Anti-Inflammatories: Avoid ice and anti-inflammatory medications that both delay healing

• Compression: Tape and bandages can help reduce swelling

• Education: Your body is a wise thing. Let nature take the lead and avoid passive treatments and interventions.

  &

• Load: Pain is a great teacher. Let it guide how and when you resume normal activities. Gradually increase as the body allows.

• Optimism: A positive outlook is a game changer. Remain confident about your body's (and your) ability to heal.

• Vascularization: Do cardio (pain-free) to increase blood flow to tissues and promote healing.

• Exercise: Proprioception, strength, and mobility are all restored via exercise and optimize healing and recovery.

The Bottom Line

Rest isn’t “bad,” but it isn’t always the whole solution. Think of it like this: rest is the pause button, but active recovery is the play button at half-speed. You need both to move forward, but if you never press play, healing stalls.

If you’re unsure where your balance should be, working with a physical therapist can give you a safe, personalized plan to keep you moving toward your goals, without setbacks.

👉 Takeaway: Don’t confuse rest with healing. Movement done right is the best medicine.