Bicycle accidents can range from minor scrapes to deadly crashes. A cyclist who gets hit by a motor vehicle is far more likely to come out of the interaction with severe damages than another car would be in their place. Those who have been in serious bicycle accidents may need time to recover, and the best thing to aid in that recovery is to get a proper amount of rest.
Steps to Take on the Road to Recovery
Rest is the number one priority when recovering from a bicycle accident. However, it is far from the only step that you can take to aid in your recovery. Some other helpful aids to recovery include:
- Eat right
- Exercise
- Take it easy
- Follow your doctor’s advice
Rest
Your body is full of different systems running different tasks at all times. Even when you are asleep, your body is hard at work. Your body continues to pump blood, breathe, digest food, and much more while you lay there snoring. With your body so active while you sleep, you can imagine how much more it has on its plate when you are awake.
So, when you add the extra task of trying to heal, you tend to push your body into overdrive. Taking things a bit easier than normal to allow your body some extra time to focus on fixing up your broken bits, can do a world of good in speeding up your recovery.
Eat Right
Your body needs tools in order to rebuild the damage done to it in an accident. The main source of the tools for rebuilding comes from what you eat and drink. It’s important to give your body the best tools for the job, so make sure to eat plenty of protein, which is a macronutrient essential for rebuilding muscles and bones.
Consult with your doctor on what other foods can aid in your recovery as different nutrients will assist more for certain types of injuries.
Exercise
While it’s important to get plenty of rest to give your body time to heal, light exercise can also play a key role in speeding your recovery. Exercise increases blood flow, which can help get all of the proper tools where they need to be to rebuild your damaged areas.
Take It Easy
Exercise can help, but strenuous exercise is likely to just aggravate your condition. Don’t push yourself too hard, or you could end up causing a setback. If you follow sports, you hear all the time about athletes who pushed too hard to get back in the game and ended up overdoing things and causing major delays to their return.
Follow Your Doctor’s Advice
The biggest key is to follow the advice of your doctor. Your doctor knows the specifics of your injury and can advise you on what the best course of action is for your situation. As long as you stick to your doctor’s orders, your recovery should be as swift and painless as possible.
Legal Action
While your body is healing from your accident, you may find that your finances continue to suffer further and further damage. Medical bills pile up. You might not be able to work. You may find your bank accounts empty, and your credit cards maxed out. You need financial compensation. And in most cases, you are entitled to financial compensation.
If your accident was the result of a motorist, poor road conditions, or a defect in your bicycle, you have legal avenues to pursue to get you the money that you need. Those struck by a car either have a path through the driver’s insurance or by suing the driver directly. Damages to the road could lead to a lawsuit against the city if the conditions are right. A problem with your bicycle could lead to a product liability lawsuit against the manufacturer.
The best way to figure out what your legal options are and which path is best to pursue is by consulting with a bicycle accident lawyer. A competent attorney can talk you through every step in each course of action that is available for you and advise you on the best way forward. Then together, you can make a plan for how to proceed in getting you the money that you deserve.