The Made 2 Move Podcast · Hannah Breal - Physical Therapist

How To Recover From Injuries and Prevent Them From Coming Back

June 2, 2025·44 min·4 clips

Hannah reveals why common injury advice can delay recovery and turn minor issues into lifelong problems.

This episode features physical therapist Hannah discussing common myths about injury recovery that can prolong pain. She aims to help active individuals move past chronic issues and prevent future injuries. Hannah challenges the standard advice to completely rest and ice an acute injury, arguing it impedes the body's natural inflammatory healing process. She introduces "relative rest," which involves modifying activities and moving within a pain tolerance of less than three out of ten. The second myth she debunks is avoiding the movement that caused the injury, explaining this leads to weakness and a heightened fear response. Instead, she advocates for a gradual, controlled re-introduction of that movement to rebuild capacity. Hannah uses the analogy of a traffic accident to explain how movement aids healing by improving blood flow and nutrient delivery. She describes how avoiding a feared movement, like public speaking, creates a cycle of increased sensitivity and decreased capability. For a sprained ankle, relative rest might involve touchdown weight-bearing and seated ankle exercises instead of complete immobilization. The third myth addressed is that stretching is a universal solution, which Hannah counters by stating most injuries occur from placing more force on a tissue than it can handle, not from inflexibility. She compares tissues to a house of straw that needs to be replaced with stronger materials, not just stretched. Hannah notes many patients have already tried extensive stretching without success before seeking her help. A surprising claim is that ice and anti-inflammatories are often unnecessary for acute injuries unless pain is debilitating, as they can interfere with beneficial inflammation. She emphasizes building a "bank of positive movement experiences" through slow exposure rather than overwhelming the body. The tone is educational and conversational, blending personal anecdotes with clinical explanations and analogies. Hannah speaks directly to the listener in a confident, encouraging style from her home podcast studio. This episode is ideal for athletes, gym-goers, or anyone frustrated by persistent pain who has tried conventional recovery advice without results. Listeners seeking a quick-fix solution or those who prefer highly technical, research-heavy medical discussions might find it less engaging.

As heard by us

Recovery tends to go better when movement is adjusted, not abandoned.

The piece makes a plain case for relative rest: pain and injury do not always require stopping altogether. It keeps movement in the picture, but with limits.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

Recover without turning every injury into a shutdown.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from The Made 2 Move Podcast