text: physiological effect of rest in injury management?   recovery from injury follows something called wolf's law, which basically means that your body adapts based on the stresses put on it....up to a certain point where additional stress causes injury.  this includes recovery from injury.  let's say you break your leg.  should you immobilize it so that it can rest and heal?  most people would think so....but this is a very, very bad idea.  an immobilized limb will start to atrophy in a matter of days (hell, a matter of hours).  worse, the injury won't heal correctly without a certain amount of stress placed on the leg.  you need to work the leg a certain amount (not so much as to cause further injury) so that it heals strong instead of weak.  immobiliztion of the leg is to be kept to an absolute minimum.  very important to work with your doctor to understand how much is needed and how much is too much.  very important to do your rehab.