When you're injured, you may notice that you experience more fatigue than usual. This can be annoying, or it can drastically impact your daily life. But why does an Injury make you more tired? There are many causes to fatigue after an injury including, but not limited to stress, reacting to pain, and hindered mobility.

Stress

Being injured can be stressful. Aside from the obvious complications of being injured, such as pain, it can drastically interrupt your daily routine. If your injury was the result of a traumatic accident, you may have the added stress of trying to navigate the trauma and bad memories from it. If your injury causes you to be unable to perform duties at work, being forced to take time off to recover can add yet another layer of stress.

One of the main symptoms of stress is a significantly lowered amount of energy. The mental energy needed to deal with all the change caused by your injury leaves you with little left for other things. This additional stress, caused by side effects from the injury, is more than enough to make you exhausted.

If your stress is tied to traumatic events, hindering your daily activities, or interrupting your relationships it's wise to seek help from your doctor. Your doctor may be able to provide you with help managing your stress levels, and improving your quality of life.

Pain

Researchers have found that your body simply dealing with, and reacting to pain can make you fatigued. When you're hurt, it takes attention away from other things, putting added strain on an already compromised body.

These researchers also point out that people tend to sleep in different positions to protect their injury. These unusual sleeping arrangements may not be comfortable, and lead to getting less deep sleep than you are used to, with the obvious effect of increased fatigue.

Hindered Mobility

It's quite likely that any injury is going to impact your mobility. It could be directly, such as a broken leg or injured knee, or indirectly such as a sprained back. Limping, using crutches, being forced to use your non-dominant hand, finding new ways to put on your clothes, eat your food, or brush your teeth uses muscles that are not accustomed to being used in that way.

When you're injured, moving is essentially a workout except you've to invent this workout yourself, and it may not be one that's good for your body. Using new muscle groups for new tasks takes up a huge amount of energy, and is extremely exhausting.

Aside from the injury itself, various aspects that come with an injury will drain you and make you more tired. Stress, lack of sleep, pain, and finding new ways to navigate life; it's easy to see why. The good news is that as you heal, your energy levels should return. If your energy isn't returning as you heal, consult with your doctor. Prolonged exhaustion can cause or increase depression, which can be quite serious if left untreated.