Sporting Injuries
No matter what sport you play or what level you play your sport at, an osteopath can always help you with your injury worries whether that is prevention, treatment or rehabilitation.
Injuries and lack of preventative care are common in many sports people including the weekend warrior to the elite athlete. The most common joints that sustain injuries due to sport are the ankles and shoulders.
Other common sporting injuries include:
- Knee injuries such as cartilage damage or muscular strains
- Elbow and wrist strains (ie tennis elbow)
- Leg pain such as shin splints or calf strains
- Hip and low back pain
- Neck strains
PREVENTION IS BETTER THEN CURE…
We have all heard this before and it is definitely true. At the first sign of an injury or if you have a previous history of an injury, it is a good idea to get a rehabilitation program that will be focused on a particular area and will help avoid future injury through muscle or joint strains.
As an osteopath, we will prescribe a stretching and strengthening program that is tailored to you and specifically focuses your area of concern. It will begin with very basic exercises that will be gradually increased over time in order to decrease the risk of injury recurrence.
Along with injury and prevention advice, we can also provide advice on correct diet and nutrition, depending on your sport and individual needs. Diet advice and changes can assist you in both performance and recovery in you sport.
What will the osteopath do?
Every treatment is different for every patient depending on the nature of the injury, how long it has been there for, your age, your sport or if it is preventative measures. All osteopathic treatments involve manual techniques that aim to balance the normal homeostasis between all of the systems of the body (ie muscles, joints, ligaments, connective tissues, lymphatic, nerves, circulatory etc) by focusing the treatment mainly on the musculoskeletal system.
Osteopathic treatment will assist in maintaining homeostasis and have a positive influence on your circulatory and nervous systems. By doing this, the positive effects will filter down through your system to your joints and tissues to improve elasticity and mobility which will increase the healing process and decrease the risk of injury. Breathing is a very important aspect of all sports as your muscles need massive amounts of oxygen to function when competing at your maximum.
Whether you suffer from a breathing disorder or not (ie asthma), it is important that we ensure your diaphragm and all of the muscles acting on the rib cage are performing optimally and the rib cage is functioning correctly.
Don’t forget prevention….
As an osteopath, we also assess the biomechanics of your technique in your sport. Working together with your coach we can explain the aggravating movements that are a predisposition to your injury which allows for us to modify and fine tune your particular technique.
Stretching and strengthening is also a very important part of any training program, even if you haven’t had an injury.
By doing a few simple exercises focused on the main areas affected by your sport, you can significantly decrease the risk of future or further injury and increase your strength and efficiency.
Total Balance Healthcare