The body feels the repercussions from Sports at any level. You don’t have to be an elite athlete to need Sports Physiotherapy although athletes and individuals who play sports regularly are more prone to develop sports injuries.
Some of the common sports injuries are tennis elbow, ankle sprain, strain, fractures, herniated disc, knee injuries, Achilles tendonitis, dislocation, and tarsal tunnel syndrome. These injuries emerge from various sports such as golf, football, basketball, athletics, and tennis.
Sports injuries can also occur as a result of overuse and over training (eg runner’s knee or tennis elbow) as well as under training or poor training practices (not stretching or warming up).
Professional sports injuries management, rehabilitation, and advice can be sought from the expertise of physiotherapists, enabling you to return to your sporting activity as soon as possible following injury.
Treatment for a sports injury will depend on factors such as how severe the injury is and the part of your body affected. Treatment goals include:
- Relieving your pain quicker
- Reducing your scar tissue formation
- Getting you back to sport or work quicker
- Improving your performance
Physiotherapy treatment techniques may include:
- Electrotherapeutic agents such as interferential, ultrasound, laser, shock wave therapy (ESWT)
- Ice and/or heat therapy
- Joint mobilisation and manipulation techniques to increase the length and strength of muscles
- Soft tissue massages to relax tight muscles, decrease swelling, reduce tissue adhesions, or pain relief
- Exercise prescription to enhance balance and co-ordination
- Stretching – muscles can become tight during periods of inactivity following an injury and stretching can help loosen these tight muscles and improve range of motion (ROM)
- ROM exercises – to improve or maintain joint range of motion
By performing ROM exercise whenever possible, you can prevent your joints and muscle from becoming stiff
Range of motion exercises may also be combined with strengthening exercises once you have improved strength - Strengthening – being inactive for a long time can make your muscles weak
Strengthening exercises are important to achieve independence in movement and will also help maintain strength of uninjured muscles
- Patient education to learn self-care – this may be in the form of exercises, strapping/bracing, learning how to modify your activity to reduce overstressing your injured part and learning self-treatment strategies
Your physiotherapist will guide you safely back to the level of sport at which you wish to participate.