One of the keys to staying healthy is regular exercise and preventative care or treatment—exercise to keep our muscles strong and body less prone to illnesses, and treatment to help improve the body’s movement and any imbalances while also staying on top of injuries before they worsen.
That’s where sports therapy comes in. Sports therapy is a treatment used for injuries associated with physical activity, whether the cause is an accident, or the act of pushing oneself too hard. It aims to treat patients who participate in sports or recreational activities and restore them back to a healthy, fully functional state. We’ve put together more information on sports therapy, a list of common sports injuries, and the best treatments for them.
What is sports therapy?
Not to be confused with physiotherapy, sports therapy specifically revolves around the treatment and prevention of sports-related injuries. Using principles and practices of sports science, the therapy uses a combination of techniques and treatments, such as:
-Active Release Technique (ART)
-Chiropractic Care
-Custom Orthotics
-Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization
-Kinesiology Tape
-Low Level Cold Laser Therapy
Common Sports Injuries
Knee injuries. You may have torn a ligament, injured your cartilage, developed tendonitis, or dislocated your kneecap. In any event, the best treatment for these vary depending on the root cause of the pain. Sports therapy uncovers this and treats it before the issues recur or develop into a more serious condition.
Ankle and foot injuries. This is perhaps the most common injury—you don’t necessarily need to be athletic for such accidents to occur; often, ankles are sprained as a result of stepping on an uneven surface or tripping. But if you play a sport like soccer on an artificial turf, you’re at a higher risk for a ligament injury called turf toe, which causes pain at the base of the big toe.
Back injuries. Back pain isn’t only associated with sports injuries- however it is a common injury with exercise routines. The most common back injuries are muscle strains and ligament sprains, usually as a result of over-use or excess tightness in the back or hips.
Wrist injuries. Tennis, basketball, volleyball—all of these have players more susceptible to wrist injuries. Some examples are sprains and tendonitis.
Hip injuries. Hip injuries can be some of the most painful to experience. Your hips are used in core stabilization as well as most movements of the body, so it can be difficult to rest this area if it’s injured. Common injuries occur from overuse, like with distance running, or with trauma, causing your muscles or joints to be inflamed.
Shoulder injuries. If you’re experiencing a shoulder injury, often, the rotator cuff is to blame; this could have been affected with tendonitis, impingement, or a tear. Otherwise, instability (lack of movement control or ligament laxity) could also be an issue.
Have you experienced any sports injuries lately? Contact us at Pacific Health and take the first step towards recovery.
