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| The last column discussed what sports injuries are and how to assess their severity. This column will tell you what to do when you have an acute sports injury. The three main goals... read more |
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| Acute Sports Injuries are traumatic in nature. Some are very dramatic such as when Mike Foligno broke his leg at centre ice the season before last. Although his was a bone injury m... read more |
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Meghan-Leigh
Buttle |
MSc., PT, BSc., Kin. - graduated from the University of Toronto with a Master of Science in Physical Therapy. Prior to pursing her degree in Physical Therapy, Meghan attended... read more |
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| » view all articles |
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Chronic Injuries III Treatment | Tuesday, April 11, 2006 |
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 The last column discussed the most common predisposing and pre-
cipitating factors leading to overuse chronic injuries. This column will
tell you how to treat these injuries.
1/MODIFY- It is important that you not continue to aggravate your injury.
There are very few injuries where you can not do some form of alternate
activity to stay active. This may be as simple as modifying a part
of your sport such as avoiding the backhand in typical tennis elbow.
If you are a runner then you may have to decrease the amount you
are running but augment your training with cycling or swimming
which will not affect your injury.
2/ICE-Ice your injured area several times a day for 15-20 minutes
and after doing any activity, to control and limit the inflammation.
3/MEDICATION-Anti -inflammatory medication can be used to help to
reduce the inflammation.
4/SPORTS PHYSIOTHERAPY-This perhaps is the most important part of the treatment.
The initial therapy is very basic with the main goal is to reduce the inflammation
and pain. The second phase which overlaps with the first phase is called the
recovery phase. The goal here is to return the athlete to normal strength and
flexibility of the injured tissues and the surrounding areas. Throughout
the first two stages the athletes maintain their fitness as much as possible.
The third and final phase prepares the athletes to return to their sports at a
high level. At this phase we progress the athlete to maximal strength,
flexibility and agility appropriate for the sport an athlete is participating
in. Sport specific exercises and drills are given to the individual.
Although this third and final phase is equally if not more important than
the first two, it is often neglected by the athlete and the therapist. It is this final third
phase that will allow the athlete to return to their previous level of play
with the least risk of re-injury
The next column will discuss the prevention of injuries.
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