Sports Injury Rehabilitation By Experienced Physiotherapists

Sports-induced injury includes injury to muscles, joints, tendons, or ligaments.  Whether you are a professional or amateur athlete, the impact of a sports injury can be physically disabling and emotionally draining. Every patient who has had a sports injury is assessed by our qualified physiotherapist on a one-on-one basis. A careful physiotherapist assessment and treatment plan can not only assist in the healing of a current injury but can prevent future injury.

Some of the most common sports injuries include sprains, strains, shin splints, and knee injuries. If you or someone you know is injured, schedule an evaluation with our physiotherapist as soon as possible. 

The focus of a physiotherapist in this setting is to get an injured person back to their original healthy form and into sports participation. Like any injury, sports injuries can be acute or chronic, and physiotherapy will help ensure correct healing, strength restoration, and stability before re-introducing certain movements or demands to the body during sport. You could be a young athlete preparing for a marathon or a weekend warrior preparing for the game on Friday night; our focus is getting you back to that sport you love in a timely and safe manner.

Did you know that many:

• Runners do not use the correct footwear or have inefficient running patterns; or
• Bikers are not set up correctly on their bikes to peddle efficiently; or
• People who use the gym do not use the equipment correctly.

Most sports injuries occur during practice and can be prevented by warming up before partaking in sports-related activity.

What Are Some Of The Common Sports Injuries?

Some of the common sports injuries are:

• Sprains and Strains – injuries to joint, ligament, and muscle-tendon unit
• Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury - an injury to the knee, common in individuals who play sports that are strenuous on their knees, such as running, hockey, soccer, skiing, football, and basketball.
• Swollen muscle/ inflammation - caused by the accumulation of fluid in tissues. It can occur in a specific part or organ (localized) or throughout the body (generalized).
• Achilles Tendon Injuries- injury to the Achilles tendon, one of the longest tendons in your body, stretching from the bones of your heel to your calf muscles.
• Rotator Cuff injury- Damage to any or all of the four muscles within the rotator cuff, which help move and stabilize the shoulder joint.
• Joint Dislocation – abnormal separation of the joint caused by sudden trauma on the joint such as an impact or fall.

Large gym space with state-of-the-art exercise equipment at Action Physiotherapy. We can also demonstrate progressive exercises at home and at the gym independently. We often use the mirror to help you with visual assistance for postural alignment and good body mechanics with the exercises.

Sports injury rehabilitation involves gradual exercises which get the injured area back to normal. Exercises start by gently moving the injured body part through the range of motions and stretching. Other common therapies to help recover sports injuries include electrostimulation, cold packs, heat packs, and massage.

As more and more adults strive for a healthy lifestyle by engaging in sports-related activities, it is important to recognize that these injuries can be prevented.

 How Can You Prevent A Sports-Related Injury?

Here are some tips from our physiotherapist which can assist you with preventing a sports-related injury.

1. Warm up - Never underestimate the importance of a proper warm-up. Before exercising, it is important to take a few minutes to warm up your muscles and prepare them for the upcoming training session. During warm-up, the cartilage is supplied with synovial fluid, making muscles more flexible. A proper warm-up can form a foundation for better organic and mental performance.

2. Rest and Regeneration – Rest and recovery periods are essential for optimal muscle growth and function. If you continue to train the same body part every day for an extended period of time, you can injure yourself quite easily. Muscles, tendons, and ligaments must rest for optimal regeneration and good health. Extended training sessions without breaks and recovery are the leading causes of several sports-related injuries.

3. Massage – Massage therapy can reduce the risk of inflammation. It is particularly effective in targeting your muscle-tendon junctions. Sports massage offers significant health and performance benefits to professional and recreational athletes. You can use foam rolls (self-myofascial release) to massage an affected body part. However, we recommend booking an appointment with one of our professional massage therapists for optimal results. At Action Physiotherapy, our massage therapists harness various techniques to positively manipulate the circulatory, musculoskeletal, nervous, and respiratory systems.

4. Low Volume and Intensity - training to exhaustion with each workout is unnecessary, especially with compound full-body workouts. Wherever possible, substitute various training sessions with low-volume and intensity workouts.

Our Physiotherapists are some of the best professionals in St. John’s and are trained to look at how a sport is performed and identify things that could lead to injury. Our team of physiotherapists can help you get back or stay in Action!

Get in Touch Via Email Or Call Us At 709-576-7770 To Book An Appointment.