Role of Physiotherapy in Sports Injuries

Several sports injuries are known to benefit from physiotherapy. Physiotherapy helps in the treatment of ligament sprains, muscle strains, fractures, and dislocations. The kind of physiotherapy treatment you require depends primarily on your specific sports injury. Physiotherapy treatments seem to vary, but you should have an active say regarding the kind of physiotherapy you would be receiving along with your personal physiotherapist who would be guiding you every step of the way.

You need to get yourself evaluated and depending on the results of your physiotherapy examination and evaluation, your physiotherapist would chalk out a comprehensive and personalized treatment plan. Your physiotherapist would then be discussing the treatment plan in detail with you. You may start the treatment right away following your initial evaluation. All your subsequent treatment visits would be documented by your physiotherapist. Eventually seeing your progress, they would be determining if the treatment would be continued or the specific treatment plan needs to be altered.

Sports Injuries and Various Physical Therapy Treatments

Here are some of the usual physiotherapy treatments that may be included in your rehabilitation plan depending on the type and extent of your injury.

Ice Pack Application

When dealing with an acute sports injury, often ice pack application is prescribed. Icing could be immensely helpful in minimizing your swelling and pain that are caused by your injury. Your physiotherapist would be wrapping an ice pack preferably with a towel around the affected area. An ice pack would be applied to the affected area for 20 minutes or so.

Hot pack application

If your injury is not accompanied by any sort of a swelling, then your physiotherapist may consider using a hot pack that is wrapped preferably in a towel. This pack would be applied by your physiotherapist for about twenty minutes. Hot pack application is supposed to be effective in alleviating pain and joint or muscle stiffness. Additionally, this is supposed to be effective in speeding up the healing process simply by boosting blood flow to the affected or injured body part.

Tens

Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulator or TENS is actually a small battery-operated device for directing little amounts of current straight to your skin just over the injury. You would get a tingling feeling when the device is switched on. TENS is supposed to be effective in temporary pain relief.

Ultrasound

An ultrasound is a device or machine used for driving sound vibrations directly into your tissues. It is supposed to be a deep heating modality or apparatus. This machine is effective in heating up bulky body areas or deeper tissues. Ultrasound is used effectively by your physiotherapist for helping you immensely in your healing process or softening your deeper tissues.

Massage

Your physiotherapist might be using soft tissue mobilization or massage for relaxing tight muscles, reducing tissue adhesions, decreasing swelling or relieving pain. Massage goes a long way in alleviating the pain.

Stretching

Muscles tend to become tight when they are inactive following an injury. Stretching is very effective in loosening tight muscles. It helps in enhancing Range of Motion. Your physiotherapist would be guiding you about the self-stretching exercises.

Range of Motion

ROM exercises could be helpful in not only improving but maintaining your joint’s range of motion. ROM exercises are good for preventing your muscles and joints from becoming stiff.

Strengthening Exercises

If due to an injury you have been inactive for a while, you tend to develop weak muscles. Long periods of inactivity or lack of exercise can weaken your muscles tremendously.  To achieve the requisite range, independence, and ease of movement, it is important to strengthen these muscles. Strengthening exercises can build bulk, repair injured or fatigued muscle and help maintain the strength of your muscles.

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