Most medical experts suggest a multidisciplinary approach towards the treatment of sports injuries. Besides classical medicine, physiotherapy in Melbourne is extremely effective in the rehabilitation of the athlete so that they find their way back to full fitness with time. There is a wide range of well-documented approaches which are proven to be effective in particular situations and injuries.
Immediately after injury, basic first aid and proper diagnosis and assessment are absolutely critical to the treatment and subsequent recovery of the sportsman. It is important for the athlete or his team to hire an expert physiotherapist or a team of specialists to treat him. A multi-pronged approach is hence the best for this situation, especially for recurring injuries as cross-referrals and multiple diagnoses could help speed up the entire process. Here’s how two common sporting injuries can be dealt with using physiotherapy.
Recurring Hamstring Injuries: Possible Symptoms
There are several factors which could be behind the recurring hamstring problem, like
– Painful scar tissue in the hamstring
– Increased curvature in the lower back (lumbar lordosis), with the hip flexors or iliopsoas muscles causing anterior pelvic tilt that is causing the pelvis to tilt forward. This causes hamstring elongation, which really increases the stress on the muscle and could go so far as to narrow the invertebral foramen, which is an outlet for nerve roots in your lower back.
– Reduced eccentric strength
– Poor control of trunk stabilization, which reduces the strength in the abdominal region and the lower back muscles. As a result, more stress is applied on the hamstring to stabilize the pelvis while sprinting.
Recurring Hamstring Injuries: Treatment Methods
The perfect way to treat an athlete with recurrent injuries to the hamstring would be the manual mobilization of soft-tissue areas so that any scar tissue is broken up, followed by joint mobilization in the lower back. Slump exercises and straight leg raises can be used to get the sciatic nerve mobile, and the iliopsoas should also be stretched slowly but steadily. It is also recommended that the physiotherapist formulates an extensive exercise program at home which whips him back into shape using trunk stabilizing exercises for lumbar and abdominal muscles, such that around a month to six weeks of therapy would eventually get him back to perfect condition.
Patello-Femoral Joint Problems and their Treatment
Pain in the anterior knee is very common for athletes involved in extensive sports which involve several repetitions of extension and flexion of the knee, ranging from rowers and sprinters to cyclists and gymnasts too. A very good way to treat this issue is medially mobilizing the patella to be able to stretch tight lateral forms through exercise with tape for inner quadriceps muscles. These hold the patella medially and reduce maltracking. It is a good idea if he can get a personal trainer specializing in physiotherapy in Melbourne to get him to do stretching programs for lengthening tight muscles. Patella tendinitis can be treated using manual techniques to eliminate soft-tissue inflammation and pain. Foot position can be corrected using temporary orthotics. This treatment over four weeks will get the athlete in shape, and he will be raring to get back in the game soon enough.