When we suffer injuries in sport, the first thing our body does to initiate the healing process is trigger the inflammatory response. This could be from rolling your ankle, strains, sprains, or dislocations.
- In an ankle sprain, one of the first things we see is swelling around the joint, closely associated with reduced movement and increased pain of the foot. It’s important to get back to weight bearing activities and exercise as soon as possible to start rehabilitation. Using kinesiology tape for oedema drainage as well as joint stability will reduce the inflammation around the joint to allow for an increased range of motion again. Improving joint stability through the strength and conditioning of surrounding muscle groups such as: gastrocnemius, soleus, peroneals, and tibialis’, will decrease the likelihood of a sprain happening again and make the athlete more aware on avoiding the mechanism of injury in the future. Treatment methods for overuse injuries may differ from acute ones.
- A common overuse injury we see from sports such as rugby, netball, and weightlifting are bicep tendinopathy. Treatment focuses on resting the injured tendon to allow healing, using techniques to decrease pain, and exercising to improve muscle strength and tendon stability. In most cases, bicep tendinopathy resolves with treatment. Assessing movement patterns and discerning which active, passive, and resisted ranges of motion are eliciting painful symptoms, will help guide our treatment and advice for rehabilitation.
- Book HERE to see one of our Sports Therapists to help you get back to sport and exercise