Leading an active and athletic lifestyle involving exercise and sports is known to be good for your health and wellbeing. Yet with this there comes a risk of physical injuries sustained through these physical activities. Due to this it is important to know that physiotherapy can help you to get back on track and continue with an active lifestyle when such an injury occurs.

With sports for example, injuries can happen during training, warm-ups or during the sport itself. Activities such as running and tennis have even seen common injuries named after them – runner’s knee, tennis/golfer’s elbow and swimmer’s shoulder existing as examples. Contact sports such as rugby can bring with them an increased risk of injuries such as concussions. With all of the above ailments, physiotherapy can help to cure them and alleviate any pain associated with them.

Coming back to concussions, common medical practice suggests an approach of treatment involving rest and a gradual return of physical exertion. However the University of Calgary has published a study detailing how physiotherapy could speed up the recovery. The study and findings reveal that a physiotherapy treatment plan combining treatment of the cervical spine, neck vertebrae and of the vestibular or balance system can see those suffering from prolonged post-concussion symptoms have their recovery time decreased.

Joint replacement and orthopaedic surgeon and consultant Dr. Basavaraj S. Kyavater states “Injuries can happen when one tries to take on too much physical activity too quickly. It is important to understand how to pace it, or one may be at risk of an overuse injury, which could ultimately prevent one from being active.”

This shows us that to avoid an injury getting to a stage where it may require surgery, physiotherapy can help you to get back on track before further activity contributes to the worsening of the injury. Physiotherapists are extremely knowledgeable about the human body and how it works and can provide you with a treatment plan that will lead you back to a pain-free and functioning lifestyle.

If you require any more information about the topics discussed in this blog or would like to make an appointment, please call PhysioCare on 015310007 or click here to contact us.

 

References:
– Austin, D. (2014) ‘University of Calagry Scientist Finds Physiotherapy Can Speed Up Concussion Recovery’ (online) Available at: http://www.calgarysun.com/2014/07/30/university-of-calgary-scientist-finds-physiotherapy-can-speed-up-concussion-recovery [Accessed 19/08/15]

– Mohammed, Y. (2014) ‘How to Overcome Sports Injuries’ (online) Available at: http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/bangalore/How-to-Overcome-Sports-Injuries/2014/08/20/article2387898.ece [Accessed 19/08/15]

– © BrokenSphere / Wikimedia Commons. (2010) Image of injured player on pitch. (online) Available at: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Injury_at_Galaxy_at_Earthquakes_2010-08-21_2.JPG [Accessed 19/08/15]