Early Treatment of All Injuries

Summer has come to an end, kids are back to school, and the fall sports season is in full swing. Here at BREAKTHRU, we will start to see numerous patients who have suffered the inevitable injuries that go along with participation in sports. Today, the outlook for an injured athlete is far more optimistic than in the past. Sports medicine has developed some amazing treatments to help athletes heal and, in most cases, return to sports. 

 

The most critical aspect of dealing with a sports injury is recognizing the importance of getting the injury treated early. The focus of this article will deal with injuries that are not considered serious and do not require a trip to the emergency room (i.e. muscle strains, minor ankle sprains). These types of injuries will generally heal with time but, if not treated properly early on, can cause problems down the road. 

 

For example, a hamstring strain is a fairly common injury we see in the clinic. When someone suffers a hamstring strain, there is most likely some disruption of the muscle fibers that make up the hamstring. There will be some pain and possibly some bruising and the athlete will most likely have difficulty performing activities that put the hamstring muscle under stress (sprinting, jumping). The body will begin the process of trying to heal the area where the muscle fibers have become disrupted. If not treated with the proper timing of rest, gentle stretching, and soft tissue mobilization, the muscle fibers may not heal in an ideal arrangement and the athlete is left with a muscle restriction. The pain and inflammation of the injury will resolve and the athlete will feel like they can return to their sport, but they are now at an increased risk of re-injury because of the restriction located at the original injury site. The next time that area of the hamstring gets placed under stress, they are likely to suffer another hamstring injury or they may feel they can never “get loose” in that area.

 

The above example applies to all injuries throughout the body. The worst thing about a seemingly minor injury is that is usually feels better within a week or two. If that injury is not treated properly, the athlete is at an increased risk of re-injury due to an incomplete rehabilitation of that injury. Recent research backs this up. A recent study of 80 English soccer players who had all suffered grade one (minor) ankle sprains were split into 2 groups. One group was treated with rest and the athletes were allowed to return to soccer when it was determined they had healed properly. The other group was treated with physical therapy to help restore full range of motion of the ankle as well as undergoing balance and proprioception training.  The athletes in each group were followed over the next year. The results showed that the group who underwent physical therapy before returning to soccer had a significantly lower rate of re-injury that the group who had no physical therapy.  

 

At BREAKTHRU, we see too many athletes in the clinic who say “This is the fourth time I’ve sprained this ankle” or “My quad muscle has been sore for the past 4 weeks” and are forced to miss a significant part if not all of their competitive season.  If these athletes would have been treated at the initial onset of injury, there is a much better chance that they could have returned to their sport AND decreased their chance of re-injury.  

 

Make sure all injuries are addressed early.  Our clinic is able to see patients the day of the injury and our therapists are specialists in sports medicine trained to refer our athletes to the proper specialists if we feel it is needed.  BOTTOM LINE: get all injuries treated early and you will be back on the field earlier and stronger.

 

Jeff Sallade 

Physical Therapist/ Medford Facility Director