Often these sports injuries prevent you from exercising, participating in your activity of choice, and competing. This can last for weeks and months if you are not adequately diagnosed and treated for your sports injury.
Unfortunately, many who suffer from sports injuries will go to their primary care physician or orthopedist. If there is no structural damage, they will be told to rest for 6-8 weeks but not offered any solution and prevention for the sports injury.
Patients do not want surgery or long periods of rest if they do not need that. There typically are alternatives that are conservative and can yield lasting results.
While it is possible to injure any part of the body when playing sports, the term sports injuries are commonly used to refer to injuries of the musculoskeletal system.
Some of the most common sports injuries include:
Sprains—tears to the ligaments that join the ends of bones together. The ankles, knees, and wrists are commonly affected by sprains.
Strains—pulls or tears of muscles or tendons (the tissues that attach the muscles to the bones)
"Shin splints"—pain along the outside front of the lower leg, commonly seen in runners
Achilles tendonitis or rupture of the Achilles tendon—These injuries involve the large band of tissue that connects the calf muscles to the heel
Fractures of the bones
Dislocation of joints
Depending upon your specific condition, working with Empowerd MVMT to improve your strength, range of motion and overall function after healing may be recommended.
The Cumulative Injury Cycle represents the process in which over-use injuries and pain occur.
The process begins with Overwork, such as running, golf, tennis, and other sports/activities, especially if your technique isn’t sound. Sports and activities combined with a sedentary lifestyle or other repetitive activities lead to Weak & Tight Muscles.
These weak and tight muscles lead to excessive Friction, Pressure, and Tension to the local muscles, ligaments, tendons, and fascia. In turn, this results in Decreased Circulation and Swelling and Hypoxia (lack of oxygen) to the area.
Due to this hypoxic state, the formation of adhesions and scar tissue occurs in the area, which decreases the function of the local structures. This becomes a vicious cycle that, over time, results in pain and injury.
The Keys to preventing this vicious cycle from becoming an injury:
- Reduce the “Overwork” with proper equipment (running shoes, etc.), proper technique, optimal rest, and a gradual increase in activity (avoid too much, too soon).
- Corrective Exercises (strengthening and mobility work) to prevent muscular imbalances
- Bodywork such as foam rolling, Chiropractic, Massage, Active Release Technique, Physical Therapy, etc. to prevent adhesions, lack of oxygen to the cells, etc.
Some of the common sports injuries we evaluate and treat successfully in our office are:
- Running Injuries
- Runner’s Knee
- IT Band Syndrome
- Plantar Fasciitis
- Muscle Strains
- Hip Pain
- Piriformis Syndrome
- Foot Pain
- Fitness/Weightlifting Injuries
- Disc Herniation
- Shoulder Injuries
- Back Pain
- Knee Pain
- Golf Injuries
- Golfer’s Elbow
- Back Pain
- Shoulder Injuries
- Tennis Injuries
- Tennis Elbow
- Shoulder Injuries
- Wrist Injuries
- Football/Soccer/Baseball Injuries
- Swimming Injuries
- Shoulder Impingement
- Rotator cuff sprain/strains
- Low back pain
- Performing Artists
- Hip Pain
- Knee Pain
- Ankle Pain
- Shoulder Impingement
- Rotator cuff sprain/strains
- Low Back Pain
- Neck Pain
- and More
Many sports injuries have a reason that is away from the site of pain. For instance, a lot of knee pain from sports can be caused by a faulty foot/ankle or hip. There are many examples of these compensation patterns that place undue stress on specific aspects of the body.
Once we have determined your diagnosis and root cause, we develop a treatment plan that consists of sports rehabilitation exercises, soft tissue therapy, chiropractic, and IASTM.
Too often, you go for an evaluation of your sports injury, and you only get a brief exam. You have been prescribed pain medications, rest, or a script for physical therapy somewhere else. In our office, you are examined and treated on the first day. Our treatment will consist of muscle work, sports rehab exercises, chiropractic manipulation (if indicated), and other sports therapeutic modalities.
Phases for treating sports injuries
1. Pain reduction
2. Return to Activites of Daily Living
3. Return to Sports Performance
Early on, we expect your pain to resolve, which allows us to take your rehab to a more advanced level. At this phase, you should be able to perform all activities of daily living without pain and much of your sport/activity at a moderate level.
Our next goal is to get you performing at the highest of your capabilities and advance beyond your pre-injury state. This can take a combination of treatment and sports training to get to this next level.
As an athlete and/or an active person, one of the best qualities we can help you achieve is to become injury resistant. Often you hear the word injury prevention, but the reality is, absolute prevention is not possible. But we can help you become injury resistant with the right type of treatment, corrective exercises, and advice.
Improving your injury resistance does three things
- Decrease chance of getting injured
- Decrease the severity of the injury
- Increase recovery time from the injury
We focus heavily on injury resistance measures with our patients to help them get better and stay better. If you are dealing with any sports injuries or over-use strain, we encourage you to call our office and schedule a new patient exam. We will provide you with the best conservative treatment options for your condition and goals.
They can either be in private practice and/or contracted for a sports team, but they are trained to treat all sorts of athletes from youth athletes to professional athletes to weekend warriors.
Numerous studies support that chiropractic can help athletes achieve optimal performance through adjustments, soft tissue work, and rehabilitation. Sports chiropractors can either have board certifications such as CCSP or DACBSP or have taken continuing education courses to prepare themselves for athletic injures and performance.
Dr. Emily is one of three CCSPs in the Treasure Valley.
