Got a Sports Injury?
Guess what!? Let’s talk about sports injuries. Ok, we know its Friday and we don’t want to put a downer on the weekend’s antics, but it’s important to know how they are caused, the symptoms, how to get rid of the little buggers and how to prevent them from reoccurring in the future.
We’re going to kick off this weekend with Achilles Tendinitis, more commonly known as “pulling my Achilles’ heel” (you know him right? Great guy). This occurs when the tendon is overused and ultimately, triggers inflammation. If this isn’t treated properly, then it can become chronic and terribly painful (experienced it myself actually).You can treat it by using the ‘RICE’ technique – don’t worry we’ll explain it. It stands for Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation, and is a technique used to treat most injuries.
At number four, we have the well-known lower back pain – we’ve all experienced this at some point. This one is predominantly a sports injury, but can occur from simply walking or lifting heavy objects the wrong way (bend your knees when lifting heavy objects – they are a lot stronger than your lower back region). The cause of it can range from hereditary spinal structure, to simply improper stretching. It can be prevented by warming up properly, do a few sets of star jumps or try touching your toes without bending your knees.
We’ve got shin splints for you all at number 3. These nuisances occur from running when you aren’t really used to running – it happens when the muscles around the shin bone get overused and become inflamed. Don’t worry about the term ‘splints’! Again, stretching and performing the RICE technique should sort this out – if not visit one of our two clinics – we operate in Manchester and Sale.
At number 2, we have the devil i.e. ankle sprain. We don’t want to be the bearer of bad news, but this one is almost inevitable from any sports that involved jumping or running in intervals – it can however be aggravated if worked upon. You can rest it by using RICE again and but while resting it, you should rotate it to get the circulation more fluent.
Today’s winner is the pulled muscle! Yes we know this might be a controversial choice, but with the consistency of this injury + the pain it can bring – it’s my number one. This occurs when a muscle is fatigued or tired – more commonly overused and has not been warmed up. How to prevent this? Just warm up properly and if it has gotten to the stage where it’s really painful, come to AdvancePhysio, we’ll surely sort it for you!
For more information about sports injuries or about physiotherapy in Manchester, visit our website, or give us a ring on 0161 832 87 97.
