There is no real difference between injuries caused by sporting activities and those caused in the home or working place. They are all diagnosed in the same way, eg, sprain, strain, bruising, fracture, etc. The differences occur in the attitude of the injured person and the professional treating them. Most non-sporting people are happy to have a diagnosis made, followed by rest. The usual advice then is, 'Take it easy,' 'Don't overdo it,' 'It will get better given time' and, if necessary, 'Have some physiotherapy'. For sports people, this is the same as saying 'You will never play again!' What they want is a diagnosis that says 'You will be fit to play at the weekend.' Injuries can happen to all types of tissues in the body. These tissues are:
joint capsules and ligaments
bones and periosteum
bursae
nerves
blood vessels
connective tissue
So coming from a sporting background, I understand why, when your injured you want help quickly. So that you can get back to your chosen sport or activity as soon as possible. My aim is to get you there in the shortest space of time. From my training with the London School of Sports Massage, I'm qualified to assess & treat these soft tissue injuries.
Soft tissues can be injured in two ways
1. Overuse - develops over a period of hours, days, or weeks, as a result of unaccustomed or repetitive activities. Tissues commonly affected are muscles, tendons & ligaments. These injuries often begin as a minor irritation. Pain often feels better when the tissues have been warmed up and moved and it is often, therefore, ignored. As the tissues become more irritable then the pain becomes worse. Carrying on with exercise does not allow healing, so the original problem then develops into a long-term, overuse injury (chronic), which then becomes difficult to treat.
2. Acute Injury - instant injury, specific incident - direct impact from a kick, or a blow, or a sudden forceful action, or uncoordinated movement, such as a fall which causes an overstretching of the tissues, resulting in damage.
Underlying causes of overuse injuries:
sudden increase in activity
lack of general fitness and flexibility
incorrect technique while performing an activity
poor design of work area»
unsuitable equipment or training surface
Recovering from an over-use injury
This follows on from acute injury advice below.
This can take several weeks, but in most cases improvment is seen after the first visit & usually 3-4 treatment session & the injury is cleared & your back doing your chosen activity or sport.
Recovering from an acute injury
R.I.C.E The first course of action after an acute injury (e.g a hard tackle in football or twisting a knee whilst running or jumping) is important to get underway as soon as possible. This treatment in the first 24 - 48 hours will aid a faster recovery
Rest
Is very important in the early stages So that the injury doesn't become any worse Further aggravation could do more damage to the soft tissue‘s Rest allows the damaged fibres to begin to knit together quickly It’s at least four days before any training effect is lost & up to ten days before training plans need to be altered
Ice
Ice should be applied as soon as possible, as this slows down the blood circulation to reduce the amount of bleeding & swelling in the tissues. Ice should never be put directly onto the skin [unless it’s kept moving] as this could cause it to burn, so always wrap ice in a wet cloth. The ice should only be applied locally to the injury site. Apply the ice for anything between 5 minutes to 20 minutes, or until the skin is pale. If the skin has turned red when the ice is removed the timing has been to long If ice is unavailable then anything cold will do. This is where having a disposable ice pack in your kit bag comes in handy
Compression
Compression applied to the area as soon as possible to restrict bleeding at the injury site. The pressure compresses the blood vessels so stopping the blood escaping from the open ends of the torn fibres. Compression can be applied locally to the injury site with a pad over the area & held in place with strapping
Elevation
Elevation of the injury should be practised as much as possible A leg or arm should be comfortably supported so that it is raised higher than the torso.
