Sports Physiotherapy And How It Can Fast Track Sports Injuries

Sports Physio Benefits

Sports injury treatment involves all procedures in the diagnosis, treatment and special prevention of sports injuries and illnesses. 

It is a required field and includes complete medicine and all its specialties, from orthopedics and neurology to dentistry and endocrinology. Within this term, there is also a special branch, which is a sports physiotherapy. 

Physiology is the science that studies and explains the normal functions of particular parts of an organism (cells, tissues, organs), or the organism as a whole. Tries to explain the physical and chemical factors that determine the origin, development, and maintenance of life. 

In this way, sports physiotherapy for people explains the organization and functioning of the human body before, after, and during physical (sports) activity, to understand all the complicated mechanisms and control systems.

It has its specific characteristics and although it is based on basic physiotherapy principles, in practice it has specific goals which it pursues.

The goal of the rehabilitation process carried out by the physiotherapists is the full recovery of the patient's body after the injury and the restoration of the ability before the injury.

 specific need to bring the injured part of the athlete's body, as well as the whole locomotion system to the state of ability for full training and competitive load, sports physiotherapy with all its specific treatment techniques.

Physiotherapy treatment for a shoulder injury

Shoulder pain is usually a rotator cuff injury. These are four muscles that strengthen the shoulder joint and provide stability when performing movements (lifting and rotating the arm). Injury, stretching, inflammation, partial or total soft tissue rupture occurs. It occurs in sports in which there are frequent repetitions and movements of the arm above shoulder level as well as lifting heavyweights.

There is a weakness in the arm and increased pain during the night. It is diagnosed by ultrasound examination. Early treatment, the use of physical therapy and at a later stage of kinesiotherapy, prevents the worsening of the problems and the transition into the chronic phase. The use of physical therapy (interference currents, laser, magnet) reduces pain and inflammation, which is a prerequisite for continuing the rehabilitation program with the use of kinesitherapy. The exercise program includes stretching and strengthening the shoulder muscles to gain a full range of motion, as well as preventing recurrence of injury.

Physiotherapy treatment for a hamstring injury 

A hamstring injury is a common diagnostic and therapeutic problem in sports medicine. Timely and accurate diagnosis is a prerequisite for proper and successful treatment. A diagnosis of a hamstring injury needs to be made early to receive adequate therapy. Delayed treatment leads to the development of chronic illness and persistent problems that disrupt the athlete's career and training process.

Hamstring injuries result from the inability of the tendon tissue to adapt to the forces of loading. The tendons can be damaged by a strong contraction or by repetitions of the same contractions.

Hamstring injuries are usually joint and occur on a previously altered tendon.

After the acute phase after sports injury (48-72h), the method of physical therapy is applied - TENS, ultrasound (sonophoresis of heparin preparations), laser, magnet ..., as well as the method of kinesitherapy (strength training exercises, muscle strengthening and stretching). Most sports injuries require an ultrasound examination of the soft tissues (sites of injury), and in unclear cases, a magnetic resonance examination is performed.

Basic in the treatment of this injury is a physical therapy program, which consists of programs of various procedures:

• cryotherapy (ice massage),
• tendon massage,
• electrotherapy,
• ultrasound therapy,
• stretching muscles,
• muscle kinesiotherapy,
• activity and load correction,
• stretching and strengthening muscles,
• gradually returning to training.

Physiotherapy treatment for a lower back injury

Lower back injury, more specifically the lumbar spine injury (L1-L5) is one of the most common sports injuries, affecting more than 85% of athletes at least once during a sports career. This problem affects both younger and older athletes, runners, basketball players, swimmers, gymnasts, cyclists, tennis players...No one is excluded. When you suffer this injury, you really should be seeking the services of lower back physiotherapists

The lumbar part of the back is where the pelvis joins the spinal column and the legs with the pelvis. The anatomy of this part is very complex and this part of the body suffers a lot of loads and is also very mobile.

The lower back injury occurs during training when the amplitude of movement of the lumbar spine is greater than allowed. This is mainly due to insufficiently strengthened trunk muscles. There is nerve involvement between the bones and stretching of the back muscles, causing unpleasant pain in the lumbar region. The pain can be mild but also so intense that it impedes daily activities.

You should know that by visiting a physiotherapist, in addition to the examination, you will always receive a personalized exercise program that will get you back to the activities you enjoy doing as soon as possible.

Physical therapy:

• electrotherapy, TENS,
• magnetotherapy,
• laser therapy,
• thermotherapy,
• ultrasound therapy,
• kinesitherapy…

An effective method is acupuncture, needle, electro-acupuncture, which in combination with other treatments give good results in resolving lower back injury.

Quads injury treatment

The quadriceps muscle has a function in stretching the lower leg in the knee joint, controlling movement in the hip joint and the most important role in running, sprinting, kicking, jumping. During the contraction of the thigh muscle, force and tension are transmitted through the muscle fibers of the quadriceps. If the tension or force is too high due to excessive repetition and fatigue or high force, the muscle fibers can rupture.

Athletes usually experience severe pain at the time of injury, stretching or firing. They may sometimes be able to continue their activities after the injury but the symptoms worsen after the rest period. In severe cases, they may experience extremely severe pain, muscle spasm, inability to continue activities, and loss of muscle function. Pain occurs during activities in which the thigh muscles are stressed, such as climbing or descending stairs, jumping, running, squatting, and the like. The injury site can also be touch-sensitive and swelling may occur.

With proper treatment of injured muscle, most athletes with minor injuries recover within one to three weeks. For major injuries, recovery can take four to eight weeks depending on the degree of damage. Physical therapy is of great importance to speed up the recovery and to make the recovery complete. The following physical therapy methods are commonly used:

• massage,
• electrotherapy,
• acupuncture,
• cryotherapy,
• thermotherapy,
• hydrotherapy,
• kinesitherapy.

Learning these techniques, as well as understanding the athlete, the sport he or she is engaged in, the total physical activity, as well as the tissue's response to all these stimuli, is the basic task of an experienced sports physiotherapist, who is also the backbone of total sports physiotherapy. Its role is not only to recognize the injury and cure, but also to implement specific prevention, both individual and collective, either at the club level or in the sport in a particular environment.