Sports Injuries Recover Faster With Physical Therapy

San Antonio weather allows for a wide variety of sports to be played all year long.  Injuries are a part of any sport, although each sport will have a tendency towards certain types of injuries.  Soccer players get more ankle and knee injuries.  Baseball and softball players tend towards shoulder problems.  Golf and tennis players often develop elbow and wrist injuries. 

Regardless of the type of injury, physical therapy can often play an important role in the athlete’s recovery.  The basic components of sports injury treatment are usually the same regardless of the type and location of the injury:

• Control of inflammation
• Protection of the injured area to prevent further injury
• Once the inflammatory stage has passed, mobilization, stabilization, and rehabilitation of injured structures takes place

Physical therapists most commonly control inflammation by means of cold packs and electrical stimulation.  These are usually used frequently in the first week or two following an injury. 

Protection of the injured area may be achieved through various means, including the application of tape, pre-made braces, air casts, slings, wraps, and indirectly through the use of crutches or other supportive aids.  In the initial stages of an injury, damaged tissue is vulnerable to further injury, so supporting and protecting the injured tissue is important to keep things from getting worse and allowing healing to begin.

Protection of injured areas may continue for some time even after the main symptoms are gone, because the stresses that athletes place on their bodies can cause re-injury if the damaged tissues are not supported.  Braces and special taping methods like kinesiotaping may be used for this purpose.

Once the initial inflammatory stage of an injury has passed, the real importance of physical therapy is just beginning.  It is important to restore normal mobility to injured joints and surrounding tissues and to strengthen muscles to provide stability and support.  A good physical therapist knows how to push his or her patients just enough so that they make progress without overdoing and causing an exacerbation of symptoms. 

Depending on the type and severity of the original injury, some form of ongoing preventive therapy may be needed.  In such cases, physical therapists prepare patients for discharge by instructing them in home exercise and self-treatment methods and make sure that the patient knows what to do to prevent future problems.

San Antonio Physical Therapist Mark DeAnda, P.T. Assists A Patient With Shoulder Exercises.

Physical therapy can be remarkably helpful when the right treatment is applied at the proper time, but it can actually make things worse if the patient is forced to fit into a preconceived treatment protocol that is inappropriate for their particular circumstances. 

For example, a patient with an acute disc herniation who is experiencing severe pain is not likely to do well with intense resistance training.  This might seem pretty obvious, but you might be surprised how often a patient like this would be put into a resistance training program on day one of treatment by supposedly qualified therapists, simply because it is their usual protocol. 

While rehabilitation with resistance training is usually an important part of the overall treatment plan for most patients, a good physical therapist is going to assess each patient individually and decide what will provide the best results the fastest and is within the patient’s tolerance. 

A patient who is in severe pain will initially need therapies that are directed at reducing pain, inflammation, and muscle spasm.  As the symptoms improve, they can gradually be transitioned into more rehabilitative treatments intended to enhance strength and stability and to improve the individual’s tolerance to activities. 

A good physical therapist knows when to push a patient a little bit to get them past their fears and to prevent them from being lazy in their rehab activities.  But pushing a patient who is simply being lazy and/or is holding back out of fear of pain returning is much different than asking a patient who can barely move without excruciating pain to lift weights. 

By initiating the right treatment at the right time, a good physical therapist ensures that the patient will recover as quickly as possible and will have the best long-term outcome.