Because you have to go to work Monday morning.
Whether you’re a weekend warrior or a competitive athlete, a sports injury is to be expected. How you choose to treat that injury can affect how fast and how fully you recover from it.
Chiropractic is great if you have a sports injury. But it’s even better when combined with other therapies like Active Release and Kinesio Taping. Whatever your sports injury, a combination of chiropractic and other therapies can get you back in the game faster than just therapy alone.
Sports Injuries – What Causes Them?
Some sports injuries are obvious. The ones where an injury occurs immediately after a specific action – getting hit playing football, rolling your ankle while running, or twisting your knee skiing. But most sports injuries are from wear and tear. And these are the ones that sneak up on you.
In most sports, there is an element of moving your arms, legs or body forcefully, over and over again. Think of how many strides a runner takes in a lifetime. How many times a baseball player throws a ball. No matter if you run, swim, cycle or play contact sports, these movements place a tremendous amount of stress on the muscles and joints.
Over time that stress causes injury to the muscles, joints and soft tissues. As the cycle continues, inflammation and scar tissue build up, making muscles and joints stiff, weak and painful. If allowed to continue, repetitive stress can lead to a worse injury, and that means time away from activity.
Sports Injury Treatment – Why Chiropractic?
Chiropractic – like it never happened!
The typical sports injury involves both joints AND soft tissues. For instance, tennis elbow affects not only the muscles around the elbow, but the elbow joint itself. And while therapy alone does a good job with the soft tissue part of of an injury, it won’t fix your joints. And to be successful treating a sports injury, you’ve got to address all of it.
So why chiropractic? Because it addresses the part of a sports injury that therapy doesn’t… your joints! And Active Release Technique is great for breaking up scar tissue, and returning muscles and soft tissues to a healthy state. Kinesio Tape can help keep your joints and muscles stable, supported and feeling good during your return to activity.
What Is the Most Common Sports Injury?
Most sports injuries fall into one of three general categories: strains, sprains and tendonitis/tendonosis. For more information about a specific sports injury, check out the links on the right side up top.
1. Pulled Muscle / Muscle Strain
This is a common sports injury that occurs when a muscle can’t keep up with demand, or it’s stretched beyond its limit. A pulled muscle can range from mild to severe and, depending on the muscle, can be quite painful.
Athletes aren’t the only ones susceptible to a pulled muscle. Most people will suffer one at some point in their lives, with the neck, back or legs being the most common locations.
2. Sprains
A sprain is an injury to a ligament, which is the thick, fibrous tissue that connects bones to each other. Ligaments are designed to hold joints together, making them strong and stable. But if a ligament is stretched too far it can become injured (mild or moderate sprain) or even torn (severe sprain).
Once a sprain occurs your body starts to produce scar tissue. This can cause the affected joint to become stiff and weak, or even unstable in some cases. The most common locations for sprains are the ankles, knees and wrists.
3. Tendonitis
Tendonitis is a painful, nagging condition that occurs when a tendon becomes inflamed from repetitive use or overuse of a joint. This type of injury is common in athletes who over-train or perform repetitive movements, and usually becomes worse over time with continued use.
Tennis elbow and rotator cuff tendonitis (shoulder) can occur with repetitive movements of the arm such as throwing. Iliotibial band (IT band) syndrome, patellar tendonitis (knee), and Achilles tendonitis (back of the heel) occur with repetitive use of the leg and are common in runners, cyclists and running athletes.
What You DON’T Do Might Hurt You!
Call today and get back in the game!
If you have pain or stiffness in the muscles or joints related to activity, don’t ignore the warning signs. A sports injury can sneak up on you, and by the time you feel symptoms, you could be creeping closer to a more serious condition.
A combination of chiropractic, Active Release and other therapies can quickly and effectively treat joints and soft tissues, reduce inflammation, and speed up healing. It can also help reduce the risk of re-injury, and get you back in the game more quickly than passive therapies like bracing and rest.
Do You Have A Sports Injury?
Dr. Keith McGahey has been successfully treating athletes, weekend warriors, and people who just want to move since 1998. Don’t let pain take the fun out of your activities.
Get Help Now!
No referral is necessary. Just call or click to schedule an appointment with Dr. McGahey, and start feeling better today.