Osteopathy and Sports
If you’re an active person then you know you’re keeping your health in good order. You’ll also likely be familiar with hurting yourself! An active lifestyle puts strain on our joints and from time to time, injuries occur. From sprains and strains to the more serious tears and dislocations; Sports Massage and Osteopathy can work with you to maintain your fitness to help you minimise, and recover from, injury.
Whether you are training for a marathon, playing five-a-side football on a Sunday afternoon or going for an occasional swim. Osteopathy isn’t just for problems with your back, it can aid recovery of almost any sporting injury including hamstring strains, shoulder pain, tennis elbow, hip and knee pain and shin splint problems.
How does Osteopathy help with Injury?
Improper musculoskeletal function has far reaching affects, so an Osteopath will look for the root cause of your injury and identify the factors that might have led to the injury in the first place rather than just alleviating the symptoms and help prevent reoccurrence. Osteopathy focuses on how the body interrelates, this hands-on holistic approach looks at the structure and function of the body and helps restore balance.
Osteopaths use a variety of manual treatment techniques including massage, manipulation and stretching to increase the mobility of joints, relieve muscle tension and enhance circulation and nerve supply to the tissues to help the body’s own healing mechanisms. As well as a manual prescription, Osteopaths will also give advice and exercises or stretches to maximise your recovery, treatment, preventing further problems and improving performance.
How do I know I have an injury?
Injuries are defined mainly in two ways: Acute and Chronic.
An Acute injury occurs suddenly whilst playing sports and when treated properly will heal quickly. You will know if you have an Acute Injury as you will likely feel pain – in varying degrees from tenderness and weakness up to severe, burning or difficulty putting pressure on the area. There may be visable signs: swelling or discolouration, or a bone or joint may appear out of place. Acute Injuries should be addressed straight away using RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation) and if no better within a few days, medical assistance should be sought. If you have trouble performing day to day duties or severe pain, you should seek medical attention from a doctor or Osteopath straight away.
A Chronic Injury is likely to occur when you have been active in sport for a long time. Usually, chronic injuries ache, or may cause severe pain at an increasing level, or it may just hurt when you are active or when you are resting. Chronic injuries can be effectively treated by an Osteopath. It is likely the longer you have had an injury – the longer it can take to treat – so act fast.
How to get treatment
If you are experienceing pain, you needen’t suffer and let your loved sports suffer. You should contact us today and book a consultation with one of our expert Southampton Osteopaths who will help to diagnose and treat you so your body can heal quickly and effectively. Call 02380 639747 or Book via Email.
