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SPORTS MEDICINE
This refers to the point in recovery from an injury
when a person is able to go back to play their sport
or participate in an activity at a level close to that
which they participated at before.
One of the goals of Sports Medicine is to try to get
an athlete back into action as soon as possible. Returning
to the sport or activity too soon, before adequate healing
or recovery, can put you at risk for re-injury and possibly
an even longer down time.
Sports Medicine refers to many different areas of exercise
and sports science that relate both to performance and
care of an injury. With the right game plan for sports
injuries, from early diagnosis and treatment to full
functional rehabilitation you can often safely accelerate
your RETURN TO PLAY.
INJURIES CAN BE CLASSIFIED
IN TWO CATEGORIES:
1. TRAUMATIC INJURIES - are sudden happenings, in which
you know something has gone wrong, and you feel the
immediate effects of the injury, perhaps pain, swelling,
bruising, or an open wound. The traumatic injury can
be extrinsic, or due to some external cause, like a
direct blow, a sudden twist as you change direction,
or a fall. It can also be intrinsic, without an obvious
cause, like the sprinter's sudden hamstring strain in
a race.
2. OVERUSE INJURIES - are more subtle, because they
come on simply as a gradually increasing pain, directly
associated with a particular, usually repetitive, activity.
Tennis elbow and runner's shin soreness are examples
of overuse injuries.
PATTERNS OF RECOVERY
Tendon and muscle injuries is passive stretching to
regain lost flexibility, followed by specific restrengthening
exercises concentrating on the injured muscle group,
building up to a final stage of functional exercises,
in which the injured muscle group works in coordination
with its surrounding muscles.
Stretching the injured muscles remains an important
routine for some time after you have recovered from
the injury, to prevent any danger of the muscles becoming
tight and then being re-injured.
For joint injuries, the pattern of rehabilitation usually
consists of strengthening exercises for the muscles
around the joint, to regain stability, followed by exercises
to regain joint's mobility, leading to the final stage
of functional dynamic exercises.
YOUR RECOVERY PLAN
Recovery from an injury involves a series of logical
steps from the time of injury until you are able to
get back on the court or field. Each step should be
outlined and monitored by your physician and physical
therapist.
During the acute phase, the focus should be on minimizing
swelling. This involves Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation,
along with limitation of activities. Depending on the
type and severity of your injury, treatment may also
involve bracing, casting, or even surgery.
It is very important to maintain overall conditioning
while the injury heals during this period. Reconditioning
of the total body occurs due to lack of activity or
loss of function. There may be a loss in strength, coordination,
endurance, mobility, aerobic capacity, or balance due
to the injury. These functions must be restored in order
for the individual to RETURN TO PLAY. Creative techniques
can be used to safely work around the injury.
In the next phase of recovery, you should work on regaining
full motion and strength of the injured limb joint.
An exact plan should be outlined and monitored by your
physician and physical therapist. For many injuries,
gentle protective range of motion exercises can be started
almost immediately. Muscle tone can be maintained with
the use of electrical stimulation or simple strengthening
exercises.
When strength returns to normal, functional drills
can be started. This may include jumping rope, brisk
walking, hopping, or light jogging for lower extremity
injuries. Light throwing or easy ground strokes can
be included for upper extremity injuries. Specific balance
and agility exercises can bring back coordination that
may have been lost due to the injury.
Once you have progressed with motion, strength, endurance,
and agility, and are tolerating functional drills, you
can try higher levels of functional tests and drills.
These higher levels of functional tests and drills can
now incorporate sport specific movement patterns.
Only when you are participating hard without significant
difficulty and the healing has progressed to the point
where the likelihood of injury is low, are you ready
to RETURN TO PLAY. During these final phases of recovery,
you should be closely monitored and special attention
should be given to adequate warm up before and icing
after activity.
A systematic recovery plan for RETURN TO PLAY is successfully
used every day, at all levels of play, from the recreational
athlete to the elite professional when monitored by
a physician and physical therapist.
TIPS TO REMEMBER TO SPEED
YOUR RECOVERY
- Make sure that injuries are recognized early and
treated promptly.
- After doing any necessary first-aid measures, your
next priority is to obtain an accurate diagnosis of
what damage has been done.
- Participate in a full functional rehabilitation
program.
- RETURN TO PLAY!!!
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