As any athlete knows, sports injuries can be devastating. Whether you are a professional or amateur athlete, the impact of a sports injury can not only be emotionally debilitating but physically disabling as well. If not treated properly, the injury may not heal completely and a young person may see a promised career in athletics come to a grinding halt. Nothing is worse than someone with a promising career in athletics, particularly one who is just starting out, to receive an injury that sidelines him or her for life and ends their career before it gets a chance to begin. Unfortunately, because of the nature of athletics, sports injuries are all too common. Fortunately, medical science is in tune with these injuries and physiotherapy to treat sports injuries has come a long way in recent years.
Physiotherapy to treat sports injuries usually occurs after the fact. A medical doctor examines the injured part of the body, performs x-rays and, in some instances, sets broken bones. When someone has a broken or fractured bone, it can take anywhere from two to six weeks for the bone to heal. During this time, the injured part of the body must be kept immobilized in order for it to heal properly. This is usually done by immobilizing the injured area in a cast. Once the cast is removed, it is usually time for the physiotherapist to go to work. During the time the arm or leg has been immobilized, the muscles have weakened. It takes grueling effort in some cases to regain the strength in these muscles. Both the patient and physiotherapist must work together to restore the injured limb to its original condition.
When using physiotherapy to treat sports injuries, the therapist's job is to allow the patient to regain the strength of the injured area. This can take anywhere from weeks to months until someone is completely healed after a sports injury. If, for example, an athlete broke his leg, the muscles in his leg experienced atrophy when immobilized in the cast to allow the bone to set. The physiotherapist will exercise and manipulate the leg so that the athlete regains the muscle mass that he lost while his leg was immobilized.
Physiotherapy to treat sports injuries takes many different forms. Some therapists use different exercises and manipulations to treat their patients and others use massage therapy. Swimming is also a very popular way for physiotherapy to treat sports injuries. The physiotherapist will continue to work with the patient until he or she has regained the strength they once had in the injured part of their body.
Physiotherapy to treat sports injuries can be a bit painful for the injured party who is not used to moving the part of his injured anatomy for a long period of time, but it is necessary for the therapist to push the endurance limits of he patient to achieve full effect and rebuild muscle mass. Physiotherapy to treat sports injuries is the best option for an athlete who has suffered an injury that could potentially end his career, to get back into the game.
