Sports injuries are mostly injuries which are a result of sporting activities. The majority of these injuries stem from bad training practices, bad conditioning, lack of a warm up and proper stretching. While some sports injuries will disappear over a period of time others will manifest themselves again when you get back to training. In the case of chronic injuries usually connected with the knee and spinal column it is recommended that you visit your sports injury physio immediately. Visiting a sport injury physio means that you will receive a thorough examination for strains, dislocations, shin splits and compartment syndrome etc.

Sports injuries are either chronic or acute. Acute injuries are often sudden. Severe pain, the inability to place any weight, extreme tenderness, swelling, throbbing sensation, visible break, weakness etc are all signs of an acute injury. Chronic injuries are usually a result of overusing a part of the body either during exercise or sports. Signs of this type of injury are a dull aching when resting, constant swelling, stiffness, and pain when exercising.

When to consult a sports injury physio?

Some injuries will inevitably require medical attention. Medical treatment often involves a combination of medication, exercise, corticosteroid injection, surgery and probably a cast in the case of a fracture. Visit a sports injury physio if you experience the following symptoms:

• Swelling, severe pain and numbness
• The pain from an old injury has suddenly become swollen
• Not being able to put any weight on the area
• If you have severe bleeding or laceration
• If you have a visible abnormality with your bone or joint

You may probably not need to visit a sports injury physiotherapist if you don’t experience any of the above symptoms. There are a few steps you can take to treat yourself which include:

• Rest: You should take a few days off from the activity that causes you pain instead of working through it. Rest a few days up to a week, depending on how severe the injury is, you should also refrain from using the affected area until you feel better.
• Use Ice: By applying ice on the injury up to eight times a day for 20 minutes each you can relieve much of the pain that you experience. However, leaving the ice on your body for over 20 minutes will cause frostbite. Wrap a few ice cubes into a towel and apply it to the affected area, better yet use hot / cold packs. Ice helps to reduce swelling which in turn limits the amount of blood which is exposed to the injured area.
• Elevate the injured area. If you’ve injured an area of your elbow, wrist, knee or ankle, adding some elevation will decrease swelling. You can simply prop the injured body part on a soft object or pillow.
• You may also want to immobilize the injured area to prevent further movement. Once you’ve started the treatment process and when you’re not elevating the area, you can use a sling, immobilizer or splint to prevent any further injury.

Treating chronic injuries

In most cases you may want to visit a sports injury physiotherapist if you have a chronic injury bothering you for a long time. This is important if you want to get rid of the problem forever instead of having it inhibiting your training. There are quite a few different treatment regimens for chronic conditions like:  

• Spinal Manipulation: Moving certain joints and or muscles by a trained professional can reduce pain.
• Ultrasound: This works in most cases because the high frequency sound waves produce heat within the area.
• Strength exercises: Making the area around a chronic injury region stronger can at times help to relieve much of the stress.
• Water therapy: This usually requires that the person in question perform a few monitored exercises in water.
• Electrostimulation: Mild electric shocks are used to provide pain relief by inhibiting the nerves from sending pain signals.

Whenever you have an injury it is best to first visit a best physiotherapist. A physiotherapist will be able to diagnose the root of the problem and then prescribe a treatment regime accordingly which gets rid of the problem permanently.