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Sports
Injuries
Whether you’re
an enthusiastic amateur or an elite professional, an
osteopath can help with the prevention and treatment
of common sporting injuries.
Osteopaths can diagnose and treat a variety of
sports related conditions such as
Pains and strains:
Low back pain (with or without sciatica).
Muscle and ligament injuries.
Knee pain (including lack of mobility and
degenerative conditions).
Shoulder, elbow and wrist injuries.
Foot and ankle complaints.
Functional complaints:
Reduced joint flexibility (e.g. suffered by golfers
who can’t rotate as well as they used to).
Mechanical limitations (e.g. suffered by gymnasts
having difficulty in doing full “splits”).
Injuries caused by overuse:
Tennis and golfer’s elbow.
Jumper’s knee.
Tenosynovitis and tendonitis.
And recurrent injuries.
If you’re taking up a new sport or activity, you
should seek the advice of a coach, trainer or
instructor, and ask for an appropriate training
programme for your age, experience and fitness.
With injuries, especially those to legs or arms,
always remember the word PRICED:
Prevent injuries by preparing thoroughly. You
should always warm up and stretch before exercise,
and warm down and stretch afterwards.
Rest after injury. That doesn’t mean taking
to your bed but rest punctuated by periods of
moderate activity.
Ice should be placed on the injured area as
quickly as possible.
Compress the injured area to prevent
swelling. Strapping or taping should always be
carried out by a qualified person.
Elevate the injured part of the body in order
to encourage blood and oxygen to flow to the joints
and tissues. This helps the body to heal itself.
Diagnosis should be obtained from an
appropriately trained healthcare professional if you
are concerned about the severity of an injury.
Always remember that prevention is better than cure
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