Optimal Recovery And Return To Sport Is The Aim Of The Game
Physiotherapy is a vital part of the recovery process for individuals who have suffered an injury. It helps to restore movement and function and promotes optimal recovery.
In this blog post, we will take a closer look at what physiotherapy can do for you and the various therapies to help promote healing. We will also discuss how physiotherapy can be used in conjunction with other treatments to help achieve the best possible results.
What Is Optimal Recovery?
If an injury is something you are currently dealing with, then you know how frustrating it can be. You may also already know about the importance of optimal recovery.
In practice, it is often harder to slow people down and keep them from going back to sport too soon after an injury, than it is to motivate people to move more. Research has demonstrated time and time again that a slow, graded, gradual return to sport is the best way to avoid another injury and an even longer rehabilitation period away from the court, field, rowboat, or track, along with a graded rehabilitation program.
Optimal recovery is when a muscle, ligament, tendon, nerve, or skin has been damaged (due to a trauma, like a fall or a tear, or an overuse injury) has returned to the state at which it was before the injury. Each fiber has been realigned and organized in a functional manner, new healthy blood vessels have formed, and there is very little scar tissue. Scar tissue is non-functional tissue, it is tight as it lacks elastin, and its fibers are formed very quickly, and therefore, they lack organization.
Optimal recovery also means there is a lower risk of reinjury and a higher potential for the strength or contractibility of the muscle that has been damaged to be restored. In essential the optimal or normal structure or integrity of the damaged tissue has been fully restored, and you are both physically and psychologically ready to return to sport.
How Do We Achieve Optimal Recovery?
Optimal recovery is achieved through a specific and tailored treatment plan. This often combines a few different therapies to promote the best tissue healing and in the short term to reduce pain and discomfort.
Your physiotherapist may use a number of the following therapies:
- A graded rehab program.
- Laser therapy.
- Shockwave therapy.
- Non-surgical decompression therapy & Joint Traction.
- Manual therapy.
What Is A Graded Rehab Program?
A graded rehab program is a treatment plan that progresses in intensity as the tissue heals and its tolerance for load or exercise increases. This means that you do not underload or overload the tissue too quickly – because that can lead to disadvantageous results like an increase in pain or swelling – and we don’t want that. Your physiotherapist will assess your starting level or baseline, and gradually progress your rehab program from there.
A graded rehab program should always be challenging enough to elicit an adaptive or beneficial response in the tissue, but shouldn’t be too challenging that it causes an increase in damage or symptoms. However, a mild increase in symptoms after exercise during your rehabilitation journey is expected and normal.
Graded rehab programs usually start off with isometric exercises, or exercise involving a muscle contraction but no joint movement. This promotes muscle activity but at a very low level to start building strength. Then you may move on to the harder exercises, moving from walking, running, sprinting, and finally return to sport.
Dublin Physio & Chiropractic
We offer physiotherapy and chiropractic treatments that will help heal your injury and relieve any pain you may be feeling.
Our team of experts at Dublin Physio & Chiropractic specialize in orthopedic and neurological conditions, including providing an optimal treatment plan for healing injury. All of our treatment options are drug-free, non-surgical interventions, and are tailored to you. We offer a range of evidence-based innovative treatment options – including physiotherapy, laser therapy, spinal decompression, joint traction, intrinsic core strengthening, and manual therapy (spinal adjustments and manipulations).
Treatment Options For Recovery In Dublin, Ireland
Our injury treatment options can help those who are dealing with a wide range of injuries, such as whiplash injury after car accidents, sports injury (e.g., sprains and strains), arthritis pain/back pain, work injury (including repetitive strain injury – RSI) and neck or back injury. We also help injury sufferers who are dealing with a herniated disc, sciatica pain/nerve pain, and other conditions.
Chiropractic Care For Recovery And Maintenance
Chiropractic care is another popular injury treatment option at Dublin Chiropractic & Physiotherapy. The purpose of chiropractic care is to restore your body’s function and improve overall health by removing interference (subluxations) in the nervous system that may be causing pain, muscle tension, or weakness throughout your musculoskeletal system.
Class IV Laser Therapy For Pain Relief
Laser injury treatments at our injury clinic in Dublin, Ireland can be used to help relieve pain and swelling associated with chronic injuries. The treatment is known for providing long-lasting relief from injury symptoms such as inflammation and reduced range of motion (ROM).
Joint injury care at our injury treatment clinic is suitable for those who are dealing with a variety of injury symptoms, including neck or back injury and rheumatism. Joint injury treatments can help improve your range of motion (ROM) by reducing pain in the affected area(s). A decrease in inflammation around joints will also be noted.
Exercise Therapy For Longterm Recovery
Exercise therapy is the important effective and more important element when it comes to achieving optimal, long-term recovery. Exercise therapy is a great option for those who are dealing with chronic pain, as many studies have seen.
Conclusion
Thank you for reading this blog on optimal recovery and ways to achieve it. I hope you found it interesting and helpful. If you have any questions, you would like me to answer send me at [email protected], and would be happy to answer them in a blog form.
References
[1] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27575834/
[2] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24942380/
