Sports injury and prevention
Keeping our bodies ready and able to do the physical activity that we love is one of the most important roles as an osteopath. We often take for granted our ability to get up and run, jump, ride or play until injury hits. Anyone who has spent time coming back from an injury will know first hand that prevention is the preferable pathway!
Injury prevention
The key to injury prevention is the combination of functional strength and flexibility. The way we use our bodies on a day to day basis will form the framework that our musculoskeletal system works within. If we want to be able to perform on a higher level than this we need to keep reminding our bodies of how to bend and twist and jump to maintain its ability to perform without constantly suffering injuries. The osteopaths at Oak Tree Osteopathy provide hands on treatment to support this ‘prehab’. By reducing imbalance load on muscle and joints and giving targeted suggestions on strength and flexibility exercises, we work with you to prepare your body for all of your physical goals.
Injury management and exercise rehabilitation
If injury does strike, our osteopaths can manage you through the acute presentation of a strain, sprain or tear using carefully chosen techniques to improve fluid movement and help to reduce swelling and joint compression while focussing on the broad picture. We want to know why the injury has happened and if there is a biomechanical or functional movement imbalance that has predisposed you to this injury occurring.
While we manage the acute injury we will address these underlying imbalances to help prevent a recurrence. As soon as your body is ready to increase its load again you will be given a staged exercise program using Physitrack, a free video guided exercise app for your device, that can help guide you through your program. No more stick figure drawings or forgetting your exercises once you walk out the door!
Common sporting injuries we treat and manage at Oak Tree Osteopathy
- Muscle tears – traumatic hamstring, calf, quadriceps tears
- Joint sprains – rolled ankles, falls on a wrist or elbow
- Ligament tears – skiing or football knee ligament injuries
- Tendinopathies – tennis/golfers elbow, rotator cuff strain
