Treating Acute and Chronic Sports Injuries
By Madhusudhan Tammisetti
Anyone who played sports or engaged in any strenuous physical activity has almost certainly had a sports injury. These injuries may vary in severity from minor annoyances to serious problems that need medical treatment, such as chiropractic care. It's crucial to determine if the damage is acute or chronic regardless of its severity.
Types of Injuries
Some of the acute injuries include whiplash, strains, and sprains. The athlete may also suffer from fractures, broken bones, and concussions. Dislocated shoulder, burners, and stingers are also acute injuries.
Chronic injuries include tennis elbow, runner's knee, swimmer's shoulders, stress fractures, and shin splints.
Identifying Acute or Chronic Injury
Acute sports injuries occur suddenly and are often the consequence of trauma to the afflicted region. A specific, recognizable occurrence causes an acute injury. Overuse injuries, often known as chronic sports injuries, develop over time and are not caused due to a single event.
The cause of acute injuries is easy to notice. Whether it's a tumble during a run, a sprained ankle in a football tackle, or a sudden pain after pitching a ball, being able to pinpoint a single source of an injury typically indicates that it's acute.
Chronic injuries are a bit different, although they're typically very obvious. The pain normally develops over a period of weeks or, in some cases, even months. Particular activities, such as those you undertake on a regular basis, such as tennis, running, swimming, and throwing, may aggravate the pain. Pinpointing the trigger may prove to be challenging.
Chiropractic Care
Any sports injury, whether acute or chronic, puts a strain on the muscular system. Chronic injuries usually harm the muscles, joints, or bones. Due to their non-invasive procedures, chiropractic adjustments are becoming more popular among athletes.
Chiropractors do more than merely adjust the spine. They also perform chiropractic hip adjustments, knee adjustments, and shoulder adjustments.
Chiropractors may also suggest physical therapy and massage therapy to relieve pain from a sports injury.
Seeing a chiropractor for the treatment of chronic injury may help you avoid getting hurt again. The chiropractor may improve the range of motion, decrease swelling and pain, and build strength, but they may give you the cause of the persistent injury. The injuries are often the consequence of poor form or insufficient warm-ups, which may be addressed through adjustments and some exercises recommended by the chiropractor.
A good sports massage is well-known among athletes. They understand the difference between a sports massage and a spa massage. A sports massage is intended to break up scar tissue, accelerate healing, boost circulation, and reduce pain from a persistent injury. It may assist you in fast resuming your normal activities while also preventing muscular damage.
To learn more about your health, wellness, and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in San Antonio, Tex.