Petts Wood Osteopathic Clinic
Simon Tolson BSc (Ost) MNASC PGCE
Registered Osteopath
Telephone: 01689 827247
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Sports Injury
An Osteopathic Approach to Sports Injuries
Sports injury is almost an inevitable part of sport at any level. It may take the form of an acute ligament tear or be as mild as post-exercise muscle soreness. Either way, the majority of sports related injuries could be prevented or alleviated by appropriate conditioning and the manual skills of a qualified professional therapist.
I have a unique approach to the prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation of sports injuries. This is from a background of competitive athletics with Blackheath Harriers, as a Senior Athletic and Trampoline Coach, and the Director of Sports Injuries Clinic at the European School of Osteopathy in Maidstone. This has provided me with expertise in sports physiology, psychology and the biomechanics of human performance.
Advice is available on training programmes, in order to maximize sporting potential.
Training principles and injury prevention
A good conditioning programme should involve all of the following components: Diet, Enjoyment, Strength, Technique, Recovery, Endurance, Speed, and Stretching (DESTRESS).
The esoteric physical demands of different sports necessitate varying emphasis of each of these components. Similarly, every individual person has particular physical and emotional idiosyncrasies, and has reached a certain level in their chosen sport.
The analysis of an athlete’s performance requires an understanding of the duration, frequency, and intensity of their training at different times of the year. An awarness of the personal psychology of an athlete is of paramount importance.
A scientific explanation of specific sessions, such as resistance training (Weights, Plyometrics, Circuit Training, Medicine Ball, Pilates), Stretching (Active, Passive, Ballistic, PNF), warm up and cool down, and endurance (Aerobic and Anaerobic) is very important.
This coupled with an osteopathic knowledge of the musculoskeletal, nervous, endocrine, cardiovascular, and respiratory systems, an individual’s relative fitness can be assessed and improved.
There are a number of common sports related injuries which can be avoided: muscle pulls, ligament strains, stress fractures, tendonitis, shin splints and back pain as examples. These are often attributable to muscle strength imbalances, overtraining, poor flexibility and repetitive strain placed through the body.
Overtraining can lead to early fatigue, which encourages poor neuromuscular control for technical performance. Muscles are also undernourished leading to a build up of waste products causing muscle soreness. These can cause injury or diminish achievement.
Fatigued muscle works less efficiently due to the lack of blood getting through. This means there is slow and incomplete relaxation, hence decreased elasticity and impaired shock absorption and energy dissipation. It is these predisposing factors that can be corrected to minimize the risk of injury.
Injuries will always occur at high-level sport; it is the attitude of the athlete and coach, together with the underlying general condition of the athlete, which determines the rate of recovery. All too often the athlete is unwilling to rehabilitate completely or to follow the advice given. However, often it is simply the neglect of a component of DESTRESS which has caused an injury.
PRINCIPLES OF OSTEOPATHY
The aim of osteopathic treatment is to restore and improve function, so that the body can fulfill its potential to self heal and adapt to become stronger. The first stage of the evaluation is a full case history, which involves detailed information concerning the onset of the condition, the symptoms, any previous conditions, training techniques, level of sport, motivation, coaching, equipment used, warm up/down, any medication and previous medical history. This correlated with the information from the physical and clinical examination provides an overall individual assessment.
By removing the obstacles that impede the blood and nerve supply to the site of injury the mechanism of repair can proceed. Correction of the biomechanics of non-symptomatic areas reduces the stress and strain that may hinder a complete recovery after return to sport. By balancing the body especially with fascial unwinding not only will the body return to fitness but it will return to a state where it can once again improve.
A full assessment can lead to injury prevention by acknowledging areas of stress, which if worked on can reduce risk factors to future injuries, and prosper performance.
TYPES OF TREATMENT
Osteopathy is a holistic therapy, treatment is different for everyone, and is aimed at improving the structure of the whole body.
The manual therapy includes massage, articulation, manipulation, stretching, gentle rhythmical movements, fascial unwinding and techniques unique to osteopathy such as functional and cranial. Emphasis is placed on increasing range of movement, decreasing muscle tension, and improving the circulation of the blood and lymph. The effect is to stimulate healing and improve physiology.
Rehabilitation continues with the possible use of strapping, and prescription of stretching and core strengthening exercises, according to the nature of the problem. Part of the management may include relaxation techniques, NLP, advice on contrast bathing, anti-inflammatory drugs, nutrition, and the motivation to regain full fitness.
Communication with the coach or team manager is encouraged throughout the recovery period.
For a consultation please contact:
Simon Tolson BSc (Ost) MNASC PGCE
Qualified Registered Osteopath
Senior Sports Coach & Performance Perfection Practitioner
© 'PERFECTION TRAINING'
SPORTS INJURY CLINIC
123A QUEENSWAY
PETTS WOOD
KENT
BR5 1DG
TEL: 01689 827247
©tolson