What To Do If You Are Injured

PART 1: COMMON ATHLETIC INJURIES

As the intensity of your workouts increase so to will your risk of injury. The human body is very complex and many times many different structures can be damaged. Injuries can occur to muscles, ligaments, tendons and joints of the entire body. In order to decrease your injury time away from the gym, it is important that you understand what types of injuries can occur and what to do to quickly and properly heal. This allow s you to get back to your regular routine and to achieve your workout goals.

MUSCLES / TENDONS / LIGAMENTS

MUSCLE

        – the human body has over 600 different muslce that make up approximately 40% of your body weight.

 

        – is a tissue with at least 2 attachments conisisting of fibres organized into bands and bundles that contract and shorten to cause movement.

 

        – muscle depends on a rich supply of blood for oxygen, nutrients and waste removal.

 

        – nerves supply electrical impulses transmitted from the brain to the muscle to induce contraction.

 

        – if the nerve supply is stopped or inhibited, it will cause muscle imbalance and weakness.

 

        – damaged muscle tissue, when not given the chance to heal properly can be replaced with fibrous scar tissue.

TENDON

        – is a band of strong fibrous tissue that connects a muscle to a bone.

 

        – tendons can not stretch or contract as does muscle.

 

        – many sports injuries are due to torn fibres in a tendon.

 

        – the blood supply to a tendon is very poor so that is why it can take a long time for tendon injuries to heal properly.

 

LIGAMENT

        – a strong, fibrous band of connective tissue connecting 2 or more bones or cartilage or supporting a muscle or organ.

 

        – ligaments have a poor blood supply, take a long time ot heal and usually heal with fibrous scar tissue.

JOINTS

        – there are many types of joints in your body and when a joint is injured, usually muscle and ligament damage occcurs.

 

      – joints if not functioning properly or due to heavy wear and tear will start to degenerate. This condition is referred to a arthritis of degenerative joint disease.

TYPES OF LIFTING INJURIES

SPRAINS AND STRAINS

Strain

       – strectch or tear of a muscle and/or tendon.

Sprian

     – stretch or tear of a ligament.

These types of injuries are commonly caused by:

      a) Not warming up properly.

 

      b) Twisting or jerking during the lift.

 

      c) Lifting TOO MUCH weight TOO FAST or with too little rest.

 

    d) Putting too much strain on an old injury before it has healed.

Common areas strained while lifting include the chest and back muscles (neck and mid and lower back muscles), arm muscles (shoulder girdle), hamstrings and quadriceps.

Common areas sprained while lifting include the sacroiliac joints (lower back and pelvis), shoulder, knee, wrist and ankle.

TENDINITIS

When fibres of a tendon tear, inflammation occurs and this is accompanied by swelling and tenderness. This is usually caused by too many repititive motions. Areas commonly affected include the shoulder, elbow, knee, achilles tendon and patella tendon.

BURSITIS

A Bursa sac is a fluid filled sac that is located in or near a joint to reduce friction between tendons, tendons and bone and ligaments. Burisitis is an inflammation of the bursa due to a pinching or from an abrasion. The shoulder is the most common site of bursitis for lifters but it can also commonly occur in elbows, knees and hips.

PART 2 : HOW TO TREAT COMMON ATHLETIC INJURIES

If you work out regularly, you will probably get injured now and then. Most injuries are minor and can be self treated if you follow a few simple guidelines. However, if the pain you are experiencing is severe or continues, if you can not move the injured part or if the injury does not seem to be healing, seek professional help immediately.

What to do when you are first injured:

 

      There are 3 Basic Stages of Healing that occur after an injury.

 

1) ACUTE INFLAMMATORY STAGE:

 

          * CLASSIC SIGNS PAIN, SWELLING, REDNESS and HEAT.

 

          * Lasts up to 72 hours (3 days) after the injury.

 

          *This first stage is usually subdivided further:

A) 0-24 HOURS AFTER AN INJURY
– Treatment goals are to reduce inflammation to limit the amount of scar tissue formation (R.I.C.E.)

R = REST
– if injury is severe rest is very important.

I = ICE
– constricts blood vessels and decreases blood flow to injury therefore reducing swelling and increases flexibility and movement of injured part.
– ice should be applied for no longer than 10-15 minutes/time and be kept off for at least 20-60 minutes before reapplying the ice (2-3x/day).

C = COMPRESSION
It is recommended that you wrap the injured part with an elastic bandage or an elastic bandage with ice to compress the area and help decrease the swelling. DO NOT wrap too tightly and cut off blood supply to the area. If the injured area becomes blue or numb, loosen the bandage.

E = ELEVATION
This will help to reduce the swelling by allowing excess fluid to drain away.

B) 24-72 HOURS
– Treatment goals are to increase circulation to the injured area so that waste products from the damaged tissue can be removed.
– Pain and swelling should persist in this stage.
– OFF and ON again ICE can be used with light massage and gentle range of motion movements.

2) REPAIR STAGE

– 72 Hours up to 6 Weeks;the body attempts to regenerate the damaged tissue
– Repair tissue is NOT AT FULL STRENGTH and the injured part is succeptable to further injury.

* ACTIVE RELEASE TECHNIQUES CAN BE PERFORMED ONCE PATIENT IS ABLE TO TOLERATE ASSOCIATED DISCOMFORT.

3) REMODELING STAGE
– 3 Weeks up to 12 Months; damaged tissue is further being remodeled.
– Tissue attempts to return to original quality and tensile strength.

* ACTIVE RELEASE TECHNIQUES TREATMENT CAN BE VERY HELPFUL IN ENSURING PROPER MUSCLE/LIGAMENT REPAIR.

During Stages 2 and 3, movement of the injured part is very important in order to ensure that proper tissue repair occurs. If you have any questions about a recent or old injury ,please stop back at Siegenthaler Family Chiropractic Center. We look forward to serving your health needs.