Managing sport injuries, preventing injuries and enhancing sport performance.
OVERVIEW
Anna Physios has a holistic, patient-centred, bio-psycho-social approach to the treatment and rehabilitation plan in collaboration with each patients’ specific goals and dreams for a quality life. Our services are aimed at treating the root of the problem (rehab and education) and not only treating the symptoms (hand-on), and to equip you with knowledge and an understanding of your own pathology and situation. A better understanding forms the foundation and motivation to actively participate in your rehabilitation exercise program for a long term solution.
WHY IS SPORTS REHAB IMPORTANT AND WHAT DOES THE CONCEPT “TOP SPORT PERFORMANCE” MEAN?
To achieve top sport performance, you must be able to transform every bit of energy into speed and power, accurately in a specific direction, consistently over time! And you must be able to stay injury free!
This is only possible if there is a stable base, your core, from which all movement originates. Ineffective stabilization translates into an unstable base of support, which leads to ineffective movement that lacks efficiency and accuracy. This will increase your injury risk. The more solid the foundation, the more precise, effortless and efficient the movement can be and the easier it is to prevent injuries.
Top sport performance = staying Injury Free Pain Free Harm Free
ASSESSMENT
Each assessment will differ depending on your specific problem and specific goals, but you will always begin your journey with us with a thorough assessment. This is a key to a successful treatment outcome. There are two sections to the assessment process. A subjective assessment about the history of onset, the mechanics of the injury, nature, behaviour of symptoms and psycho-social factors. An objective assessment looking at the joint gliding and integrity, muscle stabilization, strength and flexibility, neural integrity, and dynamics as well as biomechanical assessment of movement patterns. After the assessment a diagnosis is made, the different treatment options are explained, and a treatment plan is discussed with the patient.
THE MANAGEMENT AND FRUSTRATIONS OF INJURIES
The urgent and correct management of acute injuries plays an important role in the healing process, allowing an early return to play. The basic principles are summarised in the police acronym.
• Protection – remove from field of play, brace, splint.
• Optimal Loading – reduce weight bearing; physiotherapy.
• Ice – reduces inflammation and pain; For the 1st 24 – 48h only 8min regularly (depending on the degree of injury) – after that 10-20min
• Compression – very important
• Elevation – reduces swelling (gravity)
Healing happens in several physiological stages including inflammatory, regeneration and remodelling and your physiotherapy programs will be tailored to respond to each stage of the healing process. Receiving the correct initial advice is vitally important and should include information about; weight bearing, mobility exercises and stretches, fascia release and deep joint mobilization, and later intensive rehabilitation.
What places the athlete at risk for injury?
It is usually a combination of three groups of factors, some are amendable and others need to be considered as they remain relatively fixed and make us unique.
- Flexibility
- Strength
- Fitness
- Alignment / Biomechanics
- Running style
- General Health
- Frequency
- Intensity
- Time
- Type of Training
- Training Surfaces
- Shoes
- Coaches or family
- Training conditions
- Athletic identity
The management and frustration of injuries
There is certainly no bigger frustration for sportsmen than struggling with chronic injuries. When injured you perform at sub-optimal level and this eventually has an effect on your “belief” system, and you might spiral into a bad cycle which is not easy to get out of.
It is easy to fall into the mindset that “more and harder is better” this however often leads to overtraining. Adequate recovery is usually also an underlying problem. The focus should rather be on quality and not quantity to decrease the incidence of overuse injuries. The FITT principle and periodicity can be used as guidelines to prevent overtraining and improve recovery.
1. Frequency – how often?
2. Intensity – how hard?
3. Time trained – how long?
4. Type of training – what type?
"Train Smarter, Not Harder
REHABILITATION IS THE KEY TO FULL RECOVERY AND THE LONG TERM SOLUTION …
Rehabilitation is a progressive system from education to have a better understanding of your injury, and how to manage it, as well as how to progress it. As a result you will have the confidence to manage it independently.
• Rehabilitation and education will immediately form part of your treatment program.
• Education and empowerment to have a better understanding of your injury is vital in the long term management of it.
• Education about how the brain and pain works, is sometimes the missing link to full recovery in the sporting world!
• Biomechanics needs to be understood and retrained – initially “brain exercises” or proprioception!
• Knowledge about pacing strategies, your flare-up plan, progression of your exercises.
• Individualized home exercise program with follow-up session with your physio for progression.
• But IDEALLY you will be referred to Bio-Pilates if more individualised attention is needed or Pilates group classes. This is optional to our patients.
• OR to a Biokineticist for final phase rehabilitation
Rehabilitation does not always mean to undo or reverse damage caused by disease or trauma but rather to restore and assist the individual to optimal health, functioning and well-being.
Our Pilates Program as an key factor in preventing sport injuries. It is one of the misconceptions about its effectiveness in optimizing your movement patterns by working from your deepest core and therefore creating strong effective levers for optimal force generation.
PROGRESSIVE ATTAINED REHABILITATION PROTOCOL:
PHASE 1
MAY INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING:
• Includes retraining good postural alignment during the day.
• Correcting your deepest core stabilisers around the joints.
• Strengthening/lengthening individual muscles.
• Pilates one-on-one session & beginners level rehabilitation classes.
• The client usually receives hands on treatment if pain is involved.
PHASE 2
MAY INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING:
• Increasing load and progressing the strengthening exercises.
• You will start with functional movement patterns.
• Pilates beginners to intermediate level rehabilitation classes.
• The client may still receive hands on treatment.
PHASE 3
MAY INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING:
• During this phase, functional exercises are progressed. Increasing speed, holding time and adding load to the exercises.
• Pilates intermediate to advanced level rehabilitation classes.
• Biokineticist usually start here with their final phase rehabilitation process.
• The client is either finished with hands on treatment or is nearing the end of therapy.
PHASE 4
MAY INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING:
• Agility and power is the main focus here.
• This is the final phase of rehabilitation, where you prepare to return back to sport/daily function.
• These aspects are handled by the Biokineticist.
• No pain or pathology should be present in this phase.
• Ideally Pilates intermediate to advanced level classes should be included for maintenance of the deepest core.
...we want to help you, to help yourself...To be independent, to manage your own condition!
Self wellness, care and injury prevention is not a luxury but a necessity. Contact us to book a consultation. We are a dynamic team that cares.
