Minor Sports Injuries

Some sports injuries need a little bit of help to recover, and others can be prevented before they even start.

The Quadriceps and Knee Cap

Knee pain is a common sports injury, and sometimes it’s related to the quadriceps. These strong muscles can exert a significant pull on the knee cap, as this bone is embedded in their tendon. This pull causes excess friction on the joint between the knee cap and the rest of the knee, which can cause a grinding pain.

The quadriceps may behave in this way if they are injured themselves, or if they are protecting a hip injury. At your appointment, your osteopath will be able to determine the underlying cause and get to work on it. It may be that your knee pain is actually a problem with the hip, or even further afield. You can likely expect some local work to the knee as well, as there is benefit in restoring movement to a joint that has been in pain, even if there has been relatively little damage.

Ligament Sprains

The role of ligaments is to stop joints moving too far. High impact injuries can force a joint past their natural limits, causing damage to the ligaments. This damage is a sprain.

Sprains are graded by their severity, with lower numbers being more mild. At all grades, they are usually accompanied by swelling. Swelling serves the purpose of bringing nutrients and immune cells to the injury. However, excessive swelling can further injure the ligament and bring down the overall joint health. We can help to reduce the inflammation both in the treatment room and with exercises for you to continue at home. Alongside this, we can help you return to weight bearing on the joint, which will allow the ligament to heal more correctly than if you were to rest it.

Throwing Injuries

We’ve spoken before about some of the injuries a shoulder can develop. In addition to rotator cuff injuries, the shoulder joint itself can suffer damage from repetitive throwing movements. The ball and socket joint of the shoulder is shallow, as the role is for maximum movement. However, stability is sacrificed for this.

Sprains and dislocations can be associated with throwing sports. When a joint’s ligaments are damaged enough, there may be enough instability for the joint to dislocate. Often this is another effect of a high impact injury, but if the ligaments are insufficient, a dislocation can occur without too much power behind it. Rehabilitation of shoulder sprains or previous dislocations is important to stop it happening again.

Ligaments are slow to heal, and as mentioned above, they do better when used- not rested. They can also be supported by strengthening the surrounding musculature. Your osteopath can help you with all elements of this rehabilitation.

If you suffer from sports injuries, book an appointment now.