Sports Injury Physio Cork

Sports Injuries

Accidents happen on the pitch and off the pitch, maybe on the golf course or up on top of a climbing wall. Either way being away from the sport or activity that you love is frustrating and at times more painful than the injury itself. We understand that and want to help you get back to your A-game as soon as (safely) possible.

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Symptoms

With sports injuries you know what has happened, its either a pop you heard while running, or the shoulder pain you got after throwing a ball, maybe even the sore muscle that not going away even after you walk it off. There are many injuries that can happen; A tendon injury, a muscle strain, a ligament sprain, a joint injury etc...whichever it is there are ways to identify them. These are some things to look for:

Your muscles feel "tired"
Sharp pain at a joint when moving
You heard something pop
Pain in the muscle belly or at a tendon

There are so many injuries and they all look different. However if you get any of the following you should go see your GP. Sharp pain thats not going away with rest, sudden intense swelling at joints like the knee or ankle after a pop, inability to bend the knees (its locked), knee or hips giving way, changes in walking pattern due to hip pain. Basically if the pain isn't decreasing with rest or the swelling is too severe you need to get medical advice.

How we treat it

Depending on the joint and the level of swelling the first priority is to increase the range of motion of the joint. If its a torn ligament or tendon we might chose to do the opposite to allow the fibres to heal.

After that we might need to add some adjuncts to the treatment like soft tissue massage, joint mobilizations, taping, or other methods to help provide pain relief and increase range of motion or allow for more natural and freer movement. After that any good physio session will end with exercises to incorporate for the rehabilitation. These exercises will then be progressed to help train the specific movement pattern from your sports.

Depending on the type of tissue injured, the rehabilitation period can span anywhere from 8 weeks to 8-9 months. However you can expect to follow the three phases of rehabilitation; pain relief, rehab and resilience. Generally return to sport is incorporated in the third phase. However before full return to the sport in phase three you can expect gradual return and integration of your sport through the rehabilitation process.

How physiotherapy works

What to expect

Like all physiotherapy session we start with the history of the injury and how it happened. If you have any medical instructions from a doctor or a surgeon regarding the injury, a surgical protocol or any imaging bring that information with you. This will help guide your therapist toward the best rehabilitation protocol.

Following the history, we will go through an assessment to test the injury in question as well as joints above and below the injured joint. This allows us to have a full picture of what is going on and plan for long term recovery not just the recovery of the injured area.

After understanding what is going on, you and your therapist will work out a recovery plan that is specific to you. This plan will ideally include exercises for your rehabilitation as well as exercises to keep you in shape till you return to your sport. Just because you're injured doesn't mean you need to stay away from the gym or training, we will help you train around your injury.

Frequently asked questions

What is an Achilles rupture/ tear?

The Achilles is a major tendon that connects three muscles into the back of the heel. These muscles help with the movement of the foot. A tear or a rupture in the Achilles means that the tendon is separated from the muscle thus it affects how the ankle and the foot move. In a lot of cases an Achilles tear or a rupture is managed conservatively however this is up to the orthopedics consultant to decide how to proceed,

What is patellar tendonitis (jumper's knee) and how do you treat it?

Tendonitis in general means an inflammation of the tendon which is only the first part of a tendon injury and it generally lasts less than two weeks. After the tendonitis phase the injury becomes a tendinopathy. Patellar tendonitis or a jumpers knee refers to the acute inflammation in the patellar tendon which is the softer part that connects the kneecap to the shin bone. Generally this happens due to an overload on the tendon; with jumping being one of the biggest sources of the load on it. However, this can happen with any sort of overload not just jumping.

What is an MCL injury and how is it treated?

The MCL is short for "Medial Collateral Ligament" which is a ligament that runs on the inside part of the knee. This ligament is important because it also connects to the meniscus which is the cartilage in between the knee joint. An MCL injury is usually treated based on the severity of the sprain; but when its managed conservatively we start by deloading to help the ligament heal, after that the supporting muscles are strengthened to help protect the integrity of the ligament.

What causes a groin strain and how long does it take to heal?

A groin strain refers to an overload in the muscles on the inside of the thigh these help with side to side movements as well as forward movements. Thus any movement in those planes that is above the capacity of the muscle can cause a muscle strain in the groin. A groin strain can take anywhere from 4-10 weeks to resolve.

Sports Injuries

Symptoms

How we treat it

What to expect

Frequently asked questions

What is an Achilles rupture/ tear?

What is patellar tendonitis (jumper's knee) and how do you treat it?

What is an MCL injury and how is it treated?

What causes a groin strain and how long does it take to heal?

Related reading

Sports Injuries? Get it assessed properly

Sports Injuries

Symptoms

How we treat it

What to expect

Frequently asked questions

What is an Achilles rupture/ tear?

What is patellar tendonitis (jumper's knee) and how do you treat it?

What is an MCL injury and how is it treated?

What causes a groin strain and how long does it take to heal?

Related reading

ACL Tears Explained: What Your ACL Actually Does, and What Happens When It Goes.

Post-Run Recovery: How to Recover Faster After a Marathon, 10k or 5k

Lower Back Pain in Combat Sports: Spinal Mobility, Hip Rotation & Rehab

Sports Injuries? Get it assessed properly