Sports Physiotherapy – Keeping In Touch With The Latest Methods In Town?
Sports Physiotherapy, a branch of physical therapy that deals with the health of sportsmen is gaining lot popularity. Apart from massage, it involves educating athletes on how to avoid injuries and tending first aid to injuries caused by sports.
Who will need sports physiotherapy? It is useful to both athletes and casual players. It can be used by all people irrespective of their age and the field to which they belong and work. Individuals taking part in any activity be it tennis, jogging or walking are meted with accidents. This is why people are first taught on how to prevent accidents in sports physiotherapy. Patients are taught to warm up and body stretching routines to be done before exercises by health professionals. These activities prevent the muscles from getting stiffened and they aid the circulatory and respiratory systems of the body. These will prevent injuries and thus reduce hospital visits.
Sports therapy normally deals with injuries to the wrists, knee, tendons, legs, back, ligaments, and elbow. A sports health professional is capable of diagnosing the problem and prescribes the exact treatment for a speedy and safe recovery. Some of the kinds of treatments are joint mobilization, manipulation, massaging the injury, taping, Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation, aromatherapy, ultrasound, acupuncture, acupressure, reflexology, the use of heating, hydrotherapy and restorative exercises.
Sports physiotherapy that uses a phenomenon known as manipulation to alleviate pain and restore movements in joints. This is done by applying a controlled, small but quick technique to the affected joint by a health care professional. Moving the joints in different motions helps in restoring mobilization to the restricted joints. The extent of aggression depends purely on the intensity of the restriction in the joint.
TENS which is Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation is a technique under which mild electric currents are placed on the surface of the skin where it acts as a solution to reduce pain. It helps in the discharge of endorphins and prevents pain from reaching the part of the brain.
Taping techniques also play a very vital role in first aid sports physiotherapy. In order to alleviate pain in areas such as heal, knee and ankle physiotherapists use tapings or bandages. It also helps in bunions, prevents blisters, aids splints, kneecap injuries and other problems.
With more health care professionals arriving at new conclusions on what was once upon known as New Age medicine, Techniques like acupuncture, reflexology, acupressure and aromatherapy are gaining popularity these days.
Thus sports physiotherapy primarily aids athletes, be it cure, recovery or prevention of injuries.