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For sports enthusiasts, following your favorite teams during their competitive season can not only provide lots of excitement, but also frustration if the team doesn't succeed on the playing field. A successful sport season can be in jeopardy when injuries to key players occur, and therefore sports injuries often become "front page news" for the media. Details about the injured player's pathology and medical treatment is reported almost daily by the media, and the fans are reassured that everything possible is being done to ensure that this important player returns to the line-up as soon as possible.
In contrast, the day-to-day management of injuries in competitive athletics is sometimes less apparent to the public. With the presence of medical practitioners on the sidelines, acute injury care is often begun within minutes of the injury's occurrence. Physical therapy modalities, such as ice and electrical stimulation, as well as rehabilitation exercises will also be utilized several times per day when the injury is acute, and will be progressed until the athlete regains his or her previous level of function. By using these techniques, athletic trainers and physical therapists help the body progress through the natural healing process with less pain and fewer complications. The bottom line: there is a sense of urgency for the athlete to safely return to his/her sport as soon as possible, therefore there's no point in delaying care.
For a layperson, the approach to injury can be very different. The injured individual may be reluctant to seek medical care, or perhaps has no sense of urgency to consult their physician. They may choose to avoid certain movements or activities that increase their pain, choosing to "rest" rather than seek professional advice. Take for example the individual who develops knee pain after working in the yard for several hours. Even after taking it easy for a few days, he/she may continue have stiffness and pain that is causing them to walk with a limp. Even subtle changes in our everyday movement patterns, whether conscious or subconscious, can become a problem if continued for an extended period of time. Altered movement patterns, such as limping, can trigger a chain reaction of unnatural stresses on other joints and produce additional painful and damaging conditions. This additional pain further limits their ability to perform activities of daily living, and their quality of life can diminish over time.
Although some aches and pains will improve on their own with rest, others may not.
The physical therapists at HealthWorks encourage individuals to seek medical advice for painful conditions that do not improve after a few days. The "tough guy" approach, although it might seem impressive to some folks, doesn't always provide the best results. Even athletes who try to ignore their aches and "play through pain" will eventually notice the negative impact on their performance, and seek medical attention for the problem.
Physical therapists are specially trained to identify unhealthy movement patterns, and work with patients to correct them. These interventions might include guiding a patient through specific exercises that can help retrain the joint to function properly. Physical therapists may also use modalities, which are techniques or machines that can assist the body's healing ability and/or reduce pain. So the next time you or a family member is faced with an ache or pain that doesn't subside within a few days, take action. You are more likely to see improvement in your painful condition, without a long-term impact on your quality of life.
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