Pain and Injury
Have you done yourself a bit of a mischief when at the gym or training, or having pain that is occurring for an unknown reason?
I'm not sure what I need?
Sports injuries is one of a number of terms used to describe trauma caused by increased muscular loading or a repetitive action. Other terms that may be used are musculoskeletal, biomechanics, MSK or sports podiatry but they essentially mean the same thing. An injury that usually affects the soft tissue of muscles, tendons, fascia, nerves and ligaments may be the underlying cause. Weakness in a particular muscle group can also lead to compensation of another ... but why?
Muscles generally work in pairs, one muscle pulls one way another pulls in the opposite direction. When bending your knee your hamstrings will pull, when straightening it again your quadriceps will pull, but it doesn't stop there. The quadriceps will 'fight' against your hamstrings to control the speed of the pull and vice versa. If one group is weak, it will not only affect one action but both, reducing stability and leading to increased strain and pain.
Foot pain and beyond
As podiatrists we are specialists in dealing with foot pain, but our biomechanical expertise stretches far further. Further up the body that is! We look at everything when analysing your walking gait - even your shoulders and arm swing can guide us. We check all your joints from the hips to your toes and test the strength and flexibility of any muscle that may be involved. A complete assessment is undertaken to find the root cause of pain/discomfort, whether it is a nerve impingement (like sciatica), a muscle strain, a ligament sprain or something else, and there are hundreds of conditions that could cause your problem. Did you know there are over 40 causes of heel pain alone....40, and we can help with them all!
What can help?
The initial concern is for us to reduce the pain. Pain limits your ability to exercise and do the things you love, and without proper treatment the injury will get worse. Stopping doing the things you love isn't an option either, we want you to live your life and not with restriction. To do this an accurate diagnosis of the problem is the starting point. We would then discuss a number of options that would be available for you to get you back on your feet.
Sports injuries are best managed by protecting and rehabilitating. Reducing inflammation, offloading, strapping, instigating healing and building strength and flexibility are key to this process, and sometimes it can take longer than you hoped. We have found in our experience a multi-dimensional approach is the most effective in managing these types of injuries. We therefore offer acupuncture, laser, customised orthotics, taping/strapping, gait analysis, strengthening exercises as well as general advice to help speed up your recovery in a thoroughly thought out plan specific to you.
