House Call Chiropractic for Exercise and Sports Injuries

Exercise and Sports Injuries

Exercising consistently is important to staying healthy but sometimes you may experience injuries that will throw you off from your fitness routine and can set you back.  Major traumatic type injuries may require surgery or a trip to the ER such as head trauma, broken bones, dislocations, or tendon ruptures.  However, majority of exercise injuries are musculoskeletal injuries that can be treated with Chiropractic care.  Whether your injury is from playing sports or working out at Hotworx, F45 Training, Crossfit, Orange Theory Fitness,, Yoga, Pilates, Barre, spin class, running, or at the gym.  Injuries such as:

• Pulled or Strained Muscle

• Sprained Ankle

• Overuse injuries

• Shoulder Pain

• Runner’s knee

• Shin Splints

• Plantar Fasciitis

• Elbow Pain (Tennis or Golfer’s Elbow)

• Tendonitis

• Wrist Sprain

• IT (Illiotibial Band) Syndrome

• Lower Back Pain

• Hip Pain

• Neck Strain

Treating Exercise Injuries

If you develop an exercise injury, follow the R.I.C.E. method which is a simple treatment you can do at home:

Rest from the any activity that causes pain and protect the injured area.

Ice the injured area immediately with ice or a cold pack for 10-20 minutes, 3 or more times/day to help reduce pain and swelling for the first 24-48 hours.  If the swelling is gone after 24-48 hours, switch to applying heat.  Do not apply the ice/hot pack directly on your skin, use a thin, absorbent towel to help prevent frostbite or burn.

Compression means wrapping the injured area with an elastic bandage to help reduce swelling which helps to reduce pain.  Do not wrap it too tightly which will interrupt blood flow.  If the skin below the wrap become cold, numb, or tingling, remove the damage and re-wrap it with less tension.  If the symptoms don’t resolve right away, immediately seek medical attention.   

Elevation means elevating or raising the injured area above the level of your heart if possible.  It may not be possible to elevate if it is your lower back that is injured but if it is your elbow you can do so.  This decreases swelling which reduces pain.

Chiropractic Care

If the RICE method is not sufficient to help you recover from your injury, Chiropractic care provides a holistic, all natural approach to pain relief and recovery.  This means you won’t have to depend on over the counter or prescription pain medications, anti inflammatories, or muscle relaxers to help you recover.  There is time and place for pain medications for someone dealing with severe pain, but research shows that prolonged use or overdosing of pain medications such as aspirin, Advil (ibuprofen), Tylenol (acetaminophen), and Aleve (naproxen) can cause liver or kidney damage.

What type of treatments can a doctor of chiropractic provide to help you recover from an exercise injury?

Adjustments – Spinal & Extremities

After an injury to the spine or extremity (shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees, and ankles), the joints can become stiff, stuck, or restricted.  Adjustments will mobilize the joints to restore proper motion which increases range of motion.  Some Chiropractors may not specialize in adjusting extremities so make sure to ask the Chiropractor if they are proficient with adjusting extremities.  Side note: Dr. Lee is proficient with extremity adjusting and loves adjusting extremities!

Soft Tissue Therapy

This type of therapy focuses on the soft tissues which are the muscles, ligaments, tendons, and fascia.  Soft tissues injuries are a very common cause of exercise injuries.  Most of these injuries are caused by overloading or over using the soft tissues which is usually a result of overtraining or improper training form.

Soft tissue therapy can be performed hands-on or with an instrument (IASTM – Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization) to break up adhesions or scar tissue, lengthen muscles, and reduce swelling which will decrease pain and restore the function of the soft tissue.

Dry Needling Therapy

Sports medicine dry needling is a relatively new form of therapy based on western medicine.  This form of therapy involves inserting a thin needle through the skin into a symptomatic or injured soft tissue to stimulate relaxation, increase blood flow, reduce inflammation, and reduce pain.

Rehabilitative Exercise

Rehabilitation exercise is a workout program that is essential in recovering from an exercise injury.  If this step is skipped, you can re-injure yourself.  Different injuries require different strategies for rehabilitation, and a doctor of chiropractic can prescribe a custom rehabilitation exercise program designed to strengthen weak muscles and stretch tight muscles.  The goal is to return back to pre-injury status and restore function.

Kinesiotape

Kinesiotape is a therapeutic, stretchy tape that is applied strategically to the body to provide support, lessen pain, reduce swelling, and improve performance.  It is commonly used by athletes to treat sport and non-sport related injuries, including shin splints, plantar fasciitis, runner’s knee, shoulder, and back pain.

HOUSE CALL OR MOBILE CHIROPRACTIC CARE

We all live busy lives and time is our most valuable non renewable resource.  If you find yourself frustrated having to get in your car wasting time driving to a brick and mortar doctor’s office, Dr. Lee House Calls is your answer to receiving House Call or Mobile Chiropractic care in the comfort of your home, office, workplace, or gym!

Dr. Lee provides convenient mobile chiropractic care to help you recover from your exercise or sports injury quickly so you can get back to doing what you love – playing your favorite sport or getting back to fitness routine – while saving you time without the hassle.  To learn more about house calls click here:

WHY HOUSE CALLS

Dr. Lee is currently providing chiropractic mobile visits in the following cities in Louisiana:

• Metairie

• Kenner

• River Ridge

• Harahan

• New Orleans

• Destrehan

• St. Rose

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