Sports Injuries and Joint Pain
Participation in sport, or indeed any physical activity, is to be applauded. At Murphy Physiotherapy, our aim is to enable you to return to your sport as quickly as possible. Injuries can be of traumatic origin i.e. ankle sprain, or they can slowly build up over a period of time due to repetitive stresses put on joints, ligaments and tendons. Most people manage an acute injury at home for the first 5 days, but if your problem persists or feels excessively painful, it is important to seek advice.
Most sports injuries respond very well to treatment. We refer to a ligament injury as a ‘sprain’, a muscle injury as a ‘strain’, tendon pain as ‘tendonitis’ (inflammation of the tendon), and deep bruising as ‘haematoma’. The kinds of injuries that we often see include:
- knee, shoulder, wrist, ankle sprains
- tennis/golfers elbow
- shin splints
- Achilles tendonitis
- patellofemoral (pain at the front of the knee)
- hamstring strains/tears
- calf strains/tears
- anterior cruciate ligament tears (partial or full)
- back or neck pain
- foot pain
- muscle strains/ bruising
A diagnostic approach is imperative as it clearly identifies the origin of the pain, and consequently directs the best choice of treatment. This is followed by rehabilitation exercises to optimise a safe return to sport, and prevent re-injury. It is very important to ascertain the mechanism of injury, especially if the injury has been of slow onset, as this often points to some abnormal loading of normal structures/tissue.
Occasionally our clients need to consider surgical management, and if this is indicated, a diagnositic test (x-ray, ultrasound scan or MRI) may be needed. At Murphy Physiotherapy we will give you our best advice regarding the most appropriate diagnostic test, and if required can organise this for you privately.
