Can an Osteopath Treat Sports Injuries?
It's no surprise that sports injuries go hand in hand with participating in our chosen sports, but did you know that osteopathy can play a key part in keeping you fit and functioning at full capacity?
We often (mistakenly) hear that osteopaths can't treat sports injuries and that the athlete needs to see a sports massage therapist or a physiotherapist, but you may be surprised to find out that when it comes to sports injury treatment osteopaths can hold their own!
Here at Nene Valley Osteopathy, we work with many sports players from all disciplines and levels with great results. Osteopathy not only looks at the injury and how that itself can be improved but also assesses your general health and how your body performs to treat you accordingly.
Similar to a Sports Massage Therapist, we can use a variety of soft tissue techniques including massage and trigger point therapy plus some specialised extras like mobilisation, stretching and manipulation (the 'clicking') which, together with other modalities such as Kinesio taping and acupuncture, help you to get fighting fit again.
We have a wealth of knowledge of competing from grassroots level up to Team GBR level ourselves, through a variety of sports, so we have the first-hand experience of what it's like to be sidelined from your favourite discipline and understand that a quick, easy return to sport is required!
Osteopathy shouldn't just be considered for injuries though; it can be great at helping to prevent injuries too, beginning to be known as "Prehab"! Using our well-developed skills of joint palpation, or feel, we can help identify areas of your body that aren't performing well. These areas can, over time, contribute to injuries occurring by making other parts of the body compensate and become a problem. By working on these areas before you get an injury, we can help to prevent things snowballing and becoming a bigger issue.
Our treatments are always combined with exercise advice to help you rehabilitate your body to the level you were training at before the injury. With a wealth of information and a strong evidence base created for physical therapists treating sports injuries, there is no reason why an osteopath can't help your sports injury!
