Dealing With the Complications of Injury

It is impossible to deal with every possible complication that could come from an injury, and it’s always vital to seek professional medical advice in all conditions. However, we have a wealth of knowledge that will help you recover from many conditions. The most important thing is that you put small amounts of time aside regularly to rehabilitate your injury. Many people think that if they take pain killers, then the injury will heal itself over time. This usually isn’t true for several reasons. 

1. You could be damaging an area of your body through overloading it or moving it in a position it shouldn’t be moving – but because you don’t feel the pain. Therefore, you could be doing further damage to the body.
2. Many injuries are caused by misalignment of the body. This may result in the damage of one particular joint or muscle – but the remedy will involve the alignment of different areas of the body. You can think of your body as a suspension bridge. If one of the suspension cables snaps, you wouldn’t just look at that one cable and the exact place that it snapped. You would look at the whole structure of the bridge – which movements caused most, strain and was it constructed to spread the load evenly.
3. Many injuries can be caused by some muscles being weaker than others. These muscles are more likely to strain or tear. Therefore, it’s good to strengthen these muscles to prevent further injury. Painkillers may hide the pain in that muscle, but that may lead to you ignoring the problem until that muscle fails. 

Case Study – Tennis or Golfer’s Elbow

 Millions of people globally suffer from tennis or golfer’s elbow each year. They instinctively think that it is due to a problem with the elbow joint and many wear a brace over that joint. Others receive treatment from a Physiotherapist who works directly on the joint. However, this is usually a completely misunderstood condition. 

Millions of people globally suffer from tennis or golfer’s elbow each year. They instinctively think that it is due to a problem with the elbow joint and many wear a brace over that joint. Others receive treatment from a Physiotherapist who works directly on the joint. However, this is usually a completely misunderstood condition.  

There are several factors to consider when treating tennis or golfer’s elbow.  

1. Are the muscles running through the arm, back and shoulder tight, damaged, or weak? 

1. Are the back and shoulder muscles in good alignment? 

1. Is the person hitting the ball correctly, as incorrect technique can lead to greater forces going through the elbow ? Releasing the force of a shot can reduce the strain on the elbow by 40%. 

1. Is the person properly hydrated and fuelled? 

1. Finally, is there any actual damage to the joint itself, or is the inflammation coming from the tendon running into the elbow? 

 The Teres Major muscle runs from the base of the armpit into the upper arm. This muscle works hard when you lift your arm above your head, and when it’s under strain, it can tighten and restrict the extension of the arm. This is turn can cause tightness on the tricep muscle that runs into the elbow. The muscle runs into tendon, which then attaches to bone in the joint. By loosening this whole area and conditioning the muscles running into the joint, we can prevent inflammation of the tendon and alleviate the pain around the joint.  

Have you ever checked your back out ? Many Physiotherapists never check a patient’s back when they present with elbow pain. It’s vital to remember that the muscle network in the body is a series of strings that all interconnected. They pull on each other to allow the body to move, and problems in one area leads to problems in other areas.  

An aligned back will not only lead to greater back health, but greater health throughout the arm and the elbow. Notice also in a healthy back that the muscles are all equally strong. The weaker muscle is much more likely to give way and pull or tear (causing inflammation).  

You will find simple routines in our app that can be used at home or in the gym to allow correct alignment and strength balance. We will also help you check that you are properly hydrated and fuelled as this will help muscle regenerate much more quickly. It will help prevent injury and will also speed up any rehabilitation.  

Finally, an expert should check the joint itself to see if there is any damage directly there. However, what you will see from this case study, is how important it is to check other parts of the body and keep them in good order if you want to reduce pain and injury in the future. If you’re a sports person, it’s also going to allow you to play and compete for many more years.