Sports Injuries
Sports are vital to our well being and are an integral part of our society. They serve in providing exercise, amusement and a release of stress. Unfortunately, injury is an all too common sequella of sports participation.

Most sports injuries are quite preventable. Being well toned, having proper form, and performing specific warm up and cool down exercises greatly lowers the risk of getting hurt. Coaches, trainers and teachers having expertise in a specific sport can give good direction in these areas.

Most sports injuries are soft tissue injuries involving muscles, tendons, and ligaments. These injuries often occur as a result of an acute trauma. They can also be a result of the wear and tear on an area from repetitive strain over time.

Muscle injuries usually heal on their own through a combination of rest and specifically applied exercises. These often look worse than they really are from bruising and swelling. Ice is useful in the first 48 hours for pain relief and to minimize swelling. After that time, it is good to alternate ice with heat. Medical attention should be sought if the pain is extreme or there is loss of range of motion of the area. Acupuncture and Osteopathic manipulation can rapidly accelerate the healing process.

Tendons are the tissues at each end of a muscle that attach it to bone. Tendon injuries usually heal in the same way as muscles. Again, the healing response can be accelerated through acupuncture and Osteopathic manipulation. Tendons can tear on a microscopic level. When these tears do not heal completely, Prolotherapy is employed.

Injured ligaments are the most common cause of lingering pain and limitation from sports injury. While most ligaments do heal over time, there can be microscopic tears in the fibers that heal incompletely. Fortunately, these respond well to Prolotherapy.

Although sports injuries occur commonly, most are preventable. When they do occur, healing usually happens spontaneously with time. The healing can be accelerated through acupuncture and Osteopathic manipulation. If the injury does not heal over time because of damaged ligaments and tendons, Prolotherapy is routinely successful.