3 Tips on Managing your Sporting Injury - by Matthew Do

If you have just strained a muscle at sport or hurt yourself at the gym, then pay attention!

As physios we see people with strains and sprains everyday. We see how much stress this can cause and we want to do everything we can to help you guys get back to what you love to do as quickly and safely as possible.

A question we get asked all the time is what should I do once I’ve hurt myself. So here is a 3 step series on what you should do.

STOP the aggravating activity right away.

I know this sounds like common sense but you would not believe how many people we see that continue to push through pain only to aggravate an old injury or cause a new one.

Think of pain as a warning light in an aeroplane. When one of the emergency lights start flashing do we ignore it or do we take this seriously and start preparing ourselves and investigating the problem.

Of course the answer is to take this seriously. Pain is an instinctive response of the body letting us know that we are doing too much too soon, especially in a training setting.

So next time you feel your hamstring or calf start to feel a little bit tight and irritating, listen to your body and either cease the activity or modify as required.

Manage the Injury

If you have sustained an injury, your priority now is to manage your pain. For example, if you have just strained a muscle at training or during a game place some ice over the injured area. The ice will work to numb the area and give you some temporary relief for your pain.

Plan to get back to 100%

Now that you’ve managed some of your pain, it is really important is to find out exactly what is happening to you and why this happened in the first place.

Seeking advice from a trusted health professional will provide you with the knowledge of:

What has happened to you
Why this has happened
What the best plan is moving forward to manage your injury and help you return to sport

An accurate diagnosis and a clear plan will increase the odds of you returning back to sport in the shortest time possible. On the other hand, if you don’t have clarity on the above, then I suggest that you seek a second opinion and get the guidance that you need and deserve.

An accurate diagnosis and a clear plan will increase the odds of you returning back to sport in the shortest time possible.

I hope this helps guys and as always if you have any questions shoot us a call or comment below.

Happy training!

Yours Truly,
Matthew Do