Osteopathy and Sports

So you’ve pulled a muscle? What do you do? Strap it, and carry on? Spray with deep heat/ice it, elevate and rest? Or come and see an osteopath?

Osteopaths not only look at the injury that you have sustained, but also the possible bio-mechanics that may have lead to the problem.

Previous musculo-skeletal strains and mal-alignments cause patterns of compensation throughout the body that can finally manifest in your pulled muscle.

With osteopathic help, you can recover more quickly and, hopefully, return to your sport with less chance of further problems.

Stretching

Before you have an injury, you know as well as I do that prevention is better than cure. In sports, this means stretching prior to and post activity. Be honest, who really does this diligently enough. There has been some debate about stretching, even some studies that suggest that stretching could be harmful.

I cannot subscribe to that theory because stretching physiology is complex and involves more than lengthening muscle. We are engaging fluid dynamics, temperature, ligamentous and tendon elasticity and other elements in musculo-skeletal structure. How people stretch varies as well.

Given the variety of activities that people engage in, I would urge you to explore what is right for you and your sport. The web is a great resource, and will provide you with good information for you and your osetopath to explore. Try www.osca.co.uk for starters.

Sports injury? Let us know how we can help.