Here’s How a Pembroke Pines Chiropractor Can Treat Your Sports Injuries
No matter your age or level of competition, injuries and sports go hand-in-hand. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t play sports and miss out on all the benefits they can provide, but it does mean you should always seek out an expert opinion if something feels off.
Many people wait to get help because they want to keep playing, or because they think the injury will get better over time. Keep in mind, however, that some of the most dangerous sports injuries are the ones that worsen over time if left untreated. Even a minor strain or sprain could cause you significant pain or develop into a more serious condition in the future if it’s not given the chance to heal correctly.
A great Pembroke Pines chiropractor can help you find relief so you can resume your normal life and hopefully get back to playing the sport you love. We can also show you exercises and movements to help reduce your risk of future reinjury.
Why Do Sports Injuries Happen?
Some people tend to only seek out care after a dramatic fall or accident, but keep in mind that wear and tear and other injuries that present gradually over time can be just as serious if left untreated. Sometimes even small changes, like forgetting to stretch before a game, can cause injuries that require medical attention.
A chiropractor is a great place to start, because we are trained to understand injuries in all areas of the body (not just the spine), and we can use a variety of treatment methods to speed up your healing journey, reduce your risk of future injury, and get you back on the field or court as quickly as it’s safe to do so.
Watch Out for These Common Injuries and Their Symptoms
Certain injuries are more or less likely depending on the sport you play and even your age. In general, these are some of the most common injuries we see among Pembroke Pines athletes of all ages and skill levels.
Sprains and Strains
Sprains and strains are by far the most common type of sport injury — one study found that 41.4% of all injuries fell in this category — and because of this, many people tend to brush them off and ignore them.
But what is actually happening to your body when you start feeling the pain or stiffness that often indicates a sprain or strain? These two injuries often present very similarly, but sprains impact ligaments (the tissue connecting two bones together) and strains are injuries to a muscle or a tendon (the tissue connecting a muscle to bone).
In either case, the injury occurs when the tissue is stretched beyond its limit or even starts to tear. This can happen because of a fall or even just an unusual motion, like stretching too far to catch a softball or turning suddenly to dodge the defensive line when playing football.
Strains and sprains will often heal over time if you rest and ice the affected area. But a chiropractor can both help you heal faster and also rule out more serious injuries like a tear, which will typically require medical treatment.
Muscle and Ligament Tears
When a muscle or ligament fully tears, it destabilizes the joint that muscle or ligament is attached to, making it difficult or even impossible to put weight on that joint or move it in a normal fashion. This injury may feel similar to a sprain or a strain, but sometimes you might hear a popping sound when the injury occurs.
Unlike a sprain or strain, a tear will often require medical care, whether that’s physical therapy and chiropractic to help the tear heal naturally, or even surgery in more severe cases.
By visiting a chiropractor, you can get to the root cause of your injury faster and then determine the best course of action. Great chiropractors are able to treat a wide variety of injuries without needing surgery or medication, but we’re always willing to make referrals if other forms of treatment are necessary.
Tendonitis
Tendonitis goes by several different names, depending on the part of the body it affects. The most well-known is tennis elbow, or epicondylitis. This condition can happen as the result of wear and tear from repeating the same motion over and over again with your elbow, such as swinging a golf club or a tennis or pickleball racket.
Tendonitis can also affect other joints, especially the shoulders, wrists, knees, and ankles. Tendonitis in the shoulder is especially common in sports like pickleball and tennis, where you’re frequently reaching over your head to hit a ball.
Tendonitis might start slowly with soreness, stiffness, and swelling, or it might begin all at once with a burning pain or even a grating feeling in the joint. It’s extremely important to get treatment for tendonitis right away, because it will worsen over time and eventually could get so severe that you have to stop playing your sport altogether.
Sciatica
Sciatica is a type of back pain that radiates down into the leg, causing numbness, tingling or burning. This condition doesn’t only appear in athletes, but it often occurs after playing sports that require you to repeatedly rotate your trunk, like golf and tennis.
Sciatica can be painful in its own right, but it can also indicate other conditions like a herniated disc or a pinched nerve in the back. A chiropractor can help you get to the root of the problem and alleviate discomfort with treatments including massage, spinal manipulation and physical therapy.
The Benefits of Chiropractic Care
Depending on the type of injury you’re experiencing, Rush Chiropractic has a variety of treatments we can use to help you find relief.
Join manipulation, which is one of the things chiropractors are most known for, doesn’t just help with spinal injuries. We can also use it on joints that commonly experience sports injuries, like knees, shoulders, and ankles. By adjusting the joint and its surrounding tissues, we can often improve your mobility and decrease irritation on the affected tissues so they can heal faster.
Other services that we often use for sports injuries include:
- Electrical Muscle Stimulation
- Exercise and Nutritional Advice
- Hot and Cold Therapy
- Massage
Some other doctors might be able to prescribe medication that will reduce your pain, but we understand that athletes don’t just need to feel better, they need to get stronger so that they can play their sport without future injuries. If you’re experiencing pain from a sports injury, give us a call today at 954-432-5006 to learn how we can help.
Dr. Rush is a 1994 graduate of the University of Florida where he earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Exercise Sports Science and Wellness.
Dr. Rush earned his Doctor of Chiropractic Degree at Life University in 2000 where he was honored with magna cum laude. Dr. Rush was born and raised in South Florida where he returned after graduation. He currently practices in Pembroke Pines where he owns and operates Rush Chiropractic and Rehab.
