The Article Home

Sports Therapy Beyond Fitness and Sports

In 1994, at the end of the athletic season, Leroy Burrell, the World Record holder for the 100 meters, complained of having an “uncomfortable” feeling in his left heel. By May of 1995, the pain worsened, becoming so bad that his sports doctor in Houston prescribed rest for the next six months.

For the fastest man of the world, this is a tragedy. But what else could he do? If Leroy Burrell insisted on still running even in such pain, there is a likely chance he could get crippled and never run again. That is an even bigger tragedy, both personally as well as financially.

So for the period that he was forced to rest, Burrell underwent therapy, going through strength conditioning, ice therapy, and other current modalities, all administered by Houston’s finest rehabilitation centers. Not satisfied, he also privately went to therapists who provided him with painful deep tissue massage.

He spent several thousands of dollars. But unfortunately for Burrell, there was no improvement in his condition. He still could not run flat without feeling the most intense, excruciating pain. And even when he’s not running, the pain was still there.

In attempt to reduce the pain and provide some relief, his doctors prescribed a surgical procedure, which involved making an incision in his heel. The procedure is said to relieve the pressure and inflammation, and thus alleviate the pain.

However, at what cost? In order to free himself from pain, must the world’s swiftest man clip his wings?

The question Leroy Burrell faces is a question many sports athletes, amateur and professional alike, also face today. The world of sports is a dangerous place to be. Sure, it is fun. It is exhilarating. But amid all that fun and seemingly endless rush of adrenaline, danger lurks…and, if you are careless, tragedy.

The risk of injury is high. The more aggressive the sports, the higher the risk. And once you get injured – sprain an ankle, pull a muscle, strain a wrist, break a leg – recovery is going to take a very long while, and sometimes, not at all.

So why take the risk? Why do these athletes continue to place themselves in a position where they are most at risk of getting injured for life? Because of the thrill? The fans? The whole celebrity status afforded them when they excel at a particular sports?

Well, all that can be taken in to form part of the reason, but beyond all that is the fact that you can’t take them out of the sports field any more than you can take a fish out of the water and expect it to live.

Would a bird still be a bird if its wings were clipped? Would Leroy Burrell still be Leroy Burrell if he had a hole in his heels?

The answer would be in the affirmative, yes. However, you can’t help but feel that without that which gives them purpose people like Leroy Burrell are diminished somewhat. To borrow a cliché, “it’s just not the same.”

So what does medical science have to say to this?

The answer lies in sports therapy, a multi-discipline sub-field of medicine that is more commonly referred to as Sports Medicine.

What is Sports Therapy?

Sports therapy is healthcare provided to athletes, both amateur and professional. It has a two-fold focus: preventive care and treatment of sports-related injury, which includes rehabilitation of the patient back to optimum levels of functional, occupational, and sports-specific fitness.

As a multi-discipline field, sports therapy is often administered by a team of specialists, often encompassing the following medical and healthcare professions:

•    Specialty physicians

•    Surgeons

•    Athletic trainers

•    Physical therapists

•    Coaches

•    Other healthcare personnel

•    Athlete

Treatments and procedures used in sports therapy are often very individualized – that is, the methods are tailored to meet the needs of each individual. In many cases, a combination of sports therapy methods is necessary in order for the athlete to achieve full recovery.

However, recovery is not the only goal of sports therapy. A sports therapy team is also concerned with preventing the injury from happening in the first place. Hence, much emphasis is placed on pre- and post-activity therapy as a way of conditioning the body to optimize it for receiving stress without suffering injury.

A professional belonging to a sports therapy team, therefore, needs to have the following qualifications:

•    Training in first aid and ability to attend to injuries in a recreational, training and competitive environment

•    Training and ability to assess and, where appropriate, provide specialist advice and intervention

•    Ability to provide sports massage and other pre- and post-activity therapy procedures

•    Can plan and implement appropriate rehabilitation programs

•    Knowledge of sports and exercise principles and utilize the same to optimize preparation and injury prevention programs

Types of Sports Therapy

There are many types of sports therapy procedures and techniques used by practitioners for preventive care and rehabilitation of athletes. As earlier mentioned, many of these techniques are used in combination in order to achieve better results.

•    R.I.C.E.

This stands for Rest, Ice, Compression, and Elevation. R.I.C.E. is one of the most common sports therapy used by practitioners to help speed up an athlete’s recovery after an injury.

The therapy consists of the following procedures:

?    First, the athlete is made to rest the injured body part immediately.

The rule is that when you feel pain when you move, this is actually your body sending you a signal to decrease mobility in that area. So if, for instance, you suffer a sprained ankle, the first thing you are supposed to do is to refrain from moving the affected ankle. This is one way of reducing trauma to the injured part.

?    Ice Pack

Ice packs are a common treatment to reduce pain. Placing an ice pack to the injured area will help alleviate any pain and keep inflammation down. Be sure to place a towel between your skin and the ice pack in order to protect from frostbite.

?    Compression

This method will help reduce swelling in the injured area. Compression consists of wrapping with a bandage or ice pack over the affected portion. If you feel any pain or tingly sensation, loosen the wrap.

Once you’re done and the wrap has been secured, position the injured area so that it is positioned at a level slightly higher than your heart, when lying down.

•    A.R.T.

This stands for Active Release Techniques. This type of sports therapy is classified as a soft tissue system because it treats problems in soft tissues of the body – e.g., muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia and nerves.

•    Deep Tissue Massage

As a massage technique, this type of sports therapy involves applying pressure to the deeper layers of the muscle tissue. Using its characteristic slow strokes and direct deep pressure applied across the grain of the muscles (different from other massages which apply pressure with the grain of the muscle), this sports therapy aims to release chronic muscle tension. In the process, pain is greatly alleviated and any restrictions in mobility as a result of the muscle tension are improved.

•    Thai Massage

Another type of massage, this type of sports therapy incorporates such practices as yoga, acupressure and reflexology. The method also employs a wide variety of stretching movements as well as pressure points.

•    Pre-race Massage

Applied prior to a race or sports activity that requires maximum amount of exertion in the muscles, this massage technique properly addresses the preventive care aspect of sports therapy.

Pre-race massage helps prevent injury by preparing both the body and the mind for the stresses and exertions of the forthcoming event. It consists of exercises, muscle conditioning, and stretching routine to warm the muscle tissue, lubricate joints, increase blood flow, and increase oxygen intake.

•    Post-race Massage

Applied at the end of an event, this massage type sports therapy helps return the body and the mind to an enjoyable and relaxed state. The method has relaxation as its end goal, employing techniques that would help relax muscle tissue and muscle fibers and remove toxins and lactic acid that accumulate in the muscle as a result of the recent activity. Ultimately, this specific type of sports therapy aims to prevent injury as a result of muscle overuse and following day aches.

There are, of course, many more methods and techniques used in sports therapy. The above are basic methods applied by many healthcare practitioners even in ordinary, non-sports-related settings.

What makes sports therapy very important in the world of competitive sports is that they provide athletes with a fighting chance against sports-related injury, which is a risk they must face everyday.

As for Leroy Burrell, no, he did not decide to have surgery. He did not want his wings clipped.
Instead, he was introduced to a different kind of treatment – Soft Tissue Release (STR), a type of sports therapy. Three sessions of this specific treatment, Burrell called the hospital and postponed the surgical procedure set for the following day. Afterwards, he flew to California and at the Santa Monica Track Club, he underwent another three specific STR treatments for his heel pain.

In that short period of time, Burrell described his pain as “reduced by 80%.”

Related posts:

1. Job Massage Therapy
2. Massage therapy benefits
3. Physical sports therapy
4. Physical therapy sports medicine
5. What is Massage Therapy?

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010 at 3:29 pm and is filed under Education and Training, Health and Well-Being, Hobbies and Activities, Society Issues, Sports Activities. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.