If you injure yourself exercising or playing sports, it’s vital to get professional help so you can return to your favorite activities. For expert advice and medical care, Rand McClain, DO, and his team at Regenerative & Sports Medicine can help. At their office in Santa Monica, California and Houston, Texas they specialize in diagnosing and treating sports injuries. To benefit from their expertise in sports injury recovery and get back in action, call the office or book an appointment online today.

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What is sports injury recovery?

Sports injury recovery is the healing process you go through after damaging your body when playing sports. It often requires expert treatment to restore full function to injured tissues and prevent chronic pain and weakness.

Sports injuries are common. The most likely causes of a sports injury include:

  • Trips and falls
  • Stretching too far
  • Exceeding your fitness levels
  • Collisions
  • Using old or unsupportive footwear
  • Exercising on hard surfaces
  • Not caring for a minor injury
  • Inadequate warming up or cooling down
  • Not wearing suitable protective equipment

Sports injuries prevent you from taking part in the activities you love. If you don’t get the proper treatment, you might have to play at a lower level or give up your sport completely. Therefore, it’s wise to seek help from specialists like the Regenerative & Sports Medicine team to ensure optimal sports injury recovery.

What conditions might require sports injury treatment?

You might recover from a problem like a mild strain or charley horse (cramp) in a muscle without needing professional sports injury treatment. However, not getting help for more serious injuries or ones that don’t resolve quickly and completely, could cause long-term problems.

Common kinds of sports injuries that typically require treatment include:

  • Concussion (head injuries)
  • Torn muscles
  • Ligament sprains
  • Tendon strains
  • Dislocations
  • Cartilage injuries
  • Stress fractures
  • Tendinitis

Proper sports injury recovery is vital — even a seemingly straightforward condition like tendinitis (inflammation of the tendons) can lead to complications. Without the right therapy, tendinitis could develop into tendinosis, where the tissue starts to break down. In addition, many sports injuries result in joint instability if they don’t get the proper attention.

What does sports injury recovery involve?

Some of the sports injury recovery options that Regenerative & Sports Medicine uses include:

Physical therapy

Physical therapy helps heal and strengthen tissues following a sports injury. There are numerous kinds of therapies, some active (like exercises you do each day) and some passive. Examples of passive therapies include heat and ice, bracing, therapeutic ultrasound, massage, and taping.

Biologics

Biologic treatments include platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy, peptide therapy, and stem cell injections. They use your body’s own cells to encourage faster tissue healing.

Cryotherapy

Cryotherapy uses extreme cold in short bursts to encourage healing and improve well-being.

It’s also important to consider the way you look after your body. Staying hydrated, managing stress, eating lots of fruits and vegetables, and avoiding unhealthy fats, sugars, and bad habits like smoking, can all make a significant difference to how well your body heals following a sports injury.

If you suffer an injury when competing, training, or exercising, call the Regenerative & Sports Medicine office in Santa Monica, California, or Houston, Texas to book an appointment online today.