Health Advice for the Older Generation

As contact sports such as soccer, American football and rugby become highly competitive and intense, the rate of injury incidences increases. Besides, the pressure on players to return to competitive shape after an injury is high. Therefore, team physiotherapists must do all they can to ensure their athletes avoid injuries and recover fast after one occurs. However, you should keep pace with sports physiotherapy trends to offer the best possible injury prevention and management solutions. Read on.  

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy -- As mentioned earlier, contact sports are getting intense and injuries that require surgeries are becoming quite common. Traditionally, patients had to wait until the wound healed naturally before beginning rehabilitative training. Not only does the wait frustrate the athlete, but it also drags them back in terms of form. However, hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) is changing all this by reducing the time wounds take to heal. The type of physiotherapy involves exposing the body to pure oxygen at high pressure. Since wounds need oxygen to heal appropriately, exposing tissue to a lot of oxygen speeds up healing. Therefore, if you want your athletes to spend less time at the physiotherapist's table, add hyperbaric oxygen therapy to your treatment program.

Hands-on Techniques -- In the past, traditional therapists used their hands to treat joint and muscle pain. However, technological advancement over the last few years has led to the development of alternative treatments such as electrical stimulation and ultrasound to treat and manage pain. Today, physiotherapists agree that a more hands-on approach stands a much better chance at treating pain. Moreover, manual therapy -- also referred to as bodywork -- helps with relaxation and flexibility. For instance, Yoga is being recommended by numerous physiotherapists for its ability to manipulate and strengthen bones, ligaments and joints through controlled force. Other hands-on approaches include twisting, pulling or pushing bones to correct and improve one's range of motion and form after an injury.  

3D Motion Capture -- Correct form is essential to perform at the highest level. That is why physiotherapists work with injured athletes to bring their form back as quickly as possible. Traditionally, the only way physios could tell that an athlete was getting back their form was to conduct several posture tests and compare them to templates. Due to the inaccuracies of such a technique, 3D motion capture is taking over. Sensors attached to the athlete's body allows sports physiotherapists to reproduce movement in real-time. Consequently, it helps to determine whether there is progress or pinpoint possible stubborn misalignment.

For more information on sports physiotherapy, consult a resource in your area.