Treatment for Running & Sports Injuries
To coax the most out of the human body during training or actual performance, there are certain principles, or building blocks that must be present. Good breathing, proper nutrition, hydration and intensity are just a few of the things required for optimal sports training and performance. However, if there’s one thing missing from the list, it’s good posture, which is paramount when it comes to sports injury prevention.
Proper posture not only enhances performance, but it also reduces injury, speeds up the healing process, builds more muscle and increases efficiency. Make sure your posture isn’t putting you at risk for a running or sports injury!
Forward Head Posture
The most common postural distortion is Forward Head Posture. The head sits forward of the shoulders, the upper back has drifted backward and the pelvis has tipped forward. This is commonly known as Forward Head Posture (FHP), and more people experience it than you may think. In fact, approximately 80% of the general population has varying degrees of FHP!
Poor Posture Is Detrimental to Athletic Performance
First and foremost, FHP places an abnormal amount of stress on every core muscle. For instance, in FHP, the pelvis tips forward, causing the hamstrings to stretch and pre-load. This tilting also causes the quads in front to shorten and become weak.
When the pelvis tilts forward in FHP, it causes the hamstrings to stretch and the quads to shorten. Physiology of the body tells us a muscle stretched and held in that position for a long period of time becomes weak (known as stretch weakness). Conversely, a muscle that is shortened and held in that position also becomes weak (short weakness). Having these two things happen to antagonistic muscle groups is detrimental to sports performance!
Due to compensatory changes in the spine and other areas from the effects of FHP, muscle changes occur up the entire kinetic chain, causing lower back discomfort or pain, changes in breathing, changes in shoulder positioning, range of motion deficiencies and instability of the neck motor unit. Bad posture can affect professional athletes and recreational sports players alike. So whether you play sports five times a week or pick-up games on the weekends, you could suffer from a sports injury that requires careful treatment.
Running & Sport Injury Treatment
Whether you’re suffering from an acute injury or chronic pain, Advanced Spine & Wellness has a drug-free, safe solution for you. If a sore hamstring doesn’t stop hurting after you try the RICE method (rest, ice, compression, elevation), you should have it examined by professionals. With the right physical therapy, your injury can heal properly and you can get back to playing the game in no time!
Our physical therapy department also helps in recovery from acute sports injuries such as:
• Tendonitis
• Bursitis
• Fractures
• Joint pain
• Muscle strain
• Ligament sprain
If you are experiencing of these symptoms, visit us in Rockville, Maryland today for sports injury treatment! Residents from all over Montgomery County, Maryland have left our Rockville office pain-free, and you can too. Contact us for sports injury treatment today!
