Chronic sports injuries — those persisting or recurring over extended periods — can be challenging for athletes and active individuals. These injuries often result from repetitive stress, inadequate recovery, or an untreated acute injury. As discussed below, physiotherapy offers various techniques to manage these conditions, providing pain relief, improving mobility, and ultimately, reducing the risk of further injury.
Deep tissue massage
- What it is: Deep tissue massage is a technique that targets the deeper layers of muscle and connective tissue, reducing stiffness, tension, and pain.
- How it helps: This approach can relieve muscle tension, reduce scar tissue, and promote blood flow, helping relieve chronic discomfort associated with overuse injuries or muscle imbalances.
- Treatment examples: Physiotherapists use deep tissue massage to treat conditions such as tennis elbow, IT band syndrome, and chronic shoulder pain, allowing muscles and connective tissue to regain flexibility and strength.
Myofascial release
- What it is: This gentle form of massage focuses on releasing tightness and restrictions in the fascia, a connective tissue that surrounds muscles and organs.
- How it helps: This technique relieves tension in the fascia, promoting circulation, reducing pain, and improving range of motion. It is particularly beneficial for indviduals dealing with chronic muscle pain or tightness.
- Treatment examples: Physiotherapists often use myofascial release to treat conditions like plantar fasciitis, shin splints, and lower back pain, allowing athletes to move more freely and recover faster.
Dry needling
- What it is: Dry needling is a technique that involves inserting fine needles into muscle trigger points to ease pain and release muscle tightness.
- How it helps: This method can help relax muscle knots, improve blood flow, and lesson muscle tension, which is especially beneficial for chronic muscle pain conditions like plantar fasciitis or IT band syndrome.
- Treatment examples: Dry needling is very effective for pain relief and often used for athletes who struggle with chronic shoulder or back pain.
Strengthening exercises
- What it is: Physiotherapy exercises focus on building muscle endurance, stability, and resilience around injured or weak areas.
- How it helps: Targeted strengthening can correct muscle imbalances, improve joint stability, and reduce the risk of re-injury. Physiotherapists can help patients achieve better biomechanics, which can relieve chronic strain on tendons and joints.
- Treatment examples: Strengthening exercises are commonly used to rehabilitate injuries like rotator cuff issues, knee injuries, and lower back pain.
Shockwave therapy
- What it is: Shockwave therapy uses sound waves to promote healing in chronic soft tissue injuries, such as tendon pain.
- How it helps: By stimulating blood flow and encouraging tissue regeneration, shockwave therapy helps manage pain in tendons that have not fully healed from previous injuries.
- Treatment examples: Shockwave therapy is effective for treating conditions like Achilles tendinitis, jumpers' knee, and chronic hamstring strains, commonly experienced by long-distance runners and high-impact athletes.
Learn more about shockwave therapy.
High-power laser therapy
- What it is: High-power laser therapy is a non-invasive technique that uses concentrated light energy to stimulate cellular repair and reduce pain.
- How it helps: Laser therapy accelerates tissue repair by enhancing cellular metabolism and promoting tissue regeneration, which is especially beneficial for stubborn injuries that haven’t responded to other treatments.
- Treatment examples: This technique is effective for treating chronic sport injuries, such as injuries to hamstring tendon, plantar fasciitis, or shoulder pain in athletes.
Learn more about high-power laser therapy.
Kinesio taping
- What it is: Kinesio taping involves applying a special tape to support muscles and joints without restricting movement.
- How it helps: Kinesio taping can help reduce swelling, provide mild support, and encourage proper muscle activation. It relieves strain in affected areas, but allows movement so athletes can stay active.
- Examples of application: This technique is often used to support chronic knee pain, reduce strain on tendons, and aid in shoulder stabilisation, making it ideal for athletes with recurrent injuries.
Managing chronic sports injuries requires a multifaceted approach, and physiotherapy offers numerous techniques to address both pain and function.
If you are struggling with a chronic sports injury, please consider booking a consultation with one of our specialists at Hein Viljoen Physiotherapy to explore your options and get back on track. We love nothing more than helping restore our clients to full function, doing the activities they enjoy pain-free.
