“I threw my back out”, “I twisted my ankle”, “I slept on my neck wrong”, “I don’t know what I did to my shoulder”. These phrases are a part of many of our lives. Living in pain is not typical, regardless of age! For most conditions, the earlier you are in our office, the quicker you recover. That’s why, at Sports PT of NY, we strive to schedule your evaluation within 24 hours of your call.
If you can control pain early on, you can minimize compensations that may result from changes in natural movement patterns. Compensations may cause muscle imbalances and improper wear of joints. For example, if you sprain your ankle, you may begin to limp which may cause you to develop pain in your hips or low back There is also evidence to suggest that following an ankle sprain, weakness occurs in your hip and leg muscles (specifically your hip abductors and ankle plantarflexors).1 Weakness in these areas could result in greater stress in your low back leading to back pain as well as negatively affecting the original ankle injury. It is also known that pain inhibits your muscles from working correctly. For instance, when you have pain in the low back, the muscles that support your spine cannot properly stabilize your spine. This is a key reason for recurrent low back pain which can impede your regular activities.
From clinical experience, pain greater than 3-4 days in duration, pain that emerges without cause, or pain from an acute injury should be addressed as soon as possible. Many times postural stresses, habitual positions, or repetitive movements change how our joints move and how our muscles work. Depending on what your specific impairments are, seeking treatment sooner rather than later will reduce these compensations and get you back to doing the things you once loved to do!
Physical therapy can be a first line of defense. It is non-invasive and treatment can be modified for individual needs and physical abilities. By law, you do not need a prescription to be evaluated by a physical therapist. As noted in our first blog, we are trained in evaluating musculoskeletal conditions and can differentially diagnosis your condition and determine if you are a PT candidate. If during our evaluation, we find you are not a candidate for PT, we would work together with your physician to make sure you receive the appropriate care or refer you to a physician if you do not have one. If you are a candidate for PT and do seek care early, you can easily cut the amount of PT needed in half, saving valuable time and money in the process.
Please feel free to post and discuss this topic further, but bottom line is – the quicker you seek proper care, the sooner you will see results and the less likely you are to experience problems in the future
Reference:
1. Friel K, McLean N, Myers C, Caceres M. Ipsilateral Hip Abductor Weakness After Inversion Ankle Sprain. Journal of Athletic Training. 2006; 41(1) 74-78.
Completed by:
Alison Synakowski, PT, DPT, OCS, ATC, CSCS
Facility Manager
Certified Sportsmetrics Instructor
Sports Physical Therapy of NY, PC
1 West Ave, Suite 150
Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
(518)-583-7537 x2805
(518)-583-7606 (fax)
www.sptny.com