Recover from a Soft Tissue Injury Correctly with an Experienced Physio

27. June 2017

3 ways a physio specialist can help you recover from a soft tissue injury

All of us suffer from soft tissue injuries, from time to time, but not everyone knows the importance of recovering correctly and how to do this.

By paying closer to attention to your recovery, after you’ve been injured, you can prevent future re-injuries and speed up your rehab time so you can get back to doing the things you love.

Here are 3 ways a physio specialist can help move your recovery from a soft tissue injury in the right direction.

They Can Offer Advice Specific to Your Situation

Not all soft tissue injuries are the same and not every person will respond the same to a specific treatment. If you are simply googling treatments and “how to” advice, you might not know all of the right questions to ask. When you have access to a trained physiotherapist, you get the kind of specialized advice that can help you recover safely and correctly.

Ice and Heat Therapy

Sure, you might know that you need to use ice and heat, at some point, but do you know exactly when? While a lot of the advice about applying ice and heat to soft tissue injuries may apply to many different situations, some are case specific. In most situations, you will want to apply ice early on. This is because; it can limit the body’s response to injury and reduce bleeding into the tissues and reduce muscle spasm and pain.

You will probably want to use heat at some point, too, but not in the same way for every injury. You will also want to be very aware to not place ice or heat on certain parts of your body. These can include areas in the body that are known to have poor circulation, parts of the skin that have poor sensation to heat or cold, and If there is an infection in the area. You also want to be careful not to use too much heat or ice if you have diabetes, and if you have a heart condition. Avoid placing ice packs on the left shoulder as well.

Stretching

Many people either start too soon with stretching, or they start too late. You can start with some very gentle,static and passive stretching exercises 72 hours after the soft tissue injury. Then 2 weeks later, you can move into PNF stretching, which rely on stretching a muscle to its limit. This can greatly help you to maintain range of motion following your soft tissue injury.

If you are recovering from a soft tissue injury, you may want to consider working with a physiotherapist. It could be the difference between you maintaining long-term mobility or constantly re-injuring yourself due to poor recovery practices.