Preseason Training Injuries and How to Treat Them
With the holiday season well and truly over, many have returned to sport and we know this means preseason training injuries will be on the rise.
Research conducted in 2020 indicated 20% of injuries an athlete will face in a season will be in the first four weeks of preseason training. A large percentage of these injuries will occur to the lower limb.
So how do you identify an injury and what should you do to treat one?
Common Preseason Injuries
The most common recurring injuries are ankle sprains, muscular strains and overuse injuries – specifically achilles tendinitis.
Strains
A strain is often referred to as a “pulled muscle” . And is an injury to the muscle belly or tendon, often as a result of overstretching the muscle. There are three grades of muscular strains:
- Grade I – mild damage to individual muscle fibers (less than 5%) resulting in minimal loss of strength and function
- Grade II – is damage to a greater percentage of the muscle fibers, including partial but not complete tearing.
- Grade III – involves complete rupture of of the muscle or tendon
The most common symptom is immediate pain at the site of the strain. Pain will also increase on activation of the muscle that has been strained. You will often notice a decrease in range of motion of the muscle and surrounding joints. Depending on the severity of the injury, swelling and bruising can also be present.
Ankle Sprains
A lateral ankle sprain, often referred to as a “rolled ankle” occurs due to the joints and ligaments being stretched beyond their normal ranges of motion. This can lead to overstretching and tearing of the ligaments that support the outside of the ankle joint. These ligaments help to stabilise and prevent excessive movement of the ankle.
As with a muscular strain, joint sprains also have three levels of grading:
- Grade I- overstretching or partial tearing of the ligaments, resulting in mild swelling and tenderness, slight or no functional loss and no mechanical instability of the joint.
- Grade II – incomplete ligament tear, you may experience moderate pain, swelling and bruising, pain on weight bearing, and mild to moderate instability of the associated joint.
- Grade III – complete tear and loss of ligament integrity, resulting in severe pain, swelling and bruising, inability to bear weight, severe mechanical instability.
Achilles Tendinitis
Tendinitis is an overuse injury that generally occurs at the attachment site of the tendon. The tendon is fibrous connective tissue that attaches muscle to bone.
Achilles tendinitis is commonly seen in preseason training, with pain occurring at the back of the heel. It often begins as a mild aching pain which will notably increase over time. Pain may be most prominent after playing sports, or even with day to day activities such as climbing stairs.
The site of pain may be tender to touch, you may experience stiffness and loss of range of motion. It is not uncommon to experience increased stiffness in the mornings or after periods of rest.
So When Should I Book an Appointment?
It is always a good idea to seek advice from your allied health professional regarding preseason injuries.
Although the RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation) method is commonly used for mild acute injuries – soft tissue therapy, laser therapy and shock wave can assist in speeding up the tissue healing time frame.
It is also important that you are rehabilitating the injured joint/muscle to avoid reinjury and to ensure a successful season.
We are here for all your treatment needs and to get you pain free and back doing the things you love. If you’d like to book an appointment with one of our practitioners call (03) 9397 8877 now or head to the booking page here.
Sam Volarich – Osteopath
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