Sports Injuries: Get Back to Moving Well

About sports injuries

Sports injuries range from the acute (a pulled hamstring during a sprint, a rolled ankle on a trail) to the overuse (runner's knee, tennis elbow, achilles tendinopathy) to the post match stiffness that takes longer to fade than it used to. Most respond well to a combination of appropriate rest, hands on care, and a graduated return to load.

For our clients, the most common concerns are lower back strain, hamstring and quadriceps tightness, knee pain, calf and achilles complaints, and shoulder restriction. Sports massage is the most common reason athletes come in the door, but the right starting point depends on what's going on.

How we can help

Sports massage and deep tissue massage. Several of our therapists come from a sports massage background, including therapists with LSSM training and clinical experience with athletes at a variety of levels. Sports massage is useful both as maintenance (keeping tissue quality good between training blocks) and as treatment (for tight, restricted, or post injury tissue).

Osteopathy. When an injury is affecting how you move as a whole (a hip that isn't tracking well, shoulders that aren't rotating evenly), osteopathy looks at the chain rather than just the painful bit. Our GOsC registered osteopaths work with plenty of sporting clients.

Physiotherapy. For injuries where a progressive return to load is the priority, our CSP affiliated physiotherapist can build you a rehabilitation plan and keep adjusting it as you progress.

Muscle energy technique, myofascial release, and trigger point therapy. Specialist soft tissue approaches that some of our therapists use for persistent restrictions that don't fully release under general massage.

Preventative care

A large share of our sporting caseload is not injured; they come in monthly for maintenance sports massage, or they see an osteopath every few weeks across a race build. Complementary care in this mode is less about fixing something broken and more about keeping small issues from becoming bigger ones.

What to expect at your first visit

Plan for an hour. Your practitioner will ask about your training, your injury history, the current complaint, and what you want to get back to. They'll assess how you're moving, identify what they think is contributing, and start treatment in the same session. Most clients with a specific injury come for a short block (three to six sessions) rather than open ended appointments.