What’s The Difference Between a Traditional Physiotherapy Clinic and a Sports Injury Clinic?

Injuries, be they sports related or not, often require some form of therapy for recovery. Many injured athletes turn to physiotherapy, leading people to wonder what the difference is between a traditional physiotherapy clinic and a sports injury clinic, and which one is better for them. 

Physiotherapy is a form of medical treatment that helps people whose injuries or illnesses have impacted their ability to perform daily activities or decreased their ability to move. Often involving a comprehensive process of assessment and treatment in an out-patient setting like an actual physiotherapy clinic, physiotherapy helps restore movement and comfort. The services offered at a traditional physiotherapy clinic help people of all ages with injuries caused by a variety of scenarios.

So how is a sports injury clinic different from a physiotherapy clinic? Although a sports injury clinic uses physiotherapy to heal, the prime difference is that it often – although not exclusively – caters specifically to the treatment and prevention of sports related injuries. Because of their successful work with athletes, sports injury clinics have gained a reputation for being well versed in treating sports related injuries, as well as other common ailments, like osteoarthritis and tendonitis (both of which frequently occur in athletes and non-athletes). 

Both traditional physiotherapy clinics and sports injury clinics each usually have a team of professionally trained medical experts.  This roster includes a physiotherapist, medical doctor, and occupational therapist, each of whom is trained to apply various methods of treatment to injuries. Each is also trained to help prevent further damage to existing injuries while preventing future injuries.  This philosophy is invaluable to maintaining an individual’s pursuit of peak performance.

A sports injury clinic should also provide access to other trained professionals like dieticians, who would create personalized plans for maintaining a healthy weight, or orthopaedists, to deal with bone and joint injuries.

So why should an athlete choose a sports injury clinic over a physiotherapy clinic? The value of a sports injury clinic is the professional medical team it offers in a sports-specific setting.  A sports injury clinic has worked so extensively with sports related injuries, it can offer the support, education, and rehabilitation required to get you back into peak physical shape.  Ultimately, that’s the goal of a sports related lifestyle!

A sports injury clinic is dedicated to training and conditioning that enhances peak performance. Physical strength training that caters to both prevention and recovery is a big part of sports injury therapy. For example, a running injury clinic (a very common and specialized kind of sports injury clinic) may use physiotherapy techniques to help a patient with a running injury, and also mix specific methods of exercise to not only help to heal the injury, but also prevent future injuries, often by tweaking the runner’s technique.  Protecting your body from injury is every bit as important – if not more important - as treating an existing injury.

For further details on the differences between a traditional physiotherapy clinic and a sports injury clinic, or to find out why a sports injury clinic may be better for you, contact Athletic Edge Sports Medicine by calling 416 800 0800, or visit www.aesm.ca

What is Sonocur Shockwave Therapy and How Does it Work?

Sports related injuries can have a devastating impact on a person’s ability to participate in the things they love! An injury can not only greatly hinder your ability to perform at your best, but also to complete everyday tasks. Often after suffering an injury, surgery seems like the only option for a full recovery – but it isn’t. Alternative solutions, such as Sonocur Shockwave Therapy, can help you heal without surgery. 

What is Sonocur Shockwave therapy? A non-evasive therapy treatment, Shockwave therapy uses shockwaves to regenerate tissue and heal muscle. It also helps to break down scar tissue, a crucial element in the healing process. The use of low energy shock means that the process is relatively pain free and can be done without anesthesia. It works by sending acoustic shockwaves into the bone or soft tissue, rejuvenating the area on a cellular level. With repeated treatments, the controlled reinjuring of the site allows for a regeneration of blood vessels and bone cells.

What types of injuries does it treat? Sonocur Shockwave Therapy is used to treat many different and often chronic injuries, including plantar fasciitis, different types of tendinitis (rotator cuff, biceps, quadriceps and Achilles), tennis and golfer’s elbow, and jumper’s and runner’s knee. It also does not cause any tendon damage, which is very important for future activity.

What are the effects of Sonocur Shockwave Therapy? Researchers working with shockwave therapy have stated that it can:

-          Cause cell membranes to change, thereby inhibiting the sensation of pain

-          Cause chemical compounds to form which allows for a reduction in the feeling of pain

-          Increase blood supply in the treated area, which can help speed the healing process

Since the treatment works to regenerate new blood and bone cells, shockwave therapy heals many of the common soft tissue injuries experienced by athletes.

Shockwave therapy is not surgical, so you can return to work immediately following treatment or can continue playing the sports you enjoy. Shockwave therapy eliminates the chance of post-surgical scarring, as well as removing the risk for potential nerve damage or post-operative complications and risks. Unlike surgery, which almost always requires a period of rest and reduced activity, shockwave therapy doesn’t require this kind of downtime, so you don’t need to take time off work to recover from it. Also, because shockwave therapy is relatively pain free, you are able to enjoy the benefits of treatment without the pain and care needed for post-op recovery.

Sometimes surgery is the only option when you are dealing with a sports related, soft tissue injury. However, alternatives such as Sonocur Shockwave Therapy give you the choice to undergo treatment that not only reduces recovery time, but also gives you the peace of mind of knowing that you are receiving professional and efficient treatment without operative and post-operative risks.

To find out more about Sonocur Shockwave Therapy or to weigh the benefits of shockwave therapy against surgical options, contact Athletic Edge Sports Medicine by calling 416 800 0800, or visit www.aesm.ca   

Concussion Recovery Often Involves Professional Concussion Management

Concussions in pro-contact-sports like hockey and football have made many news headlines these past few years, and are an all too common an injury.  A body check into the boards or a tackle on the field can have devastating effects on the person being hit.  In the old days, ignoring the signs of a concussion was wrongly perceived as somehow “manning-up”.  Thank goodness times have changed.  Pro-athletes and their families have worked hard to make clear to others that suffering a concussion can have both short and long term effects.  In the new age of sports, it has become emphatically evident that seeking immediate professional concussion management is paramount to concussion recovery.  

What is a concussion? A concussion is essentially a traumatic brain injury that temporarily impacts your brain’s ability to function, delaying such things as memory, judgement, coordination or reflexes. It is often accompanied by a severe headache, altered levels of consciousness, seizures, nausea and vomiting or even a loss of consciousness.

Since a concussion is not always accompanied by a loss of consciousness, a person may be misled into complacency and fooled into not having a concussion diagnosed right away. Waiting too long to receive adequate concussion recovery care can be problematic. 

How are concussions diagnosed? Severe headaches can often be an indication, though these don’t automatically mean a concussion is the root of the problem -- just as the absence of a headache doesn’t necessarily mean a concussion isn’t present. Different tests and exams can be used to diagnose a concussion, including a check of the nervous system, tests to see if eye pupil size has significantly changed, or if thinking ability or reflexes are decreased. Other tests include an EEG, MRI, or a CT of the head.

Once a concussion has been diagnosed, there are different ways to deal with concussion recovery. Professional concussion management often involves professionally monitoring the patient, and assisting in their recovery. Testing cognitive function, brain response, and memory all assist with proper and responsible concussion recovery.

Determining when it is safe for a patient to resume participating in sports again is also an important part of professional concussion management. Returning to the field or the court too early can be extremely harmful. Since a player that has sustained a concussion is as much as six-times more likely to experience a second concussion, it is crucial to take concussion recovery very seriously. Suffering secondary concussions can lead to long-term effects ranging from prolonged dizziness to permanent brain damage, so relying on a professional concussion management team to determine the safe recovery period for each individual is an important part of concussion recovery, and can help prevent future injuries.

In addition, heading back to the field too soon could foster the development of post-concussion syndrome – which is often determined by the development of fatigue, headache, or difficulty concentrating in the weeks or even months following the initial concussion. Again, the role of a professional concussion management team is vital to helping prevent this. If a patient does develop post-concussion syndrome, the role becomes one of monitoring and helping to evaluate a safe return-to-play timeline.

Enlisting the services of a professional concussion management team ensures that your concussion recovery is not only swift, but safe. By monitoring the progress of the individual, concussion recovery helps to ensure that further injury is avoided and that working towards a concussion-free future is possible.

To find out more about concussion recovery or to learn more about the importance of working with a professional concussion management team, contact Athletic Edge Sports Medicine by calling 416 800 0800, or visit www.aesm.ca

Finally Creating an Effective Diet and Exercise Plan

With a multitude of diet and exercise plans being advertised, it’s often difficult to choose the best one for you. It’s even trickier to avoid falling into the easy trap of believing one of the many fads that exist claiming to have secrets you need to achieve your goals.  A proper diet and exercise plan is vital to a healthy and balanced lifestyle, but it’s important to focus on creating a balance between effective results and maintaining – or improving – your overall health.  

Completely cutting out carbs or eating just raw food or drastically reducing calories may help you lose some weight in the short term – but is it healthy, with realistic and long-lasting results? An effective diet and exercise plan must incorporate several different things in order to be effective AND healthy.  Merely focusing on what you eat with no consideration of exercise means that your body is only receiving partial attention to what it needs to be fully healthy. Furthermore, many fad diets require you to cut out many of the essential nutrients that help your body energize, fight disease, build muscle, etc.  An effective diet and exercise plan will help ensure that your body is receiving all of the necessary foods AND getting the exercise it needs to be healthy.

Working with a registered dietician is an excellent way to create a customized diet and exercise plan that meets your current needs and future goals. By assessing what you currently eat, how much and how you exercise and what you want to achieve, a registered dietician can customize an effective diet and exercise plan which will:

-          Develop detailed, yet easy to follow, recipes and menu-plans that not only meet your weight loss goals but are also personalized to account for your own food preferences so you can enjoy eating during weight-loss.

-          Help you better understand how to make smart food choices, as well as educating you regarding the impact making good or bad choices will have.

-          Create a realistic exercise plan that not only suits your needs, but also your lifestyle.

-          Incorporate activities that suit your preferences, encouraging you to exercise solo in your home or in a public setting, such as the gym or running clinics.

Meetings with a registered dietician provide both motivation and support, which can make or break the success of reaching healthy lifestyle goals. These individual and/or group meetings offer opportunities to address any ongoing issues, ask questions, or change things about your diet and exercise plan that don’t seem to be working.

All of these components work in harmony to ensure success and satisfaction with a diet and exercise plan that is individualized with consistent support and encouragement.

Instead of setting unrealistic goals --the pursuit of which may put your health at risk -- a diet and exercise plan established by a trained dietician lays the groundwork for meeting rewarding health and fitness goals.

If you have found setting and reaching your own goals to be frustrating and unsuccessful, it may have more to do with not knowing how to design and stick with a plan that truly meets your needs and abilities, and less to do with your ability to lose weight. Working with a registered dietician to establish a diet and exercise plan offers motivation and success for achieving a truly healthy lifestyle has offered a breakthrough for many who have struggled alone.

Why deny yourself the success you long for? To find out more about the results that could change your life when creating an effective diet and exercise plan or to meet with a registered dietician, contact Athletic Edge Sports Medicine by calling 416 800 0800, or visit www.aesm.ca