4 Stages Of Rehabilitation For Sports Injuries

When athletes are seriously injured, they are no longer able to continue with their conventional workout routines until they are healed.  As such, a rehabilitative regimen will have to be crafted. This will involve the use of particular exercises to build tolerance and help to gradually strengthen different muscle groups.  

Below are the 4 stages of rehabilitation for sports injuries:

1. Regeneration

In this phase of rehabilitation, the injured area is allowed to rest and recover.  In cases where the muscle is torn and tendons are inflamed and strained, ice packs are usually used during the process.  Supportive braces are typically used for sprains.

It is vital to prevent further aggravation of the injury.  Pain should also be avoided and the body should be allowed to start the process of repairing itself.  Physiotherapy ensures the joints are mobile and acceleration of recovery can be achieved.

This is a case-specific process. There are injuries that can advance through this phase in a few days; however, others could take weeks or much longer to heal.

2. Reconditioning

Isolating the injured area during the early phases of rehabilitation is important.  This could include avoiding compound exercises. Progressive volume and progressive load increases will accelerate the healing process by improving the structural characteristics of the area of injury.

At this stage, recovery is vital and there should be no pain during activities. Additionally, cardiovascular activities should be painless. Activities at this stage could include light running or walking, progressing the duration and intensity gradually.

3. End Stage

In this phase, the injured athlete should be to complete any requested task like boundary throws in cricket, maximal sprints in football or hits in rugby. This is the stage for building a load tolerance to evolve towards regular training.

Spikes in load should be avoided and duration and intensity should be continually built to match training demands.  Integrating tactical and technical features of match play is vital at this time to prepare an athlete adequately for return to play.

If tolerance to load is not built before returning to training, he or she will be at an elevated risk of re-injury. If you want to improve your physical and spiritual health, call Transition PT today.

4. Back to Play

Once all sport-specific tasks can be performed by the athlete and he or she has a tolerance to training demands, it is vital to start integrating the player back into his or her squad. This could include completing warm up with the team, prior to performing a conditioning session.

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