Aches and pains from an old sports injury can abound – especially as you top 40 and become “middle-aged” – but there is much to be optimistic about thanks to the near-miraculous ways that are available today to help injured athletes heal.
The following procedures have greatly advanced the treatment of sports injuries.
Arthroscopy. Surgeons inspect joint problems by inserting a small fibreoptic scope through a small incision in the skin. Depending on the problem, small tools are then inserted through additional incisions to repair the damage such as a torn meniscus or a torn ligament that fails to heal naturally. Because arthroscopy uses tiny incisions, there is less trauma, swelling, and scar tissue than conventional surgery, which in turn decreases hospitalisation and rehabilitation times.
Tissue engineering. When joint cartilage is damaged, it doesn’t heal on its own the way other tissues do. New techniques, such as transplanting one’s own healthy cartilage or cells to improve healing, are being developed. At present, this technique is used for small cartilage defects and questions remain about its usefulness and cost but further studies are yielding promising results that could mean that tissue engineering will become more commonplace.
Targeted pain relief. For people with painful sports injuries, pain-killing medicated patches can be applied directly to the injury site.
What does the future hold?
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- The need for surgery may decline as improved rehabilitation techniques lead to a more “natural” progression to recovery for more musculoskeletal injuries.
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- Technical advances and new imaging methods will lead to better ways to diagnose and treat injuries.
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- Scientists will have a better understanding of the role played by nutrition in inflammation and healing.
Alternative remedies You may wish to try using one of the many alternative treatments such as Active Release Therapy (ART), which is a soft tissue management system that addresses problems with muscles, tendons, ligaments, facia and nerves. Other options include acupuncture and prolotherapy (also known as nonsurgical ligament reconstruction), which entails injecting the ligament or tendon with a dextrose (sugar water) solution causing the weak areas to become locally inflamed encouraging the blood supply and flow of nutrients to stimulate the tissue to repair itself.
Sources
www.active.com
www.niams.nih.gov