Sport injuries are an inevitable part of training and other athletic activities. As a common consequence, it often requires doctors or physiatrist visitation. Of course, traditional medicine is not the only way sport injuries can be remediated. These days you can find many natural pain relief therapies that can help you.
Most popular alternative ways for curing sports injuries are yoga, chinese medicine, laser treatments and chiropractic care. These applications may improve the recovery process of injured tissues or increase the fatigue recovery of athletes.
You need to be careful when choosing in which direction you would like to go when curing a sports injury. Your decision should be based on the type of the injury and your overall health condition. Below we offer more information on the most effective alternative medicine treatments.
1. Chiropractic
Chiropractic is more mainstream than the rest of the alternative medicine methods. Chiropractors offer quick relief by using techniques such as electrical muscle stimulation, ultrasound, and sports massage. Those methods can be effective in many situations when traditional medicine procedures don’t help.
Even though chiropractic manipulation has been controversial throughout the 20th century, it has grown in popularity and acceptability.
A tennis elbow is just one of the conditions that are successfully cured by chiropractic methods. You don’t have to be a professional tennis player to “earn” this condition, although tennis players are catching it more than other athletes. That’s because this condition people usually catch from repetitive gripping, especially involving the thumb and first two fingers. It’s an inflammation of the tendons that join the muscles of the forearm outside the elbow and it can be really painful.
2. Acupuncture
Acupuncture is one small part of traditional Chinese medicine. It’s used among athletes for pain relief, especially pain associated with tendonitis. Body is getting healed by inserting needles which speed up blood flow to local tissues.
Acupuncture is a healing method often used for Iliotibial band syndrome. This injury is caused by running or bicycling too much. Pain occurs in the leg in the area between the hips and knees and it can be caused by uneven surfaces and worn-out shoes. Also, for cyclists improper seat position can contribute.
Acupuncture is relatively safe compared with other alternative therapies. Classical acupuncturists are warning that acupuncture could affect people differently. One common thing for all treatments is that symptoms usually first get worse before they improve.
3. Laser treatments and dry needling
Laser treatments stimulate the production of ATP (adenosine triphosphate), which speeds up the repair process. Dry needling stimulates the production of ATP too. This treatment involves the insertion of a thin filament needle into the muscle and that way stimulates healing.
Both laser and dry needling treatments help speed up the healing process. They are especially successful when it comes to runner’s calf strains.
4. Magnet Therapy
Magnet therapy is based on the idea that permanent magnets have healing powers. It’s believed that magnets attract toxins or diseases and remove them from the body. Athletes use magnets primarily to alleviate soreness and stiffness caused by strenuous training or competition. This kind of therapy is extremely popular among the golferes.
5. Yoga Therapy
Yoga therapy shows the best results when it comes to the back pain and shoulder strain and sprain. Sports like swimming, tennis, and weight lifting may lead to shoulder injuries. Yoga therapy helps people relax and relieve tension by focusing on breathing techniques and stretching exercises to align muscles. This type of therapy can also help athletes to deal with stress and anxiety.
6. Massage Therapy
Massage therapies are used not only to prepare athletes for training and competitions but also to help them to recover after injuries and heavy physical exertion. It helps athletes recover faster by reducing inflammation and swelling. Athletes should get massages before competing to prevent injuries. After exercising, massage helps reduce muscle soreness and improve recovery time.
Athletes use different kinds of massages. Effleurage, petrisation, and tapotement are the most common techniques.
7. Cupping
Cupping therapy involves placing a heated cup over an area of the body and removing it after a few minutes. A vacuum pulls the air out of the cup, creating pressure that helps loosen toxins. Cupping therapy is usually used to treat muscle spasms of the neck, back, or legs.
Since it sucks toxic blood from the body and leaves large bruises, cupping is considered controversial and causes debates all around the world, but it became popular in 2016 when Michael Phleps used it at the Summer Olympics for his muscle soreness.
Conclusion
We mentioned just some of the most popular alternative medicine treatments that people try when experiencing sport injuries. There are many more you can try like applied kinesiology, pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) therapy, water intake, etc.
Which one therapy is the best for you depends on the type and seriousness of your injury. Accidents are happening so are injuries and that’s an unavoidable part of sport. Luckily, there are methods that showed success in pain relief and injuries repair. You should contact professionals which can help you make right decisions.
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