Overuse Injuries – How Can Physio Help?

Overuse injuries cover a whole heap of issues which can generally be described as a part of the body hurting because it has been pushed harder than it’s been able to keep up with, usually over a prolonged period of time.

Common examples of overuse injuries that we see include:

• Tennis Elbow
• Carpal Tunnel
• De Quervain’s (Pain at base of thumb)
• Achilles Tendinopathy
• Plantar Fasciitis
• Rotator Cuff Tendinopathy
• Patellar Tendinopathy

We generally approach these issues from a few different angles, including:

• Load modification – finding strategies to reduce the amount of work that body part is doing temporarily to allow it to recover.
• Hands-on treatment – massage, dry needling or joint mobilisations around the affected area to reduce tightness and stiffness and take pressure off the injured tissue.
• Taping – Depending on the condition, taping can help to take some load off the area and allow you to stay active with less chance of aggravation.
• Shockwave Therapy – A great treatment for tendons and other overuse injuries, shockwave therapy helps reduce pain and improve the tendon’s ability to heal itself by promoting new blood vessels to form.
• Exercise Therapy – Improving strength and conditioning of the area causes improvement in the quality of a tendon and creates better shock absorption in the muscles around the tendon, which in the long run gives the best chance of recovery and reduces the chance of future aggravations.

It is all too common for people to ignore these types of injuries until the pain becomes too much. We really prefer when people come in in the first week or two after getting pain as the recovery is so much simpler! However, if you are one of the stubborn ones that thought it would get better on it’s own, we’re still more than happy to help, just be aware that it can take several months to reach full recovery once an overuse condition really sets in.

If you need help with an overuse injury, you can book online, anytime from our online booking page!