Sports Injuries Talk/ Kinesio Taping Workshop @ SMRT

Sports Solutions did a Sports Injuries management talk followed by a Kinesio Taping awareness course for SMRT Sports & Recreation Club at their club house at Bishan this evening.

Please contact us if you're keen to have talks/ workshops for your company.

MEAT vs RICE

RICE (rest, ice, compression & elevation) is a standard treatment protocol for acute sports injuries. But, what if I say that for ligaments and tendons, RICE can actually hinder the healing process. Please read on if you like to find out a little more.

Muscles have very good blood supply while tendons and ligaments have very poor blood supply. So if you reduce blood supply (and hence decrease blood flow & nutrients) to ligaments & tendons by administering RICE, ligaments and tendons may take a longer time to heal as a result.

The MEAT (movement, exercise, analgesics & treatment) protocol on the other hand is proposed to be superior to treating ligaments and tendons.

Movement -  The key here is controlled movement. Controlled movement of the affected area/ limb will stimulate blood flow to the ligaments & tendons while allowing for the regenerating collagen fibres (or scar tissue) to be laid in the areas of stress to improve recovery.

The authors in a study of patients with ankle ligament sprains had better treatment outcomes (less swelling, and quicker return to sports) with controlled functional movement treatment compared to immobilization (Kerkhoffs et al, 2002).

Exercise - Again here the key is controlled & correctly prescribed exercises. Range of motion, strength and especially proprioception (joint position sense) help improve function and weight bearing in patients with acute ankle sprains (Bleakley et al, 2010).

Analgesics - It is suggested that natural analgesics such as proteolytic enzymes e.g. bromelain (found in pineapples), papain (found in papayas) and not anti inflammatory medications (which can hinder healing) be used as natural analgesics decrease the painful swelling but do not stop the natural inflammatory reactions to lead to healing. Codeine (a narcotic) can also be used, although large amounts may cause constipation.

Treatment - Well, not much to add here except to say that you need a competent physiotherapist (that's why you need us at Physio & Sports Solutions) to implement evidenced-based treatments to assist in your recovery and quick return to sports.

It is important for me to point out that RICE should still be used in acute muscle strains & injuries. It would be best to incorporate both RICE & MEAT in the treatment of soft tissue injuries depending on where the injury is, which stage the injury is at and what the injury is.

References

Bleakley CT et al (2010). Effect Of Accelerated Rehabilitation On Function After Ankle Sprain: Randomised Controlled Trial. BMJ 340: c1964

Caring Medical and Rehabilitation Services (2010). MEAT vs RICE Treatments. Retrived from http://www.caringmedical.com/symptoms/meatvsrice.asp

Kerkhoffs GMMJ et al (2002). Immobilisation And Functional Treatment For Acute Ankle Ligament Sprains In Adults. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2002, Issue 3.

More On LARS

Have a look at the evidence on LARS for ACL reconstruction posted at the Physio Solutions blog.

You can find it here.

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's to all our patient's and readers. Remember to love your heart as well and exercise and remain strong.

*Picture by Jessica Hische

Nadal or Djokovic?

Who will win the 1st Grand Slam of the year?

After my previous post on the changes Nadal made with his racquet and his game, will it be enough to solve the Djokovic riddle?

Stay tuned.

*File picture from www.australianopen.com

This Article Caught My Eye

Which article is this you ask? Well, following section below caught my eye.

"Some people would perceive the addition to be minimal, probably no more than an ounce and the distribution is spread evenly across the head. However, even a small change comes with a risk."

Rafael Nadal in his quest to serve better (as he noticed his service speed had dropped in 2011 compared to 2010) added some weight to his racquet head. This is as he realized the number of aces per match he served last season was less than half of what Andy Murray & Roger Federer managed.

Elite athletes are extremely sensitive when it comes to equipment change. Because of the repetitive movements/ stroke etc, a small change can wreak havoc and create biomechanical changes and cause injuries. True enough, Rafa started having shoulder pain in while playing in a tournament in Doha last week and lost his semi-final.

Myself included. After a bike accident that damaged my bike back in 2001, I changed bike frames (of a different brand) but set up everything else exactly the same. Just 3 days after the bike changed, I started having pain down my right hamstring. Every time after I finished the bike leg in a triathlon, I had pain in my right hamstrings every single time that whole season.

What's more surprising, 2 days after I managed to get a brand new frame similar to my previous damaged one cleared the problem almost straight away.

So as the new season beckons for all of you, make sure you don't introduce drastic changes to your training and/ or your equipment.

*Article "Nadal, creature of habit, forced to adapt to stay on top" from The Times, London republished in the Straits Times on Monday, 090112 on page B13

Sunday Times Article ST 010112

Here's a good start for the new year, our Sports Solutions staff mentioned in Dr (Prof) Lee Wei Ling's article in today's Sunday Times under the Think section on page 37 on how she received help for her rehabilitation after her operations.