Treating Sports Related Injuries

Serious athletes count on their body and their fitness. Pain from an injury or more long-term chronic condition can seriously inhibit any athlete's performance, even keeping them from a sport they love, or in some cases, their job. The most important factor in treating any acute or chronic painful condition is properly identifying the root cause.

A cyclist might be experiencing severe knee pain during and after a long ride. It's easy to point at the knee and think that is where the problem is, but in reality, the true cause might be a rotation in the pelvis causing the femur to track inward, which in turn causes the knee to track unevenly with the foot. The rotation in the pelvis might be caused by long standing tension patterns in the hip's lateral rotator muscles or the psoas muscles that connect from the lumbar vertebrae through the pelvis to the trochanter of the femur. Because the leg is not tracking straight, the repeated motion of cycling cadence will eventually cause irritation and swelling at the knee. If only the knee is treated, the problem will simply return. The misalignment of the whole structure must be treated for any long-term relief.

Another example is lower back pain while running. A massage or other localized treatment might provide some immediate relief, but ultimately the root cause will still be there only to cause pain again and again. There can be many different causes for lower back pain while running; the sciatic nerve may be getting pinched by restricted lower lumbar vertebrae or pinched by the piriformis muscle, which may be excessively tight and restricted. The spine can be uneven due to excessively tense quadratus muscles, causing a lateral pull on the lumbar vertebrae. A spinous process may be frozen in a rotated and sidebent position, causing an inflammation of surrounding tissue and a restriction in the spines ability to work with the legs while running. In either case, the successful treatment will require identifying and treatment of the root cause. In most cases it is a misalignment of structures causing excessive strain in a particular area. A trained Rolfer can identify these structural patterns and treat the root cause, not just the symptom.

Improving Athletic Performance

Many acute injuries often manifest from long-term chronic conditions. By bringing the body's structures into proper alignment, there is less likelihood of a long-term chronic condition that may turn into an injury at race time.

Professional runners can run long distances by distributing the impact of each step throughout their entire body. Because more of the body is soaking up the impact of each step, there is less likelihood that a specific part of the body will bare the full impact of each step, which, in-time will cause a repetitive motion injury. A properly aligned body will not hold restrictions that prevent the entire body from participating in an efficient and well coordinated run. This same concept applies to any sport.

Rolfing® works by aligning the structures of the body, bringing balance and organization that maximizes efficiency in movement. Efficient movement prevents injuries. Rolfing also dramatically increases flexibility. When muscles and limbs are flexible, they can better soak up an otherwise injury causing impact.

If you would like to learn more about how Rolfing can help you with a sports related injury or significantly improve your athletic performance, call (425 232 5794) to schedule a free half-hour consultation.