Athletes are constantly getting injured out on the field, but unfortunately, that’s how it goes. You can’t be the best if you don’t push yourself.
Since avoiding injuries isn’t a possibility, it’s vital to find new ways to help athletes recover quickly and effectively.
In order for both medical professionals and players to know what options are available to them, we’ve decided to create a list of the best treatments doctors can provide injured athletes.
Physical Therapy
We wanted to start this list off with a classic. We know that everyone already knows about physical therapy, but we wouldn’t bring it up if it wasn’t so effective.
It is best at restoring mobility, rebuilding strength, and even decreasing the possibility of future injury. In rare cases, people have achieved the impossible through physical therapy, such as being about to walk after they were told they’d never walk again.
The biggest downside for athletes using this method is that it’s very time-consuming. Physical therapy can result in a player missing out on a whole season, but the results don’t lie.
PRP Injections
If recovering quickly is an athlete’s primary concern, platelet-rich plasma injections might be the choice for you.
They can be quite limited, however, due to the fact that they’re best for joint and cartilage issues, but medical professionals can use them for hairline fractures and torn tendons. It’s relatively simple to implement.
The doctor takes some blood from the patient, separates the platelets from it, then mixes them with plasma and injects them into the injury location. The platelets then proceed to do what they were made to do: heal.
Cryotherapy
There are so many potential uses for cryotherapy, but its use in the sports world is one of the most common. Cryotherapy is pretty basic.
The machines use intense cold to rejuvenate cells and speed up the healing process. Not only can this be used to help athletes with general pain or stiffness, but it can also be used as a preventative measure.
Stem Cell Therapy
This is another quick recovery option for athletes, but it also brings up a lot of controversy for obvious reasons.
However, the stem cells used in this process are taken straight from the athlete’s own fat cells, known as adipose. These cells are then reinjected to the injury to stimulate cell regeneration.
Hydraulic Acid Injections
If this name sounds kind of frightening, you should know it’s also called viscosupplementation. Don’t worry; it’s not as scary as it sounds.
Hydraulic acid is naturally found in the synovial fluid located around a person’s joints. Medical professionals can move this fluid to an area of tension and pain to reduce discomfort and stiffness.
This method leads to a fast recovery. The results of this treatment can last for up to a year.
Surgery
While admittedly not the best treatment doctors can provide injured athletes, surgery is still a viable option, especially in cases of extreme damage.
Recovery times for this aren’t great, but surgeons try to use as little invasiveness as possible to keep the recuperation time as short as possible.
In many cases of significant breaks or tears, surgery will be the only option, and it probably will be the last resort.
