Soft Tissue injuries- Low level laser

Soft Tissue injuries- Low level laser

Soft tissue injuries are the most common injuries in sport. The term soft tissue refers to certain tissues that connect, surround and support the structures and organs of the human body. Certain types of soft tissue structures include, muscles, ligaments, nerves, tendons and blood vessels just to name a few.

Certain risk factors may increase the chances of sustaining a soft tissue injury including:

-A previous injury to the area

-Incorrect footwear

-Uneven running surface

-Over exertion of an activity or sport

-Not correctly warming up

Some signs and symptoms of soft tissue injuries include bruising, usually caused by direct force from either a kick or trauma to the area resulting in compression and internal bleeding at the site seen via swelling or discolouration. Secondly a soft tissue injury can be due to a sprain or strain, this will generally involve the person being unable to move in a full range of motion as well as experiencing pain to the area. A pop, click or crunching sound can often accompany a soft tissue injury as well.

Prevention Strategies:

-Warming up the tissue before, stretching during and cooling down after

-Applying a preseason before starting full intensity

-Slowing building up the intensity and duration of your sessions

-Progressing once soreness isn’t experienced after activities and games

-Ensuring your footwear is adequate for the playing surface

-Staying hydrated before, during and after your activity

-Stopping the activity/sport before pain is aggravated

-Wearing the appropriate protective equipment to save you from serious injury

Management of soft tissue injuries:

Soft tissue treatment can involve many modalities. The initial phase of the treatment incorporates a technique known as RICER. This stands for rest, ice, compression, elevation and referral, generally to a chiropractor or physiotherapist. RICER should be implemented for the first 2-3 days, usually until the swelling around the area has completely resolved. Once this has taken place a chiropractor is able to treat the condition using a number of strategies to heal your injury in the fastest time possible. Treatments can include, massage (effleurage), instrument assisted soft tissue therapy, pin and stretch, trigger point therapy, dry needling, interferential machine, exercises and many more. Cold Laser therapy is also another treatment option which can be adopted to manage soft tissue injuries.

Cold Laser therapy or low-level laser therapy is a recently new treatment modality used to decrease inflammation and promote blood flow to the damaged tissues to promote faster healing times. The laser is applied to the injured area.

At Lakeside Laser soft tissue injuries are one of the major complaints patients present with as they can happen extremely fast without the right preparation. Lakeside Laser have helped many Perth patients return back to their normal activities and sports in the quickest time possible.

Lakeside Laser is central to Perth’s northern suburbs and houses many of the suburbs including Woodvale, Ellenbrook, Ocean Keys, Yanchep, Clarkson, Heathridge and Beldon. We have HICAPS facilities on site to assist in the expense of your treatment and are BUPA and Medibank preferred providers, however take many others including, HIF, HBF, NIB, etc. To book an appointment you can contact us on 93000095 and speak with our receptionist or book via our ‘book now’ tab on our website www.lakesidelaser.com.au. We look forward to hearing from you soon and treating your condition.