Osteopathy for Athletes
The practice of a sport is beneficial for the health, inter alia by its action on the externalization of the stress, but among the occasional sportsmen or when the activity is practiced without supervision, it can cause micro-traumatisms by on request of the structures of the human body and can even cause injuries (contractures, sprains, muscle tears, local inflammation or chronic pain, etc …).
In professional sports, the practice of sports is intensive and the recovery time is not always respected, the body enters a cycle of overwork. The athlete will then, despite sustained training, stagnate in the increase in his performance or even regress and hurt himself. This is called overtraining syndrome and the first signs usually appear beyond eight hours of intensive sports activities per week. It will then result in addition to a psychological stress with sleep disturbance and therefore an endless cycle.
Accessed by many top athletes, the osteopath not only relieves pain by restoring mobility to the entire body, but also prevent the occurrence of many diseases by performing a regular assessment (at minus 1 time in preparation for the season and 1 time in the off-season).
On the other hand, osteopathy allows athletes to improve their performance by increasing their power and breathing capacity (thoracic diaphragm, costal grill and lungs) but also by working on joint flexibility and muscle, which allows them to gain in ease and amplitude. Indeed, any restriction or loss of mobility of the muscles, ligaments and joints can lead to an alteration of the athlete’s performance and state of health, leading to contractures, sprains, tears or local inflammations. chronic pain. It also helps to promote better recovery after exercise by working on the breath, breathing capacity, muscle relaxation but also the elimination of “waste” produced during efforts. The athlete thus evolves in the best possible physical and psychic conditions while decreasing his state of fatigue and the risks of injuries that it generates.
“The athlete is a patient apart, so the therapeutic approach must be adapted to the sport and the intensity of each one.”
As the saying goes, prevention is better than cure. Osteopathy is therefore recommended at the beginning of a sports activity to ensure that the activity does not cause stress or excessive tension on the body. It prepares the body for the types of exercises requested. Similarly, during the mid-season break, your osteopath will be able to take stock of the dysfunctions that could have taken place during the start of the championship to treat them.
Here is a list of signs that may lead the athlete to consult an osteopath:
- Prevention: annual report, competition preparation, before the start of an activity, improvement of performances …
- Back pain, scoliosis, joint pain …
- History of fractures, sprains, surgeries …
- Sprains, tendinitis (tennis or golf elbow, Achilles tendon) …
- Muscular pains: contractures, breakdowns, elongations, ruptures and désinsertions …
- Pubalgia and pathology of adductors (football) …
- Wearing orthopedic insoles
- Shortness of breath, difficult recovery (between and after the tests) …
- Dislocation and periarthritis
- Post-operative, after a trauma …
Osteopathy is for all athletes: amateurs and top athletes. Consulting after an important event or after an injury can be very useful in the long term.
