If you’ve ever been to see your GP with a torn hamstring, sore Achilles or strained rotator cuff, the chances are you might have been advised to use ‘RICE’: Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation. But recent research into sports injury rehab is providing an increasingly robust evidence base for what good sports therapists have been doing for a while: progressive and controlled early return to movement.

This rehabilitation approach incorporates cross training for strength, flexibility, agility and balance. Movement activates the body’s healing response, stimulating cells which ultimately repair the damaged tissue. Inflammation is the body’s first step in this healing process.

In one randomised, controlled study of 50 athletes, starting rehab for injured muscles and tendons early- 2 days after injury as opposed to 9 days-  reduced total recovery time by 3 weeks. So don’t delay- if you have an injury, pop in to our sports injury clinic and let us help you get back on the road quickly!

http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/43/4/247