Sports injuries are common, especially in high intensity sports like football, basketball, baseball, hockey and soccer. Elite sports injury clinics are amongst the best prepared places to handle these types of injuries, but they are also useful in terms of pain management. Many types of injuries related to sports heal with proper treatment and following medical advice and lead to full recoveries in time. However, football, baseball, basketball, soccer and hockey injuries, for example, that are slow to heal or don’t heal correctly may signal the need for longer term therapy and care with emphasis on pain and symptom management. An elite sports injury clinic can be very useful in this regard, if an appropriate facility is selected. But, choosing the right clinic comes with challenges of it’s own. Since not all types of clinics offer the same types of care, choosing one for longer term pain management can be different from choosing one for an acute injury. Avoiding some common mistakes will make selecting the best sports injury clinic Toronto or any other major city has to offer much simpler.
MISTAKE #1: Not Getting a Second Opinion on an Injury that isn’t Healing Properly: For people who live near a variety of facilities, one of the best things to do if long term care or pain management seems imminent is to get a second opinion if possible. Even the best elite sport performance physician on the planet is bound to make a mistake on rare occasion and it’s worth having a second look, especially if injuries aren’t healing properly.
MISTAKE #2: Not Choosing a Facility that Offers Multiple Pain Relief Options: Just about any clinic can provide pain medications in order to make symptoms less evident, but an elite sports injury clinic will offer numerous options for relieving discomfort. Therapeutic injections can not only help relieve pain, but may also reduce swelling or inflammation that can contribute to discomfort as well.
MISTAKE #3: Not Choosing a Facility that Offers Alternative Treatments: Cutting edge medicine and technology are imperative to successfully treating just about any type of injury. However, better clinics still offer alternative types of physiotherapy treatment that have proven successful in many people. One type of treatment that may exist at a better elite sports injury clinic is acupuncture. The ancient Chinese tradition has been used for everything from quitting smoking to pain relief, and while not effective in everyone, many people rave about the results they achieve from the natural treatment method. Another alternative treatment that is gaining popularity is biofeedback, which is a controversial yet intriguing method of pain control that involves training an individual to be able to control certain feelings and functions within their own bodies. These treatments are not likely to be offered everywhere, however some elite sports injury facilities will offer these alternative treatments that may reduce the need for medicines or invasive treatments in some individuals.
MISTAKE #4: Not Choosing a Facility that Offers Advanced Treatments: There is a difference between alternative treatments and advanced medical technology that is still relatively new. A good example of this is the use of a cryo chamber, which allows for the entire body except the head to be rapidly cooled with gas from liquid nitrogen to chilling temperatures. Although it may sound like something out of a sci fi movie, cryo chambers have been used for over thirty years to provide some of the same benefits of ice baths and cold packs but on a much grander scale. More comfortable, safer and potentially more beneficial than other types of cold therapy, cryotherapy for pain management, recovery and healing benefits is thought to work in multiple ways. First, sudden cold blasts chilling the skin externally prompting repair oriented immune processes. Secondly, the nervous system responds with less intense pain sensations as a response to the cold. Lastly, physiological processes triggered by the extremes can create instant feelings of well being and health. Only the most elite sports injury clinic options will have this type of technology, but those that do offer a new, unique, safe, natural and proven method of pain relief that can be a big relief for those with chronic discomfort.
MISTAKE #5: Not Selecting a Facility that Provides all Encompassing Care: Most clinics can provide acute injury support and advice. However, the better choices in an elite sports injury facility go well beyond prescriptions and physical therapy and provide much more in depth care from both a physical and a mental point of view. Because some injuries can have a significant impact on the day to day life of the injured person, facilities offering both types of rehabilitation therapy that covers both the physical and emotional components are ideal and can help prepare people for both the physical and mental challenges that a long term injury can come with.