Physiotherapy

[Toban Wiebe]

I get the impression that physio is bs. In my experience, recovery is so slow that it was probably just the result of time. The actual exercises and stretches seem to do nothing. Thoughts?

[Mike]

Too many variables to write it off---everything from the injury, the
patient, the physio, and the treatment modalities available. Over the
course of my athletic career, I've had both good and bad experiences.
In my opinion, physiotherapy is just one "tool" in the toolbox. I've
found that phsyios that utilize more manual therapy versus depending
on machines (ultrasound, interferential therapy, etc) are far better
clinicians. It can take going through several physios, but once you
find a good one (make sure he/she is an ACTIVE athlete, and understand
your issue from THAT point of view), they can be invaluable.

My 2 cents.

[NickH]

Maybe just the practioner is the problem. I had a pretty bad AC
separation and the guys the Navy gave me--MDs mind you--were pretty
worthless. Next to worthless. Then I went to see a massage
therapist--employed at a physiotherapist's office--and she fixed me up
within a few visits. I suppose the exercises might work, but if
they're mis-applying them, then they will be worthless. A lot of it
will be time, but I know for my particular injury, nothing worked--
including 7 months rest--until I got the massage at the PTs office.

[Toban Wiebe]

There are probably many instances where it works, but I get the impression that physio is just a catchall treatment for athletic injuries and is redundant most of the time. I think massage is a much better treatment, it seems to be way more effective than physio.

[Mike]

Once again, it just all depends on the injury at hand; AC separations,
even just 1st degree or subluxations, can cause a nasty cascade of
events in the shoulder joint. I ended up subluxating my AC joint
during a takedown during some Muay Thai training in 2007---and I still
deal with shoulder bursitis secondary to instability to this day. In
this case, I threw physio, massage therapy, chiro, NSAIDs, regular
icing, and the kitchen sink at it. In this case, complete rest of
the left shoulder (no overhead/pushing/pulling) and high dose fish oil
dealt with the bursitis---massage did nothing, and the physio
diagnosed the issue, but treatment was ineffective. Chiro was
regular, but didn't help/hinder.

Massage effectiveness depends on the practitioner; someone certified
in ART(active release therapy), sports rehab specific is going to be
completely different than the therapist that does hot stone and
relaxation, even if it says "sports massage" on his/her card. As an
off topic side note, I've actually had prolonged recovery time from
utilizing a massage therapist, as a general recovery tool. When I had
re-occuring hamstring pulls? ART worked wonders.

Toban: What was the catalyst for this thread?

On Aug 24, 8:13 am, Toban Wiebe <tob...@gmail.com> wrote:
> There are probably many instances where it works, but I get the impression
> that physio is just a catchall treatment for athletic injuries and is
> redundant most of the time. I think massage is a much better treatment, it
> seems to be way more effective than physio.
>

[Toban Wiebe]

I apparently have ischial tuberosity bursitis. It gets painful from sitting too long but otherwise I don't notice it at all. I have no pain or weakness in athletic activity, but my hamstrings get extremely sore after anything that works them. This started 4 months ago, and I've noticed it gets worse the more I sit and better the less I sit.

I'm going to throw the kitchen sink at it: physio, rest, and trigger point massage. I need to clear this up before school starts, or it will just get worse from the sitting.

[Mike]

Bursitis is a be-otch, no question about it; I'd highly recommend the
kitchen sink approach, especially the ART (typically it's chiros that
are certified). If tight muscles in and around the hip are
chronically pulling on the joint, it's the bursa that's going to get
inflamed. Look into some high-dose fish oil protocols, if you haven't
already. I had success with this, as have others. One caveat,
though: Smashing your inflammatory response with omega-3s and/or a
multitude of other anti-inflammatory supplements can dump your immune
system. I was taking naproxen, high dose fish oil, and tumeric, and
ended up dealing with re-occurring flu-like symptoms and upper
respiratory infections all last summer.

Regular SFM (self-myofascial release, aka foam rolling) can also
relieve tightness; typical foam roller, tennis balls, and lacriosse
balls work well for known trigger points. May be something to look at
after your initial assessment with a chiro or massage therapist.

Keep us posted.

On Aug 24, 10:23 am, Toban Wiebe <tob...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I apparently have ischial tuberosity bursitis. It gets painful from sitting
> too long but otherwise I don't notice it at all. I have no pain or weakness
> in athletic activity, but my hamstrings get extremely sore after anything
> that works them. This started 4 months ago, and I've noticed it gets worse
> the more I sit and better the less I sit.
>
> I'm going to throw the kitchen sink at it: physio, rest, and trigger point
> massage. I need to clear this up before school starts, or it will just get
> worse from the sitting.
>

[Toban Wiebe]

Thanks for the help, Mike. I saw the physio and the great news is that she's trained in trigger point therapy. She found a lot out of whack in my glutes, so that's what we're working on. She is probably going to do some acupuncture too. I've been eating a can of salmon everyday for the 3s. Things look promising.