EXERCISE REHABILITATION
How Does Injury Occur?
Many injuries occur when tissue tolerance is exceeded or weakened from pathology. The tissue can be muscle, tendon, ligament, cartilage, nerve, and/or bone. When the tolerance or stress exceeds the capacity of the tissue, injury occurs. If there is an underlying pathology or disease, this changes the capacity of the tissue, making it more susceptible to injury. Injury occurs when the tissue capacity is exceeded, whether it be a sudden event, like a bad fall, traumatic event, or twisted joint, or is slowly exceeds capacity as is seen with overuse.
Do sport injuries heal well?
Often following injury, rest is one of the first things to manage pain and help the area heal. However, rest is often overprescribed, and injury seems to drag out and never fully heal. This is because almost all tissues associated with the musculoskeletal system are designed to move, contract, handle load, and conduct. In order to properly heal, muscle needs to contract, tendons and ligaments need to be loaded, bone needs stress, and nerves need to fire and conduct. This is why inactivity, excessive rest, and a sedentary lifestyle can be just as detrimental as traumatic injury.
How do we best heal injuries?
This is where exercise rehabilitation steps in. Rehabilitation exercises are used to specifically strengthen and increase capacity of injured tissue. These types of exercises are often the number one best way to treat injuries of the musculoskeletal system. All other therapies and treatments are often supportive and additive to help in the exercise rehabilitation process.
What is the difference between rehabilitation and strength training?
In reality, there should almost be no difference between these. The main difference is that in rehabilitation there is injury with symptoms present, meaning there is pain and/or dysfunction. Rehabilitation and strength training are structured the same way with the end goal being increase strength, function, and tissue capacity. The volume, duration, and intensity of rehabilitation may be less than strength training with the goal of steadily increasing as tissue adapts and heals. At Ascend, exercise rehabilitation is an important part of treating all injuries and conditions.
