Physiotherapist Stella Mwende (top right) work on Kenya professional golfer Greg Snow on June 26th 2019 at Karen Golf and Country Club. PHOTO | CHRIS OMOLLO
Soft tissue injuries are injuries related to the soft tissues of the body (muscle, tendon, ligament and nerve). The most common soft tissue injuries consist of sprains, strains, contusions, tendinopathies, bursitis and stress injuries. Soft tissue injuries are common in sport but can also happen due to repetitive use and falls. All soft tissue injuries need to be treated appropriately. Our physiotherapists can help assess and treat your soft tissue injury.
Symptoms
Soft tissue injuries are commonly categorised depending on the time frame since injury and the healing processes that are occurring at that time.
Acute (protection phase)
- Pain, bleeding and swelling is at its worst in this phase. Your body's aim at this point is to protect your injury from further damage.
Sub-acute (repair phase)
A soft tissue injury is termed as sub-acute when the initial acute phase makes a transition to repairing the injured tissues.
Late stage (remodeling phase)
At six weeks post-soft tissue injury your healing tissue is reasonably mature but as you stretch, strength and stress your new scar tissue it often finds that it is not strong enough to cope with your increasing physical demand.
Treatment
Treatment depends on the grade and severity of the injury. In the early stages try not to put a lot of weight on the affected area before commencing treatment to minimize any further damage. (I.e. minimal walking).
Cold therapy is often used to decrease swelling in the acute stage. Following this, Electrotherapy may be employed to help repair damaged ligaments.
Joint stiffness is common post joint and soft tissue injuries. Our highly skilled physiotherapists will help you regain full range of movement through skilled hands on techniques and will provide you with a research based personal exercises programme to help you self-manage your injury successfully. Our team of physiotherapist will provide a safe, quick and effective solution to your problem.
This is an area of expertise for physiotherapists and encompasses the whole body. Physiotherapists will provide treatment for your pain as well as prescribing specific exercises to regain your movement and strength, reducing your risk of re-injury and giving you a long term solution.
The writer is Physical Therapist, C&P Health Centre.
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