Orthopedic Rehab – Before an Injury

A new concept in the world of orthopedic rehab is getting the rehab before an injury strikes. In this way, doing the exercises and activities that someone might do after an orthopedic injury before it might happen will hopefully prevent its occurrence. If you are an athlete, you can find out more at a rehab facility.

Orthopedic rehab for athletes

Athletes, or other people who are intensely physically active, are often prone to orthopedic injuries. An orthopedic injury is defined as as an injury to a bone, joint, ligament or tendon – for example, a broken bone or a displaced joint. While anyone can experience this type of injury, it’s likely to happen to someone who play sports vigorously or is otherwise very physically active.

In the case of an injury, an athlete is often in need of many months of rest and recuperation. There is often a long rehab process, and in the worst case scenario, the athlete may completely lose his ability to play. Thinking out of the box, and knowing that a an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, doctors are looking at the other side of the injury.

Pre-orthopedic rehab for athletes

A new recommendation for people who are very actively athletic is to practice exercises at home regularly to prevent the injury from happening at all.

Someone who knows she’s at risk can get evaluated by a rehab doctor to determine her risk of injury at particularly tricky spots. For example, the ACL, or anterior cruciate ligament, one of the three ligaments in the knee. It can be stretched out, torn partially, or torn completely. This happens most often with a sudden stop, jumping or landing, all activities associated with sports such as skiing and soccer. In the past, an ACL injury often meant the end of a sports career. With new technology and advanced rehabilitation methods, this is no longer the case. However, it still means a long time in rehab.

How to prevent injury

International football associations and Olympic committees have all come out with recommendations of orthopedic exercises for players to do at home for athletes for injury prevention. Even the amatuer can and should take advantage of these recommendations, and that often begins with a trip to the rehab facility for a an assessment and to lean how to do the exercises properly. The assessment is done by expert clinicians with advanced technology to pinpoint weak points in the joints and bones. Exercise rehab professionals can then instruct potential injury victims as to which exercises to do at home.

At the Alameda Center, we have excellent orthopedic rehab services for people with ACL and all other joint and bone injuries. Our exercise therapists can teach you the best exercises to do at home for injury prevention. If an injury happens, we offer regular  orthopedic rehab services as well.

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