Sprains and Strains

Have you just rolled your ankle? Or twisted your knee while running? Or felt a sudden sharp pain in your back when lifting something? Perhaps you’ve rested for a day or two but it’s still not getting any better. Maybe there is some swelling, tenderness and discomfort in the area of the injury and you’re not sure what the best action is to take? Should you go to the hospital emergency department (and likely wait for 8+ hours to be seen) in the hope of getting an X-ray or should you go to your GP for a prescription, or should you just go to get a deep tissue massage in the area?

When you have an injury/pain in the body, whether you know what caused it or not - an experienced physiotherapist is your first point of call. A comprehensive assessment from a physiotherapist will help to diagnose the problem and put your mind at ease.

By skipping the middleman i.e the GP or the Emergency Department, you will reach a diagnosis quicker and be on the road to recovery straight away. Your GP will not be as experienced in dealing with acute musculoskeletal pain and may prescribe you pain medications and anti-inflammatory medications and advise you to rest, but this is not always the optimal strategy for recovery. You may waste time and money on your GP visit and they should refer you to a physiotherapist anyway. Our physiotherapists are trained to carry out detailed pain assessments and if we feel that your pain is outside of our scope of practice and of a more sinister nature, we will refer you to your GP for review.

Avoid going for a deep tissue massage from a massage therapist, especially within the first 48 hours post injury. This is the inflammatory phase and massage will only bring more inflammation to the area, increase swelling and potentially cause more damage, slowing down the healing process. If you value your body and your functional health, when you have an injury - go to see a physiotherapist first.