How Physio Helps You Recover From Exercise Injuries

physio2fitness photo4 Common Exercise Injuries And How Physio Can Help You Recover

Injuring yourself whilst exercising can be a real blow, especially if you have just started trying to get fit in order to improve your health and well-being. It can be tempting to give up our new fitness regime and convince ourselves that exercise just isn’t for us, but it doesn’t have to be that way.

Getting regular physiotherapy on an exercise injury can help to improve recovery rates significantly. Additionally, it can also help to reduce the risk of an injury reoccurring thanks to the strengthening of the area in question too. Let’s take a look at some of the most common injuries encountered whilst exercising and find out exactly physiotherapy can help with each.

Tennis Elbow

Tennis elbow is not solely restricted to those with a racquet in their hand. Any activity that overworks the tendons in the forearm and outer elbow can cause a great deal of pain and discomfort.


Physiotherapy can help by initially removing the inflammation that occurs around the damaged tendons. This is generally achieved by icing the injury over a set period whilst resting the elbow as much as possible. Once the swelling has subsided and the pain has lessened, physiotherapy can then help to strengthen the forearm muscles.

Common exercises include light wrist curls and using a stress ball frequently throughout the day. Many sufferers also get great relief from following the Super 7 Program for tennis elbow recovery.

Lower Back Strain

Caused mainly by low core strength, lower back strains can blight those who are exercising for the first time in a while. Over-stretching and bad technique can lead to torn muscle fibres that can be very painful indeed.

While a lot of back problems will subside after a week or two, more persistent problems will need further attention. Physiotherapy for this injury will usually involve lots of stretching and gentle exercises in order to get movement back into the affected area.

Runner’s Knee

Generally caused by the high impact nature of running, runner’s knee is an inflammation that occurs behind the kneecap. RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation) should be applied as quickly as possible and anti-inflammatory meds can also help take down the initial swelling.


For further rehabilitation, runners can visit their local sports physiotherapist for treatment. Exercises to help strengthen the muscles that support the knee will help to improve the stability of the patella and get the individual back out on the road again in the shortest time possible. Many physiotherapists may employ heat treatment too during the rehabilitation process.

Shoulder Impingement

Sports and activities that involve lifting the arm above the head repeatedly can cause rotator cuff damage that will inhibit shoulder movement and can cause significant pain.

As with so many sports and exercise injury, rest and icing should be the first step towards successful rehabilitation. Physiotherapists will generally start out with stretching exercises to loosen the shoulder and bring some movement back to the affected area. Once this has been achieved, strengthening exercises such as rotations with a resistance band can be brought in to aid with recovery.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *