Sports injuries and the importance of recovery

It serves a dual purpose: on the one hand it prepares muscles for physical effort, improving elasticity and flexibility; on the other hand, it favours post-activity muscle relaxation, contributing towards the prevention and management of injuries that commonly occur in athletes.

Whenever prevention is not enough, Dispotech products are ideal for treating injury.

Static and dynamic stretching

Not everyone knows that there are two macro-categories of stretching: static and dynamic.

"The first, better-known one is often executed during physical education lessons at school and consists of gradually achieving a position that can be held without experiencing pain", Stefano Aspesi explains, physiotherapist at the Humanitas Mater Domini hospital in Castellanza and at Humanitas Medical Care centres, at Gazzetta dello Sport.

"Dynamic stretching on the other hand focuses on progressive movements that lead muscles to their maximum joint extension, gradually improving flexibility."

When to use these different techniques?

Dynamic stretching is ideal before training because it helps to warm muscles up and reduce the risk of injury.

For example, it is advised that runners spend 5-10 minutes on dynamic exercises during warm-up. 

After sports activities, static stretching is particularly useful for favouring muscle relaxation and preventing tensions.

In this case, 20 seconds repeated three times for each exercise is sufficient. 

However, it is important to highlight that despite adequate preparation, some muscular-skeletal traumas can be inevitable, especially with professional athletes.

The body: a complex machine

How to safely return to sport after injury?

"We must see the body as a complex machine, similar to a Formula One car. Muscles are the engine, nerves are the electric wires that regulate its operation, and the skeleton is the chassis.", Aspesi continues.

"Damage to any of these elements often has repercussions on others. For example, during recovery from meniscus injury, focus should extend beyond heeling the bone itself to the recovery of surrounding muscles and nerves."

The physiotherapist plays a fundamental role in coordinating a multitude of aspects of human physiology.

Through a personalised program, the physiotherapist helps restore the balance between various systems of the body, preventing further complications and improving the quality of recovery.

Injury prevention and management

Prevention is always the best approach.

Adequate warm-up, sticking to a targeted stretching routine and respecting recovery times between training sessions can make all the difference. 

Whenever prevention is not enough, the R.I.C.E. technique is an effective approach to managing acute injury (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation).

This method helps reduce pain, swelling and inflammation in the initial phases of injury.

1. Rest: fundamental for avoiding further damage.
2. Ice: applying cold packs helps reduce swelling. Products like Easy Ice are designed to provide a practical and effective solution.
3. Compression: the use of elastic bands or specific devices helps control the oedema.
4. Elevation: keeping the affected part elevated aids the drainage of liquids.

In addition to ice, gels like Dispo Gel and Dispo Gel Flex are excellent options for relieving pain and accelerating healing, thanks to their therapeutic properties.

When muscle pain is chronic, like in cervicalgia, it is best to intervene with hot packs, which relax muscles.

Products like Dispo Hot are ideal for this purpose as they provide immediate relief and aid tissue relaxation.