More often than most of us would like, pain interferes with our highest ambitions regarding goal-scoring (or saving) glory. Old injuries from past glorious (and not so glorious) victories can come back to haunt us leaving you open to the “washed up has been” teammate back talking. I know you’re as good as you think you are, in fact, you’re better! If only that sore knee, back, or shoulder would get better, you would be scoring goals in no time!
As a Naturopathic Physician specializing in Prolotherapy, I see aspiring athletes everyday denied of their latest glory due to injury. As we get older we often obtain more and more battle scars opening us up for, yes you guessed it, more injury.
The good news is that there are solutions. Being healthy is the first and most obvious one. A healthy diet full of vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds and lean protein such as chicken and fish is a great place to start. Remember that your body is built with what you eat so you don’t build a championship physique with burgers and pizza. Supplements also can be helpful. For starters, I recommend everyone regularly takes a good quality fish oil, multivitamin, and for those of you in pain, MSM and glucosamine.
Useful treatments to reduce your pain are manipulation (no not your spouse, but your spine), acupuncture; massage therapy and a variety of injection techniques. I often advise active athletes to see a good massage therapist at least twice a month if you want to stay on top of your game. A tight muscle is a soon to be injured muscle - not only that, it is also weaker and will hamper your performance. Spinal manipulation is also an important part of your overall wellness. Spinal segments need to have optimal mobility to allow for your body to function at its full potential. Manipulation will help maintain a healthy spine and go a long way for back and neck injury prevention. Finally, for those of you who are falling apart (or so it seems), you will usually need some prolotherapy to repair some of the old injuries to your ligaments and tendons. Prolotherapy involves an injection of dextrose (glucose sugar) and local anaesthetic into various ligament attachments to speed up repair. Unfortunately, ligaments and tendons tend to hold grudges and have a hard time letting go of past abuse. After 6-10 treatments the tissues improve in strength and usually dramatically improve pain.
If you are sick of hearing your teammates snicker when you are busy taping yourself together in the dressing room, it may be time for some rejuvenation to see if you still got the stuff!
For additional information on Naturopathic Medicine, or to find a Doctor of Naturopathic in your area, please visit www.cand.ca. To contact Dr. Gallant directly, please visit www.doctorgallant.com.
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