Sprains & Strains in Plano

A sprained ankle is a common injury. Sometimes, all it takes to sprain your ankle is a roll, twist, or turn of your ankle in an awkward way. This unnatural movement can stretch or tear the ligaments that help hold your ankle together. Ligaments are tough, elastic bands of fibrous tissue that connect one bone to another. They help stabilize joints, preventing excessive movement. A sprained ankle occurs when the ligaments are forced beyond their normal range of motion.

A Note from the Doctor: Ankle sprains respond very well to our treatment. We will go through a series of orthopedic tests to rule out more serious conditions such as fractures and full ligament ruptures. We will utilize myotherapy, stretching, and rehabilitative exercises to strengthen the injured ankle to prevent reoccurrence. We do not take x-rays, so if an x-ray or MRI is warranted we will refer out for imaging. Time frames vary for a full recovery but typically do not take more than two weeks or 4 treatments.

Self-care measures such as rest, ice, stretching, and strengthening regimen will be sufficient for most people. For athletes, it is imperative that they also have the myotherapy work done to ensure proper recovery and avoid re-injury. The athlete is typically back to full recovery in 1-3 weeks.

A hamstring strain occurs when the hamstring muscle is either fatigued or stretched beyond its normal range of motion. The hamstring is the group of muscles that run along the back of your thigh. With a hamstring injury, you could also experience a partial or complete muscle tear.

You may be more likely to get a hamstring injury if you play soccer, basketball, football, tennis, or a similar sport that involves sprinting with sudden stops and starts. It is very evident when you suffer an acute hamstring pull. It will feel an instant sharp pain like someone kicked you in the back of the leg. Runners often get chronic hamstring pain without an acute strain. This can be attributed to weakness in the hamstring muscle.

A Note from the Doctor: Self-care measures such as rest, ice, and a balanced stretching and strengthening regimen may be all most people need. For athletes, it is imperative that they have the myotherapy work done to ensure proper recovery and avoid re-injury. We will utilize stretching and rehabilitative exercises along w/ the myotherapy. The athlete is typically back to full activity in 2-3 weeks. (Same concept and treatment for quad and calf strain as well.)

Your rotator cuff is made up of the muscles and tendons in your shoulder. These muscles and tendons connect your upper arm bone with your shoulder blade. They also help hold the ball of your upper arm bone firmly in your shoulder socket. The combination results in the greatest range of motion of any joint in your body.

A rotator cuff injury includes any type of irritation or damage to your rotator cuff muscles (supraspinatus, infraspinatus, subscapularis, and teres minor) or tendons. Causes of a rotator cuff injury may include falling, lifting, and repetitive arm activities — especially those done overhead, such as throwing a baseball or placing items on overhead shelves.

A Note from the Doctor: Rotator cuff injuries can vary from partial tears (some of the fibers of a tendon are torn) to full tears. Other diagnoses of the shoulder can include tendonitis, bursitis, ligament sprain, muscle strain, degenerative (can include arthritis and bone spurs). There are orthopedic tests and muscle tests that will be performed to make a diagnosis. If a rotator cuff tear is suspected an MRI will be advised to get a clear diagnosis and extent of the injury.

We get good results with most shoulder injuries, especially if it is a repetitive motion injury (baseball, tennis, swimming). We utilize myotherapy, along with stretching and rehabilitative exercises. Tissue restrictions are bound to build up from these activities and if they are not addressed, they can lead to decreased ROM, weakness in the muscle, and further injury.

An orthopedic evaluation is a good place to start if a rotator cuff tear is suspected.

Whiplash is a neck injury that can occur during rear-end automobile collisions when your head suddenly moves backward and then forward — similar to the motion of someone cracking a whip. These extreme motions will cause your neck muscles and ligaments to stretch beyond their normal range of motion and can cause pain with all movement of the neck.

A Note from the Doctor: Whiplash injuries can be mild or severe and must be treated with caution. Other injuries, such as disc injury or fracture could result from whiplash. X-rays and MRI would be warranted to rule out these injuries. Any whiplash injury will cause strain/sprain to the neck muscles and ligaments and we do get good results with neck strain/sprains utilizing myotherapy, stretching, and rehabilitative exercises. We will take you through a series of orthopedic, neurological, and muscle tests to ensure it is an injury that we can treat.

Your ligaments are tough, elastic-like bands that connect bone to bone and hold your joints in place. A sprain is an injury to a ligament caused by excessive stretching. The ligament can have a partial tear, or it can be completely torn. There are four ligaments in the knee that can be sprained (MCL, LCL, ACL, and PCL).

Of all sprains, ankle and knee sprains occur most often. Sprained ligaments swell rapidly and are painful. Generally, the greater the pain, the more severe the injury is. Most minor sprains can be dealt with with rest and home exercises.

A Note from the Doctor: Knee sprains respond very well to myotherapy. We will evaluate the knee with orthopedic tests to rule out more severe injuries, such as tearing of the ligaments or meniscal involvement. If it has been determined that it is only a sprain we will utilize myotherapy, stretching, and rehabilitative exercises to strengthen the injured knee to prevent reoccurrence. We do not take x-rays, so if an x-ray or MRI is warranted to rule out a fracture or ruptured ligaments, we will refer out for imaging.