Sports Injuries...

For the past year I coped with a sports-related injury that affected my mobility on and off the tennis court.
The injury was tougher than any opponent I faced, and it simply wouldn't go away.
Playing competitive sports, I realize, has some bearing on my muscles and joints.
And one afternoon while training in the gym, I heard a "pop" in my right calf and had to stop running immediately.
I tried walking around a bit trying to shake it off. I thought I pulled my calf muscle and had a good warm-up.
I went home in great pain, but I thought the pain would subside in a few days. A month passed and nothing changed. My right leg experienced enormous stiffness and tightness that prevented me from participating in any physical activities.
My doctor advised me to keep stretching and to apply heat rub, but to no avail.
I went back to the doctor and had an MRI scan done on the leg and everything came back negative.
I thought I might need an operation because I had my left knee scoped. The physician told me to keep stretching and it would get better. I felt a bit discouraged at this point because nothing seemed to work and I thought my competitive tennis playing days were over.
An injury not only affects your physical health it also affects your mental health.
However, through the advice of friends, I went to a local chiropractor who specializes in sports injuries. After a couple of treatments with him my injury slowly disappeared. I felt I was given a second chance, and I resumed playing tennis because I had no pain.
Dr. Todd Marshall from Sumas Mountain Chiropractic treated my injury and told me he treats this kind of ailment 20 times a week. The injury was called popliteal tendonitis and it is located above the calf area.
He said popliteal tendonitis is the No. 1 misdiagnosed knee injury, adding that it is very common in recreational athletes and often presents like medial knee strains and/or pain under the kneecap(patellofemoral syndrome).
Treating it is very simple and straight-forward, but a proper diagnosis is required. Treating it involves myofascial techniques like ART (active release technique) to clear it up..
"As people increase there activity levels in the summer it is important to get these kinks dealt quickly so they can get back to the activities one enjoys," said Marshall.The doctor arrived in Abbotsford from Richmond in 1999 and opened his practice.
He said muscle tissue is the "primary problem. If you don't address the problem it doesn't get better."
What I have learned from this experience is it is important to get different opinions from various medical professionals.
In my case if I had known this was the problem I could have dealt with it sooner. There is a myth out there that chiropractic treatment doesn't work.
Marshall acknowledges this is false due to what he says is a lack of education in the public and within the medical field.
I was suffering a physical setback for awhile, but I look forward to the sporting challenges this summer. I am participating in my first tennis tournament in two years this weekend in Delta and hopefully climbing the challenging, 5,000 step Grouse Grind this summer.
Take a bow, Todd.
KenHerar@gmail.com