Osteopathy and Sports. Prevention and adaptation.

Lu Lanziano
Sep 5, 2018 · 4 min read

The prevention of injuries is one of the main fields that links Osteopathy with sports.

Sports injuries are generated by multiple factors: muscle fatigue, external elements (bad conditions of sports facilities, unsportsmanlike behavior of the opponent, etc.), bad training habits, lack of strength, dehydration, malnutrition (linked to the intake of unsuitable elements for sports practice), etc.

The possibility of suffering an injury is always present in the athlete regardless of what he does or does not do. The possibilities increase in the two extremes of sports practice: in high performance and in the "sporadic social". One due to excessive demands, often badly accompanied, and another for lack of training or preparation.

Beyond the fact that there is no foolproof way to avoid an injury, one can implement certain healthy habits and practices that considerably reduce the risk. This involves working on the prevention of injuries.

PH:Jeffrey Lin

The first thing that is important to understand is that sports themselves require us to make movements and strength in ways different from those we are accustomed to and prepared for in everyday life. For example, there is no everyday circumstance that forces us to run for 45 straight minutes behind a ball or to use the force that must be used on the shoulder during the serve in a tennis match.

In nature, the use of force and speed are associated mainly with moments of survival: hunting an animal, climbing a tree, escaping from a predator, etc. But these activities do not last so long and, above all, do not occur in a sustained manner. Today we can walk peacefully to the market and buy eggs or ask for a Rappi to bring us coffee from a Starbucks that is five blocks from home. By this I think it is important to take the practice of sport seriously in order to be able to sustain it over time and to have the least possible impact. If we understand that sport implies real demand for the body, we will take care of it a little more seriously.

The athletes train because they want to sustain in time the demand that implies the practice of sport. Also to inprove their performance with the minor possible damage to the body. In this last sense, Osteopathy plays an important role.

On one hand, it acts on prevention understood, from this perspective, as the capacity of the organism to adapt to situations of demand or stress (sport in this case). In other words, Osteopathy works on the basis of the body's ability to self-regulate itself. The adaptability is intimately linked to the freedom of movement of the different structures of the body. A rigid body will have less chance of adapting to external stimuli than a mobile one. It can be understood very clearly if we think about the capacity of cushioning that has, for example a broomstick, and the one that has a spring. Clearly, the movement and adaptability of the spring is much greater than that of the broom. And the body can be one or the other, depending on the degree and type of training you have.

The osteopath will work with the patient through the sessions to free movement in the body and, therefore, increase the ability of adaptation.

PH: Alexander Redl

In equal manner, if an injury has already been generated, the osteopath will act on the rehabilitation of that lesion that, following the same line, will be linked to the movement. When a structure was injured, the osteopath assists in the return of natural and healthy movement.

Similarly, the treatment focuses on the search for possible causes that may have caused the injury. In other words, we seek to understand the terrain that enabled the injury. For example: a person who is badly seated 8 hours a day, who carries lumbar, will have little chance of adaptation to the requirement of jumping to finish a serve in volleyball.

In conclusion, Osteopathy provides athletes with a vision that focuses on the prevention and rehabilitation of injuries and on cultivating their ability to adapt to demanding sports stimuli. However, the field of prevention also includes: good nutrition, training according to the requirement (bodybuilding and stretching), good playing habits and adequate rest.

Lu Lanziano

Osteopath diving in UX research at Saltolab.

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