Restore movement. Relieve pain. Return to sport faster.
Treating Sports Injuries With Soft Tissue TherapyWhen an injury occurs, pain is often only one symptom you experience. The structures involved – muscles, tendons and fascia – no longer function optimally together. Soft tissue therapy treats these dysfunctions to help restore mobility to the affected area while decreasing pain and inflammation so you can return to activity safely.
Our Approach to Soft Tissue Therapy Here at Alpha Sports Performance Medicine, soft tissue therapy is one component of a comprehensive rehab and performance training program. We know it takes more than one treatment to heal from an injury. That’s why we combine soft tissue work with corrective exercise and movement retraining to keep you healthy long-term, not just until your next injury.
HOW DOES SOFT TISSUE THERAPY WORK TO HEAL INJURIES?
Soft tissue therapy works best when it’s applied systematically to support your recovery from injury. Here’s how we use it:
IDENTIFYING YOUR INJURY
Not all injuries are created equal. Before beginning soft tissue work, it’s important to identify the type of injury you have.
An acute injury like a muscle strain or contusion will have sudden onset with swelling, bruising and loss of function. These types of injuries benefit from early protection and limited manual therapy to decrease inflammation and prevent excessive scar tissue from forming.
Overuse injuries happen over time with repetitive tissue overload. This category includes tendinopathy and chronic muscle tightness. These types of injuries respond best to load management, movement correction, and gradual strengthening.
Knowing the specific tissue(s) affected and how the injury occurred helps us tailor your treatment plan.
DIRECTIONS FOR TISSUE HEALING
Tissue doesn’t heal itself randomly. When it comes to healing injured muscles/tendons, we want to influence that healing so it occurs in the right direction.
During the healing process, your body forms new collagen fibers to repair damaged tissue. Without intervention, this collagen can create stiffness and weakness. Soft tissue work realigns these tissues as they heal, allowing for improved strength and motion.
It also increases blood flow to and from the injured area. More blood means more oxygen and nutrients to promote healing, as well as removal of metabolic waste that can cause pain and inflammation.
TECHNIQUES THAT HELP
There are many soft tissue techniques and they all have slightly different purposes.
Myofascial release works on restrictions in your fascia (connective tissue). Trigger point therapy is used to treat specific tight knots that are causing pain or referral. Instrument-assisted therapy helps identify and treat adhesions that aren’t apparent with just hands-on work.
All these techniques help improve tissue extensibility so it moves better. They should never be used in place of exercise or movement retraining, however. That’s why we combine our soft tissue work with corrective exercises so you can take improved function back into your daily activities and sport.
REDUCING PAIN
Movement is often restricted due to pain. Pain often comes from tight muscles or lack of mobility that is caused by decreased tissue glide.
Soft tissue work decreases tension in muscles and improves how your tissues slide over each other. This allows your joints to move more freely, restoring your range of motion. You’ll be able to do daily activities and athletic motions without feeling limited or in pain.
The more mobility you have, the sooner you can begin strengthening and functional exercises to build yourself back up. This ultimately speeds up your recovery time.
MANAGING SCAR TISSUE
As part of the healing process, your body forms scar tissue. While some level of scar tissue is good, too much can lead to stiffness.
Our soft tissue techniques help manage and remodel scar tissue so it doesn’t become too restrictive. It can also help decrease adhesions that build up between layers of muscle and slow down your movement.
This is important for both daily activities and sports performance. Even a slight limitation can affect your athletic ability and potentially cause future injuries.
BLENDING WITH OTHER FORMS OF TREATMENT
Soft tissue work is great, but it’s not magic. In order to recover from injury, you must also move.
That’s why we combine our soft tissue techniques with movement and exercise. Once we improve the way your tissues feel and move, we’ll prescribe you specific exercises to continue reinforcing that new way of moving.
You may start with low-load activation exercises and progress to more sport-specific exercises as your strength, coordination, and control return.
TIMING OF TREATMENT
The type of soft tissue work we use also depends on how long you’ve been injured.
During the initial stage of injury, our main focus is on reducing your pain and swelling. We slowly introduce different techniques as you heal to help with any stiffness that remains.
Applying the appropriate amount of treatment based on your injury stage can help you recover without any setbacks.
PERFORMANCE AND POST-INJURY REHAB
Simply returning to your pre-injury status won’t cut it. When you come in for soft tissue therapy, we want you to leave moving BETTER than before your injury.
Our therapists work to treat your injury but also correct the movement patterns that may have caused your injury in the first place. This helps you move more efficiently and decrease your risk of reinjury down the road.
Not only do athletes return to sport, but they often return stronger than before their injury.
SAFETY
Soft tissue therapy is safe for the majority of patients. However, there are certain injuries and conditions that should be evaluated by a medical professional before starting any type of soft tissue work. These include fractures, infections, open wounds, burns, severe swelling, and concern of a vascular issue.
Our clinicians take your health history into account whenever we recommend soft tissue therapy. If there are any risks for you to receive this type of treatment, we will let you know. Your therapist will continue to monitor you for any negative reactions throughout your sessions.
Soft Tissue Therapy at Alpha
Our therapists use soft tissue therapy to help treat many of the injuries that we see here at Alpha. When used in combination with exercise, it can help reduce pain, restore mobility, and decrease your risk of reinjury.
If you’re ready to start recovery from an injury or just want to learn more about our soft tissue techniques, schedule an appointment with Alpha Sports Performance Medicine today.
Frequently Asked Question
Q1: What is soft tissue therapy?
A: Soft tissue therapy is a manual (hands-on) therapy that targets muscles, tendons, and fascia to help decrease pain and improve movement.
Q2: What injuries respond best to soft tissue therapy?
A: Soft tissue therapy works great for muscle strains, tendinopathy, muscle tightness, and post injury scar tissue when combined with exercise.
Q3: When can I start receiving soft tissue therapy after injury?
A: That depends on your injury. If you suffer an acute injury, we can use light techniques within a few days of your injury depending on your pain and swelling levels. As you progress in your recovery, we will use deeper techniques.
Q4: Will soft tissue therapy be enough to heal my injury?
A: No, your soft tissue work should always be combined with exercise to achieve the best results.
Q5: Is soft tissue therapy safe?
A: Soft tissue therapy is very safe. You may experience some soreness with treatment but that should subside within 24-48 hours. If you have any open wounds, fractures, infections, severe swelling, or known vascular issues you should receive clearance from a medical professional before beginning any soft tissue therapy.