Stretching and Myofascial Release Exercises
Stretching is the act of elongating muscles by sustained end range movement. Tight muscles cause dysfunction of the joints, which leads to improper movements. Releasing tight muscles is an important way to prevent an injury from occurring. Stretching benefits include reduced muscle tension, decreased muscle soreness, increased range of movement in the joints, enhanced muscular coordination, increased circulation of the blood to various parts of the body, which enables quicker healing and recovery.
Strengthening Exercises
Building strong muscles is an important way to provide joint stability and prevent injuries from reoccurring. Strengthening exercises are especially important after surgeries that require non-weight bearing of the legs or resting of the upper body.
Post-Operative Care
After surgery, it is imperative for the patient to begin rehabilitative therapy. Discomfort, pain, swelling, and lack of movement are often the immediate result of surgery. This leads to stiffness and weakness of the surrounding muscles and eventually a fibrous band of scar tissue develops. These adhesions typically begin to form within the first few days after surgery, but they may not produce symptoms for months or even years. The scar tissue limits the ease and range of motion of muscles and joints and can decrease the muscles ability to properly function. Once the normal biomechanics of the joint is altered, this can lead to further inflammation and the pattern becomes a vicious cycle of long-term wear and tear. Dr. May uses gentle soft tissue techniques including Active Release Techniques and Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization to break up the scar tissue adhesions.
Injury Prevention
Using prevention strategies in your everyday life is an important way to help prevent injuries before they occur. Injury prevention includes everything from proper seat positioning at work, carrying a backpack instead of a messenger bag, to stretching before performing strenuous activities.