quote=Eric]The one thing to keep in mind is that all this is depending on whether this is in fact an old injury or whether you have reinjurred it.[/quote]

I was assuming that your are just dealing with some tight scar tissue. But scar tissue is a reason that people re-injure old injury sites over and over sometimes. So I wanted to be clear that you need to EVALUATE whether you may have re torn it (even a little) when you picked up the weights, in which case you should treat it as a NEW injury. Probably not, I know but I wanted to be clear. So, yes, based on what you're saying you should stretch it.

BUT I do not want to try to be specific. If you are looking for rehab info over the internet there is some but most of it is very general. A doctor really should be involved in this and and MRI may be useful in determining the course of treatment or rehab. It it is a tendon injury they can be very stubborn and sometimes if surgery is not done then rehab only seeks to strenghen the part that is still attached to prevent further injury. This is very "one size fits all" and like the others said a pt is a really good idea. With that horse beat to death here are some generalities.

DON"T STRETCH COLD. In this case you can use heat before you stretch. Get a heating pad or hot water bottle. Something like that. You can also heat then massage or heat then stretch then massage.

Don't get hung up on the "old injury" angle. Since you didn't do active rehab (and I assume no first aid) then unless you see a doctor and get specific instructions you have no choice but to treat it as if this is the first stage of active rehab of a NEW injury, which would be maybe 2, 3, or even 4 days after the initial injury and the swelling and inflammation had subsided after you used rest, ice, etc.

Here is the part of the first post of the injury thread that is relevant:

The most effective treatment at this stage is the use of heat and massage, but including light, gentle static and passive stretching exercises after your heat and massage treatment will help to dramatically speed up the recovery process.

Firstly, you must keep active! Don't listen to anyone who tells you to do nothing. Now is the time to start active rehabilitation. Most of the swelling will have subsided after the first 48 to 72 hours and you are now ready to start light activity.

Light activity will not only promotes blood circulation, but it will also activates the lymphatic system. The lymphatic system is vital in clearing the body of toxins and waste products, which can accumulate in the body following a sports injury. Activity is the only way to activate the lymphatic system.

Before we move on, a quick word of warning. Never, Never, Never do any activity that hurts the injured area. Of course you may feel some discomfort, but NEVER, NEVER push yourself to the point where you're feeling pain. Listen to your body. Don't over do it at this stage of the recovery, you've come too far to blow it now.

To complete your recovery and remove most of the unwanted scar tissue, you now need to start two vital treatments. The first is commonly used by physical therapists (or physiotherapists), and it primarily involves increasing the blood supply to the injured area. The aim is to increase the amount of oxygen and nutrients to the damaged tissues.

Physical Therapists accomplish this aim by using a number of activities to stimulate the injured area. The most common methods used are ultrasound and heat.

Ultrasound, or TENS (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation) simply uses a light electrical pulse to stimulate the affected area. While heat, in the form of a ray lamp or hot water bottle, is very effective in stimulating blood flow to the damaged tissues.

Secondly, to remove the unwanted scar tissue it is vital that you start a course of deep tissue sports massage. While ultrasound and heat will help the injured area, they will not remove the scar tissue. Only massage will be able to do that.

Either find someone who can massage the effected area for you, or if the injury is accessible, massage the damaged tissues yourself. Doing this yourself has the advantage of knowing just how hard and deep you need to massage.

To start with, the area will be quite tender. Start with a light stroke and gradually increase the pressure until you're able to use deep, firm strokes. The more you massage the effected area the harder and deeper you will be able to push.

Use deep, firm strokes, moving in the direction of the muscle fibres. Concentrate your effort at the direct point of injury, and use your thumbs to get in as deep as possible to break down the scar tissue.

So what is static and passive stretching?

Static stretching is performed by placing the body into a position whereby the muscle (or group of muscles) to be stretched is under tension. Both the opposing muscle group and the muscles to be stretched are relaxed. Then slowly and cautiously the body is moved to increase the tension of the stretched muscle group. At this point the position is held or maintained to allow the muscles to lengthen.

Passive stretching is very similar to static stretching; however another person or apparatus is used to help further stretch the muscles. Due to the greater force applied to the muscles, this form of stretching is slightly more hazardous. Therefore it is very important that any apparatus used is both solid and stable. When using a partner it is imperative that no jerky or bouncing force is applied to the stretched muscle. So, choose your partner carefully, they must be responsible for your safety while stretching.

The important point to remember during this phase of the rehabilitation process is light, gentle stretching. Never, never, never do any activity that hurts injured area. Of course you may feel some discomfort, but never push yourself to the point where you're feeling pain. Be very careful with any activity you do. Pain is the warning sign; don't ignore it.

The Next 2 to 5 Weeks

The aim of this phase of your rehabilitation will be to regain all the fitness components that were lost as a result of the injury. Regaining your flexibility, strength, power, muscular endurance, balance, and co-ordination will be the primary focus.

Without this phase of the rehabilitation, there is no hope of completely and permanently making a full recovery from your injury. A quote from a great book called "Sporting injuries" by Peter Dornan & Richard Dunn will help to reinforce the value of this phase of the rehabilitation process.

"The injury symptoms will permanently disappear only after the patient has undergone a very specific exercise program, deliberately designed to stretch and strengthen and regain all parameters of fitness of the damaged structure or structures. Further, it is suggested that when a specific stretching program is followed, thus more permanently reorganizing the scar fibers and allowing the circulation to become normal, the painful symptoms will disappear permanently."

So what type of stretching is best to use during this phase? Stick with the static and passive stretching exercises described above, but also include PNF Stretching.

PNF stretching, or Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation, is a more advanced form of flexibility training that involves both the stretching and contraction of the muscle group being targeted.

PNF stretching was originally developed as a form of rehabilitation and to that effect it is very effective. It is also excellent for targeting specific muscle groups, and as well as increasing flexibility, (and range of movement) it also improves muscular strength.


If you're interested, you can learn more about PNF stretching here.

__________________

To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.



To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
or
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.


If you act sanctimonious I will just list out your logical fallacies until you get pissed off and spew blasphemous remarks.