It is officially fall, which means St. Petersburg fall sports are in full swing. Keep yourself and your family happy and healthy with the help of physical therapy, or PT. Sports are a great way to stay active, however if you are not properly prepared for the game, injuries can occur. The most common areas to be injured are your spine, elbows, knees, shoulders, and ankles. Before beginning a new sport or exercise program, it is important to talk to your chiropractor to make sure you are healthy enough to participate.

If you or someone in your family plays sports in St. Petersburg, you need to know what injuries to look out for:

• Sprains and strains. Tendons, muscles, and ligaments are the most commonly injured parts of the body during sports and exercise. These happen when the acute twisting of a joint causes a tear in the muscles, tendons, or ligaments.
• Tendonitis. This occurs when you train too much, overusing specific joints; most often, the tendon will become inflamed, either in the elbow (tennis or golfer’s elbow) or in the shoulder. Physical therapy can help you strengthen muscles and increase flexibility.
• Stress fractures. Also called fatigue fractures, this occurs when too much stress is placed on a specific bone. It is very common in runners that have increased their pace and mileage quickly, instead of gradually working towards the longer distances.
• Shin splints. This is another overuse injury that consists of micro fractures on the front of the shin bone (tibia). It is most often seen in dancers and runners.

While all of these injuries don’t sound like they would be too debilitating, if left untreated, they can develop into more serious cases that require surgery, and can keep you from playing your sport ever again. With the help of physical therapy in St. Petersburg, you can heal from your sports injury and get back to doing what you love in no time!

At Bond Thomas Chiropractic in St. Petersburg, we offer physical therapy and chiropractic adjustments to keep your body healthy and ready for anything. We can help relieve your pain and offer you various strength training and flexibility exercises to ensure the lowest possibility of hurting yourself.

For more information, call us today at 727-522-1900.