Lower Quadrant Sport Injuries - Rehabilitation program for Grade 2+ Adductor Muscle Strain - Essay Example

He was afraid to make movements and told the physiotherapist that he had lost his confidence in his ability to return to his previous level of sporting activity. I checked if the groin muscles of the patient were tightened due to the injury. The muscles usually tighten the next day after the strain. The intensity of pain was checked in the groin area where the adductor muscles are located. Swelling and bruising was checked which was present. Then I checked for contraction of adductor muscles by squeezing the legs of the patient together.

I was not able to contract his adductor muscles and a gap was felt in the adductor muscles. He felt pain and discomfort on stretching the muscle (Knaniik T., Tones B, Bauman C, et al). Pathophysiology The hip adductor is a group of powerful muscles which acts to pull the legs together. There are five adductor muscles namely: pectineus muscles, brevis muscles and longus muscles (these are the short adductors that go from the pelvis to the thigh bones) , Magnus muscles and Gracilis muscles (these are the long adductors which go from pelvis to the knee).

These muscles are innervated by the obturator nerve except pectineus muscle which is innervated by the femoral nerve(L2- L4) and the Magnus adductor is also innervated by the tibial nerve (L4- LS )The groin strain on the hip adductors could rapture any of the muscles. (Fry, Bruce, F. 2009). I informed the patient that he had grade 2 Adductor muscle strain as he had swelling, bruisung and felt pain when it was touched. He was not able to run the way he used to before but could walk with some support till his torn muscles joined again.

He was told that it would take four to five weeks for him to return to his sports activity. In grade 1 strain, a person feels mild discomfort, slight tenderness but swelling is not present. In grade 3 strain, a person presents with lots of swelling and in not capable of running or even making slight motions. A groin strain is a partial tear of the small fibers of the adductor muscles. The adductors are a group of three muscles located on the inner side of the thigh. They start in the groin area and run down the inner thigh to attach to the inner side of the knee.

http://www.sportsinjuryclinic.net/cybertherapist/front/frontthigh/adductorinflam.htm Before the start of the treatment I asked the patient to get a MRI scan done for me along with his physician to study the depth of the injury and thus plan the treatment according to the severity of the injury to the muscles. After examining the groin area with the help of X-Rays and movement of the muscles, the footballer was advised ultra sound treatment by ultrasound therapists. Ultrasound Therapy Ultrasound therapies are used by therapists to treat soft tissue injuries.

The therapist used ultrasonic waves (sound waves of a high frequency). The waves were then moved over the surface of the skin in the area affected by the injury. A special ultrasound gel was placed on the skin to ensure maximal contact between the treatment head (the instrument producing the waves) and the surface of the skin. The benefits of ultrasound therapy include reduction of the healing time of the soft tissue injuries. It fastens the normal resolution time of the inflammatory process by gathering more mast cells at the site of injury.

The application of ultrasound is not advised immediately after injury as it may cause an increase in blood flow. Increased blood flow is beneficial in the sub-acute phase of tissue injury. Ultrasound treatment is advantageous for patients with strains as it stimulates the production of more collagen which is the main protein component in soft tissue such as tendons and ligaments. This way there is acceleration in the proliferative phase of tissue healing. The treatment through