Focus on proper treatment

Editor's note: Cody Scharf owns Thrive Spine and Sport, a chiropractic and soft tissue clinic in Cedar Rapids focusing on sport and overuse injuries. Scharf is a graduate of Palmer College of Chiropractic and is certified by Integrative Diagnosis for diagnosis and treatment of soft tissue injuries.

By Cody Scharf, community contributor

Rest, ice, pain pills. We have probably all heard these recommendations before.

Some of them were probably prescribed to you by a health care provider. It started to get better and you returned to activity only to find you are now in worse pain. Stretching and rehab exercises are doing little to nothing.

Let's be honest. If you have tried this approach for your pain, and you still EW suffering, it's not going anywhere.

More than 50 percent of all injuries are due to overuse. Overuse injuries like tendinitis, bursitis, tennis elbow, swimmers shoulder, runner's knee, carpal tunnel, plantar fasciitis and shin splints are not caused from one single incident. Overuse injuries occur after repetitive use, prolonged positioning or trauma. Micro-traumas from repetitive strain to tendons, ligaments and bone eventually begin to add up and cause pain.

Unfortunately, these types of injuries are often misdiagnosed and treated.

Many providers will prescribe the above - rest, ice and possibly NSAIDs. This actually may be the worst thing for you and your pain.

Tendinitis is most often the diagnosis with overuse injuries. The diagnosis of 'tendinitis” means inflammation or irritation of a tendon. What we are finding out now about overuse injuries are they are not inflammatory. They are degenerative. While this goes against conventional belief, allow me to further explain.

With any repeated or sustained movement, there is a decrease in blood supply and oxygen to the area. When dealing with muscles, ligaments and nerves, this decrease in oxygen leads to scar tissue formation (adhesion). In tendons, a lack of oxygen leads to degeneration, as well. Scar tissue and degenerative tissues will gradually progress in nature without the proper treatment leading to pain and weakness. If left untreated long enough, degenerative tissues could eventually tear and need surgical repair. A scary stat, is 97 percent of all soft tissue tears happen in degenerated tissue.

Although the research and understanding of overuse injuries is there, most traditional medical paradigms have not yet adapted. These methods fail to recognize the pathology present.

So what are you supposed to do?

Treatment must focus on the breakdown of this scar tissue (adhesion) when present, while also increasing blood flow to the degenerated area for repair. Exercises should be implemented only after the patient begins to respond from therapy. Implementing exercise too soon may actually limit the response to care.

Proper treatment of overuse should aim to keep the patient as physically active as possible. Only in cases where patients fail to respond to therapy should limitations be placed on patients. This process may take several weeks to months, but is ultimately the best plan when dealing with overuse injuries.

If you are reading this right now, chances are you are suffering from some kind of pain - or know someone who is. If you have tried traditional medical tactic and have received little to no benefit, it is time for the right approach.

For more information, email Scharf at dr.cody@thrivespineandsport.com or visit www.thrivespineandsport.com