Services · Sports & muscle injuries
Sports and muscle injuries
The short answer
Calf, hamstring, quad and groin strains, along with knee, shin and heel problems from running. The first job is an accurate diagnosis and an honest grading; the second is a staged return to load rather than a date guessed in advance.
Diagnosis first
A grade one calf strain and a grade two are different injuries.
We examine and grade honestly. If a scan would change the grading in a way that changes the plan, we will refer you for one.
Return to sport is a staircase, not a date
The plan is staged: pain-free range, then load, then speed, then change of direction, then the thing you actually want to do. Each step has a criterion to meet rather than a day on the calendar.
The speed step is the least interesting part of rehabilitation and the one that matters most.
How many visits will I need?
We give the number of visits at the start. Not at the end, and not one visit at a time. Where we can't estimate it honestly, and sometimes we can't, we say that instead of picking a figure.
When this is not a job for an osteopath
Please book with a GP, or go to an emergency department, rather than with us, if any of the following apply:
- A pop or snap at the moment of injury with immediate inability to weight-bear.
- Calf pain with swelling, warmth and redness, particularly after travel or immobility, this may be a clot and needs urgent assessment.
- A joint that locks, gives way repeatedly, or looks visibly deformed.
- Significant swelling within an hour of a knee injury.
- Numbness, marked weakness, or a limb that is cold or pale.
If any of these apply, see a GP or go to an emergency department first. The symptom check asks about the most serious warning signs, but it does not cover everything.
Exercises we commonly prescribe for this
Pulled from the library. Which of these you get, at what dose and in what order depends on your assessment, this is what the shortlist usually looks like, not a plan for you.
Common questions
Should I ice it?
Briefly, for comfort, in the first day or two. We would rather you moved it gently than iced it religiously.
When can I run again?
When you can do the previous step without symptoms, usually walking, then jogging on flat ground, then pace, then hills. We will give you the criteria at the first visit so you can progress yourself between appointments.
Do I need a scan?
Only if it changes what we do. For most grade one and two strains it doesn't. For a suspected significant tear, a joint that locks, or an injury not progressing as expected, it does.
Can you tape it?
Yes. It is not a substitute for the rehabilitation, and we will say so while we are applying it.