Pain Management for Athletes

Pain can put your life on pause, or at least significantly slow you down, which is a problem for athletes who are often in constant motion. Many athletes feel that they don’t have time for pain, but injuries can happen in high activity situations, and chronic pain conditions can happen to anyone. As an athlete, it’s more important than ever to manage your pain and to know how tfor Athleteso take care of yourself so that your body can recover.

Here are some tips when it comes to pain management in athletes:

Take Enough Time Off

For many athletes, it’s not the injury itself that hurts, but the time that they have to take away from their beloved sport. You might be impatient to get back out to the court or field, but it’s crucial to take a sufficient amount of time to heal so that you return fully healed. For a simple sprained ankle, this could be no more than a week. Calf strains can take between two weeks and three months to heal, depending on the severity. Neck strains such as whiplash can take between two and six weeks. Severe injuries, like ACL tears, can take six months to heal. Trying to return to the game too soon can only exacerbate your injury and make you vulnerable to other injuries.

Pain Management That Works

Pain affects different athletes in a variety of ways, depending on the sport and the person. That said, there are a few tried and true methods that work for most athletes trying to recover from an injury or manage their pain. These include:

•    Cryotherapy - whether in our whole body cryo chambers or through localized cryotherapy
•    Yoga - particularly for athletes who struggle with chronic pain in the neck or back.
•    Massage - for both acute and chronic pain
•    Physical therapy- to increase muscle strength and ease of motion

How to Prevent Injuries

Of course, as an athlete, you want to avoid pain whenever possible. While you can’t wrap yourself in a bubble in the middle of a game to ward off any impact, you can take steps to prepare and protect your body. These include stretching before and after the game to loosen your muscles and range of motion, wearing the appropriate protective gear, and sticking to a healthy diet and sleep schedule. As an athlete, you constantly push your body to its limits. Staying in shape is key to ensuring that you don’t snap in doing so.

We know how important it is for athletes to take care of themselves, whether it’s after an injury when living with chronic pain, or merely trying to avoid an injury in the future.

CRYO850 can help with whole-body cryotherapy, isolated cryotherapy, red-light therapy, bodywork and massages, and much more. Need help managing your pain so you can get back out there and give your game your best? Contact CRYO850 today for more information or to book an appointment.