Don't get shut out: preventing groin strain

With the Winter Olympics now in full swing, almost everyone in the country is thinking about one thing: HOCKEY! We know offsides and icing are common in hockey, but unfortunately so are groin strains.Whether you are a back yard rink rat or a 2018 hopeful here are some tips to keep you on the ice and off the injury reserve:

WARM UP: this is most often on the injury prevention list because it is SO important! Make sure to warm up completely, including dynamic or movement stretches. If you aren't sure what that means, ask next time you're in and your physiotherapist would be happy to explain these to you.

STRETCH THIGHS DAILY: stretch both the inner thigh and outer thigh muscles daily. While tight groin muscles can lead up to a strain, you should also stretch your hamstrings to keep your muscles balanced.

REGULAR MASSAGE & MANUAL THERAPY: regular massages from a massage therapist and regular manual therapy from your physiotherapist helps to keep your muscles flexible. They also help to break down old scar tissue and help with trigger points that could lead to injuries later on.

PRACTICE SPORT-SPECIFIC DRILLS: sudden changes of motion during play can cause groin strains, but practising the movements helps your muscles adapt and become stronger while doing them. Based on the sport your play, and the condition you are in, our physiotherapists can assign exercises specific to your needs. 

WORK ON CORE STABILITY: a strong core is a stable base for the movements you'll be doing no matter the sport, and can reduce the chance of straining your adductor.

IMPROVE YOUR PROPRIOCEPTION: proprioception is your body's ability to know what part of it is doing without looking at that part. That seems a bit confusing, but it's how you can walk up stairs without looking at your feet, or put food in your mouth without a mirror. That seems like the sort of thing you might not be able to improve, but it's based on balance, coordination and agility. Balance and sport-specific movement work improve your proprioception, improve your stability and all that helps to avoid injury.

STRENGTHEN THIGH & HIP MUSCLES: strengthening the muscles involved in the movement responsible for an injury increases your stability in that area. It is important for preventing injury, but especially for preventing a reoccurrence if you've already been injured. Your physiotherapist can determine where your muscle imbalances are, and assign exercises specific to your needs.

REST: make sure you rest! Over training leads to fatigue, which most definitely increases your risk of injury. Use it as your excuse to watch some of the games! Go Canada!

Best physiotherapy clinic IN THE UNIVERSE!

That's a pretty tall claim, and we certainly aren't making it. We just want to talk a little about what a good physiotherapy clinic is. Every day, people are using Google to search "best physiotherapy clinic Ottawa." They're hoping to find a clinic to help them address their needs effectively and efficiently. Instead they're getting a list of clinic names with nothing but location to distinguish one from another. Instead of telling you why we're the best, we're going to give you some things to look for in a good physiotherapy clinic. So whether you're in Ottawa or Saskatoon, you'll be making an informed decision when choosing where to seek treatment.

SEE A PHYSIOTHERAPIST: When you're going to see a physiotherapist, you should be seeing a physiotherapist, right? Right. A lot of clinics have assistants, and while it helps them deal with a larger number of patients, it compromises client care. Assistants aren't physiotherapists. Not just anyone can be a
physiotherapist, and if they could you wouldn't need to look for the best one anyway. So when you're choosing a clinic, make sure you're going to be working one-on-one with a trained physiotherapist.

ACTUAL TREATMENTS: When you go to see a physiotherapist, it's likely they may recommend
something other than just physiotherapy such as massage therapy, ultrasound, intramuscular stimulation or leprechaun magic. Alright, you probably wouldn’t go to a physiotherapist that recommends leprechaun
magic, but make sure you ask about the types of treatment an office uses. We'd strongly recommend a clinic that utilizes treatments proven to work (we’re talking treatments based in science, with studies and numbers to back the claims). Take passive based physiotherapy for instance: in our opinion it has limited validity. However, don't just take our word for it! Look up a treatment's effectiveness or ask the clinic lots of questions to see it it's the type of physio you want.

If you’re having a hard time choosing a clinic in Ottawa, feel free to call us at any of our three locations: Barrhaven - 613.825.8548; Westboro - 613.728.4160; Orleans - 613.830.3466. We’ll be more than happy to answer any questions you might have.

I’m sorry, a what of health professionals?

A smattering folks. OPTSC houses a smattering of health professionals. With a name like Ottawa Physiotherapy and Sport Clinic you might think:

a. We’ve got physiotherapists
b. We probably have people who know something about sports
c. Physiotherapists know something about sports

You my friend, are correct, but we’ve got so much more!  While physiotherapists can perform a multitude of services, we’ve also got some specialized professionals on deck to help those of you who are injured get back to your lifestyle pain free, and keep those of you who are healthy right there.

DIETICIAN SERVICES:
Getting your body to a happy, healthy point is about more than just doing your physio exercises. You are what you eat isn’t just a saying. You might not think of OPTSC when pondering how to lower your cholesterol or lose weight but you should! Registered Dietitian Meghan Barnes works out of our Westboro clinic, and she can help you with both of those things. She can also help with your food allergies, get your diet tuned up for optimal sports performance, or just get you on the healthy eating train in general.

It’s $90.00 for the initial one-on-one consultation, where you’ll go through a nutritional assessment, discuss goals and develop an eating plan. 30 minute follow-up visits to keep you on track are $45, or you can opt for a package at $260 (initial consultation + 5 follow-ups)

MASSAGE THERAPY:
Nope, spas aren’t the only place to get a relaxing massage. Registered Massage Therapist Jason Walsh will take you from stressed to blissed in a matter of minutes. Stress is bad news, and has been linked to negative moods, heart disease, gastrointestinal disorders, memory loss, and decreased immune function. Not things you’d find in a healthy body.

If you’ve suffered an injury you’ll know massage makes a big difference not only with pain management, but also the healing process. If you’re injured and haven’t tried massage, ask your physiotherapist if it might be appropriate for your situation.

Massage is also beneficial for the un-stressed, un-injured yet active person. The first ski³bike³kayak of the season often leaves you with aching muscles, and massage is great to help loosen you right up. By keeping muscles mobile and healthy you not only feel less like a rusty joint, but are way less prone to injury. It improves circulation, helps with flexibility, and reduces après workout recovery time. Go massage!

Massage sessions start at 30 minutes for $51, and go up in 15 minute increments. 45 minutes is $68, 60 minutes costs $85, and if you’re lucky enough to have the time a 90 minute massage is $125.


 So those are a couple of non-physiotherapy services we offer, but as you can see there are many, many more. Curious about anything in particular? Ask us next time you’re in, or feel free to send an e-mail if you’d like to see it on the blog: info@optsc.com