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Non-Surgical Solutions

When it comes to sports injuries, there are often alternatives that don’t involve surgery. Achieving and maintaining peak performance means working through minor setbacks, and we’re here to help with that, too.

At the Orthopedic Institute, we help you sort through some of the more common options, and we’re also up-to-date on other non-surgical solutions you may not even know about. Where sports injuries are concerned, we focus on the best and least invasive ways to get you back on the field or court.

Non-operative treatments include:

  • Rest: Often minor injuries can resolve on their own by avoiding aggravating activities for a week or two.
  • Ice: Applying ice to injured areas (cryotherapy) is not new technology, but it is still effective, especially with new injuries.
  • Diet/Weight Loss: Especially for injuries in the lower body, diet and weight loss can be very helpful. Every time you stand up you transmit 6 times your body weight through your knees. Therefore, if you could lose 10 pounds it would be like taking 60 pounds off of your knees.
  • Activity Modification: Avoid aggravating activities to help take stress off of injured areas. Lower impact activities such as walking on a level surface, biking, and water exercises are a good way to be active during recovery, yet not stress your joints in a way that impedes healing. Proper footwear can also provide a benefit.
  • Therapy: Physical Therapy can be helpful to maintain or improve your motion, strength, balance, and endurance…[read more]
  • Bracing: Some athletes will have weakness or instability in joints following a minor or major injury. Bracing may be a relatively simple solution to providing relief while giving your injury the time it needs to fully heal.
  • Medications: Oral anti-inflammatory medication can decrease pain and swelling associated with injuries allowing you to be more active. Not all athletes should use anti-inflammatory medications. It is important to always consult your healthcare provider prior to starting any anti-inflammatory regimen.
  • Injections: Steroid (cortisone) injections can be helpful to decrease the pain and swelling associated with certain injuries. Decreasing pain can help improve your range of motion and your stability. And that helps you get back to performing at your best.
  • Other: Our trainers, therapists, and doctors are true experts at helping you come back from injury without surgery.

If you’ve got a sports injury, we can help. Give us a call at 608-342-6210 for information or an appointment.