Physical Therapy For Connective Tissue Injuries
The connective tissues maintain the body’s form and provide shape, strength, elasticity, cohesion, and internal support to the organs, muscles, and joints. However, they can become damaged due to injury, overuse, and other medical conditions.
Connective tissue injuries can be debilitating because they cause pain and affect organs that enable mobility and physical function. If they are left untreated for a long time, connective tissue injuries can significantly reduce your quality of life. Hence, you need immediate and effective treatment after a connective tissue injury. We provide the ultimate solution to connective tissue injuries in Harrogate, TN. Our specialists at Pinnacle Performance Physical Therapy ensure you regain mobility and physical function and recover faster from connective tissue injuries through several physical therapy techniques.
What Are Connective Tissues?
Connective tissues function as the body’s support structures, providing shape, protection, and stability for several organs. Common connective tissues include:
- Tendons: A tendon is a cord of strong, flexible tissue connecting the muscles to bone. This connective tissue promotes mobility by allowing movement of the limbs. Tendons also try to prevent muscle injury by absorbing some of the shock or impact generated when individuals run, jump, or perform other activities.
- Ligaments: The human body has over 900 ligaments serving as connective tissues. A ligament is a fibrous connective tissue that attaches bone to bone, holding structures together and keeping them stable. Ligaments connect bones, joints, and other organs in the body. They promote the correct range of motion for joints, ensuring that the joints do not twist and the bones do not dislocate. However, ligaments can overstretch or tear, leading to connective tissue injuries.
- Cartilages: A cartilage is a strong, flexible connective tissue that covers the ends of bones in joints, performing several functions. Cartilages act as shock absorbers, cushioning the bones and joints when you move around and perform other activities. In addition, cartilages lubricate the joints, reducing friction as your bones slide past each other without rubbing together. Cartilages also support the structures in the body, keeping the joints in shape.
- Fascia: This refers to a band of thin, fibrous connective tissues that surrounds every part of the body, holding every organ, bone, blood vessel, muscle, nerve fiber, and even other connective tissues in place. In addition to providing internal structure and support, the fascia has nerves that make it almost as sensitive as the skin. Therefore, it tightens up when stressed.
Other examples of connective tissues include lymph, blood, bone, adipose tissue, areolar tissue, etc.
Connective Tissue Injuries
Connective tissue injuries refer to injuries that affect the body’s soft tissues, restricting their abilities to perform their normal functions. Common connective tissue injuries include:
- Sprains: A sprain is a connective tissue injury that affects the ligaments connecting two bones in the joint. It occurs when the ligaments around one of the joints become overstretched or torn, leading to pain, swelling, and a limited range of motion around the affected area. Common causes of sprains include falls and sports injuries. While sprains usually occur at the ankle, any joint supported by the ligaments can be sprained, including the wrist, knee, fingers, etc.
- Strains: The difference between a strain and a sprain is the connective tissue involved. A strain is an injury to the muscles or tendons connecting muscles to bone. A strain is one of the most common connective tissue injuries, especially for athletes. This condition occurs due to sudden physical exertion, causing pain, bruising, and other symptoms. Strains commonly occur in the lower back and the hamstrings (muscles at the back of the thighs). However, you can also strain your calf, chest, biceps, abdominals, and other muscles in the body.
- Tendinitis: This connective tissue injury refers to the inflammation or irritation of the tendons, attaching muscles to bone. Tendinitis usually occurs due to repetitive motion and overuse injury, causing joint pain and tenderness. Tendonitis may be acute or chronic. Several types of tendonitis are named after the sports that cause them and the body part in which they occur. These include tennis elbow, swimmer’s shoulders, runner’s (jumper’s) knee, pitcher's shoulder, etc.
- Bursitis: Bursae are fluid-filled thin sacs between bones, muscles, and surrounding soft tissues. They act as cushions, absorbing pressure in some joints and reducing friction between moving parts in the joints. Despite their importance, bursae may become irritated and inflamed, causing them to swell and lead to bursitis. This condition occurs due to excess pressure on a bursa from overuse. Bursitis causes severe pain and limits the range of motion.
- Fasciitis: This connective tissue injury refers to the inflammation of the fascia, fibrous connective tissues surrounding every body part. Fasciitis results in severe pain and stiffness.
Other connective tissue injuries include cartilage injuries, ligament tears, tendon tears, etc.
The Role of Physical Therapy in Treating Connective Injuries
Physical therapy is a healthcare practice that aims to alleviate pain, restore function, and improve mobility in people who have suffered injury, illnesses, and other medical conditions, by promoting, maintaining, and restoring physical and mental health with several non-invasive techniques. The goals of physical therapy for connective tissue injuries include:
- Pain Management: Connective tissue injuries are closely associated with severe pain and discomfort causing patients to find it difficult to move or perform other basic activities sometimes. However, physical therapy for connective tissue Injuries in Harrogate, TN helps to manage and relieve connective tissue injury pain. Our specialists employ several physical therapy techniques for pain relief and management.
- Improvement of range of motion: When there is an injury to connective tissues, the range of motion of the joint the tissues surround becomes restricted, making it impossible for the patient to perform certain activities. Physical Therapy Connective Tissue Disorder in Harrogate, TN can improve the range of motion around the affected area.
- Muscle strengthening: After a connective tissue injury, the muscles surrounding connective tissues may become weak due to inactivity. Therefore, strengthening these muscles is essential to support the injured tissue and prevent future injuries.
Other goals that physical therapy for connective tissue injury in Harrogate, TN aims to achieve include comprehensive assessment and diagnosis, promotion of mobility and flexibility, restoration of function, reduction of inflammation, etc.
Non-invasive physical therapy techniques that our specialists may employ during physical therapy for connective tissue injuries include
- Exercise therapy
- Manual therapy
- Pain management modalities (heat and cold therapy, ultrasound therapy, electrical stimulation, etc).
- Patient Education
- Self-management strategies, etc.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
What is Physical Therapy For Connective Tissue Injuries?
Physical Therapy for connective tissue injuries is a healthcare practice that alleviates pain, restores function and improves mobility in people who have suffered connective tissue injuries.
What is The Best Exercise for Connective Tissue Disease?
The best exercise for connective tissue disease depends on the physical therapist's evaluation of the patient's condition and treatment needs and goals. Common exercises for connective tissue disease include aerobic exercises, resistance training, strengthening exercises, stretching, endurance training, etc.
What is The Most Effective Treatment For A Soft Tissue Injury?
Physical therapy is the most effective treatment for a soft tissue injury. This treatment option is non-invasive. Therefore, it does not cause severe complications and other side effects.
Conclusion
Connective tissue injuries can limit mobility, restrict function, and reduce your overall quality of life. However, you do not have to live with this condition forever. At Pinnacle Performance Physical Therapy, we offer physical therapy, a non-invasive yet effective treatment option for connective tissue injuries. Our specialists help to improve mobility and restore physical function in people who have suffered connective tissue injuries.