Holiday is a time for fun in the sun! But injuries can occur while you are enjoying the warmer sunny weather away. It is not very common for people to spend time around water, in the woods or playing a sport outside which they are not prepared for before their holidays. For example, if you have spent the whole time sitting on your couch in front of your television set and then one fine morning you decide to play a sport that involves lots of physical activity without proper stretching, then you are very likely to hurt yourself in some way. Mostly, injured people end up in the emergency room.
Are Outdoor Activities Equal to Injury?
During holidays, people usually go out of their houses to engage in outdoor activities. Few, people enrol themselves to participate in races that are held during the holidays. Some, for beaches, golf course or go for walks in the park. There are people who prefer outdoors workouts during holidays, to the traditional indoor gym.
Although, it is not wrong to go outdoors for a work out or sports, accidents can happen anytime, especially when you expect them least. That walk in the park can be interrupted when you trip over a stone, or a tree root or even a branch on the path twisting the ankle. Trying to play beachball on the beach can sometimes cause shoulder, hip or even knee injury. You can injure yourself while playing golf too or can fall and hurt yourself in a race. While, injuries should not prevent you from enjoying holidays outdoors, we must be careful to prevent them.
What Are the Treatment Options When You Injure Yourself?
If you happen to hurt yourself while enjoying a sport, do get yourself checked first. There is always a possibility that you have hurt your ligaments, tendons or sprained the muscles. Fracture is also very common in injury in cases of fall.
The most common treatment is R.I.C.E – Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation. Your doctor might prescribe you painkillers or give cortisone injections or even surgery. Another option often overlooked is Regenerative Treatments.
Regenerative Treatment works very well for holiday injuries like injured tendons, ligament and sprained muscles. However, there are a few conditions where Regenerative Treatment is not applicable and surgery is the only resort. The injuries when treated with Regenerative Treatment heals faster without the need to undergo any rehabilitation for the joints to function normally.
What Are the Regenerative Treatment Options for Holiday Injuries?
The non-surgical Regenerative Treatment procedures are the following:
- Prolotherapy. It is a natural Regenerative Treatment in which a natural substance is injected in the soft tissues at the injured site.
- Enhanced Platelet Rich Plasma or Enhanced PRP. Enhanced Platelet rich plasma therapy, enhances the healing process and strengthen the weakened tissue.
- Mesenchymal cell therapy (MCT) and Stromal Vascular Fraction (SVF). For SVF and MC Therapy, stem cells are harvested from the recipient which when injected, helps to repair damaged tissues and repair injuries. These treatments are beneficial in treating inflammation of the joint.
The Regenerative Treatment will be either a combination of treatment protocol or in few cases a series of injections in several treatment sessions. The choice of treatment is at the discretion of the consultant after reviewing the case and discussing the options of treatment with the patient.
What Are the Benefits of Regenerative Treatment?
Regenerative Treatments are minimal invasive, non-surgical, same day procedures, with no risk of rejection. The recovery time is minimal. You are fully awake during the procedure. And you can travel home within a few hours after the injections are administered in the affected area. Unlike, surgery there is no risk or complications. Regenerative Treatment is a minimal-invasive procedure and does not require administration of anaesthesia or lengthy recovery time. Generally, you will not require any post-operative pain medication. Contrary to surgery the Regenerative Treatment requires minimal time to recover after the procedure.
When Do I See the Results of Regenerative Treatment for Holiday Injuries?
The Regenerative therapy is an orthobiological treatment. And requires time for the cells to restore the damaged areas such as injured ligaments, tendons or sprained the muscles. Most patients experience signs of improvement in the form of reduced pain and increased mobility within a few weeks.
Regenerative Treatment releases strong anti-inflammatory agents and growth factor which reduces inflammation and hence any pain. The pain usually reduces within 4 weeks after administration of the injection.
After 2-3 months you will see a gradual improvement as the cells begin to provide a healing effect in the affected area. You will have regular follow-ups with the consultant either in person or over the phone for a period of up to 6 months. During these reviews the consultant will ask about the improvement you feel. Consultant will compare the results with your previous medical history before the procedure then.
The final outcome of the treatment and improvement varies from one person to another mainly depending on age, type and severity of the condition etc.
