Health Advice for a friends Son

[Welshchris]

I have a friend who lives in Australia and she has a 15 year old son who is a swimmer and is part of a swimming team...

3 Years ago he snapped a ham string and was told he would never swim again but thankfully he managed to slowly get back into it and everything was fine. Now again hes damaged the same hamstring and hes getting conflicting advice from doctors, some say its best to excerise lightly, others say no rest and let alone till it heals. He is hoping to turn pro soon and he is really worried.

What can she and he do?

[bopdude]

Listen to the doctors How many doctors do you get per patient out there ?

[Welshchris]

they have seen 4 different doctors over the past 11 days as they have had many different Appts yet have never seen the same doctor on any of the appts, 3 have said rest completely and 1 said to mild excersise.

[rogerdraig]

hmm another athlete with injuries before they start

i put my ead above the parapit and say i bet the dr saying exersise is with the training side and the dr saying rest is not

i would follow the latter give it the rest it needs then once the pain is gone ( and hes not taking painkillers ) then start exersising lightly

i do think though from seeing the number of athletes from all sports who continualy reinjure the same injuries that maybe a diferent sport that doesnt relly on that part so much would be a better idea

[LondonRoad]

Originally Posted by bopdude

Listen to the doctors How many doctors do you get per patient out there ?

.. and listen to his own body. If he knows he's got a vulnerability he shouldn't be pushing it. I know it must be tough if he enjoys swimming but it isn't the sport that you're going to be able to do competitively without pushing your body to the limits.

Swimming for leisure/fitness purposes shouldn't be a problem.

[lucy7]

Originally Posted by Welshchris

they have seen 4 different doctors over the past 11 days as they have had many different Appts yet have never seen the same doctor on any of the appts, 3 have said rest completely and 1 said to mild excersise.

If he is part of a really good swim team in Aus, he will be taken care of by the Doctors in the team, dont forget this is one of the main competitive sports out there.

If it is a lower grade swim team, his coach would be an expert at advising him on the right thing to do, and of course be able to direct him to an experienced Doctor in the swimming field, who would then be able to give proper advice.

In my personal experience in the swimming field, the kids swim coach and Doctor would liase with each other, and a plan of rest and/or exercise would be put in place.

[Ramrod]

It should be possible to carefully manage that type of injury through to a proper resolution. The hamstring injury needs to be assessed (possibly with diagnostic ultrasound imaging) and the wider kinematic chain (lumbar spine/sacro iliac joints/knee etc.) also needs to be evaluated for anything that might delay or upset the healing process.
Once a proper diagnosis of the injury and any associated factors has been established then the treatment (soft tissue work/joint manipulation/ultrasound/laser/exercises etc.) can be applied in the correct amounts and order.
This will require an expert in biomechanics and treatment soft tissue injuries probably with an interest in swimming and its related injuries.
You may well find that to get this to heal properly for high level competition you need a multidisciplinary approach.

[bopdude]

what he said /\ /\

[Valerie]

Can he find a sports physiotherapist? In the UK there are private clinics. Physios are fab at this sort of thing.