Rehabilitation aims to restore function to the musculoskeletal system and, if necessary, addresses any psychosocial impediments (such as fear or anxiety) to an individual’s recovery from a disease or injury. It is a multidisciplinary field that is not owned or confined to any one profession and emphasises a patient centred approach to care.
Rehabilitation focuses on the restoration of strength, endurance, flexibility, coordination and balance. It begins as soon as the pain and inflammation of an injury subside enough to reactivate an injured person.
Deconditioning after an injury can include muscle weakness, loss of endurance and fatigue, joint and muscle stiffness, incoordination and poor balance. It affects not only the musculoskeletal system but also cardiovascular fitness and pain coping strategies, leading to fear-avoidance behaviour (i.e. someone who equates hurt with harm while performing a given task or exercise).
Rehabilitation can begin even when the exact diagnosis for someone’s musculoskeletal pain remains unclear, with an emphasis on staying active.
Integrating chiropractic and rehabilitation (i.e. passive and active care) covers both sides of injury management. Stabilisation training emphasises muscle endurance and co-activation strategies, intended to spare the injured joint or tissue while allowing “regrooving” of ideal movement patterns. In later stages of the rehabilitation process more functional training can be implemented, focusing on strength and power.
The rehabilitation process is the same whether you are an injured worker (an occupational athlete) or an elite sportsperson. Repetitive unvaried movements sitting in a constrained posture at work cause fatigue, repetitive strain and microtrauma. Muscular fatigue and incoordination on the playing field can also lead to microtrauma that leads to frank tearing of a muscle, tendon or ligament.
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