Nonsurgical treatments

• Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation
• Sports Orthobiologics

• Injection Therapy

  Your physician may use musculoskeletal ultrasound to diagnose conditions such as an Achilles tendon tear. Musculoskeletal ultrasound improves accuracy when treating you with steroid injections in the office, and it is used for deeper joints, joints with poor anatomic landmarks and joints with little to no joint space. This technique uses sound waves to create images of the joint and to identify the needle used to inject the joint helping the physician guide it to the affected area. This technique is done in the office and does not expose you to any radiation.

• Dry Needling or Intramuscular Manual Therapy

  Dry needling is an alternative pain relief technique that physical therapists may administer for muscle pain. It involves the insertion of a small, solid filament into a stressed muscle’s site of spasm and pain, also known as a trigger point. By doing so, the muscle relaxes and blood flow increases into the area, alleviating pain and improving motion.

  Trigger points are often the result of an injury to a different part of the body, because other muscles overcompensate for imbalances and weakness in the injured area. Because of this overcompensation, muscle spasm occurs, causing discomfort and pain in the muscle.

  Once dry needling resets the tone of muscle, your physical therapist works on correcting strength and mobility deficits in the muscle, which allows healing and prevents injury.
  
  

  • Results can be immediate or take up to 72 hours
  • One to five treatments is the expected course
  • Rehab exercises are part of the treatment

  
  

• Lifestyle Modification

  Depending on the risk assessment of your injury, you may be able to heal by backing off on activity, reducing the intensity of training and using healing aids. Immobilization with a splint or protective boot or the use of crutches can be effective for Achilles tear and certain stress fractures.