Did you know Kardinia Health has three Physiotherapists on site to treat sports injuries and general physical ailments? We spoke to our Allied Health Coordinator and Physiotherapist Ben Bisset about the kinds of sports injury he sees in Geelong, preventative measures, and his time competing as a national level triathlete.
Prevention is always better, and recovery between training that is most vital for this. In fact recovery is just as important or perhaps more important than your actual workout. This is especially true if you’re competing and training hard. If you don’t acknowledge the body’s needs to recover then injury is inevitable. That’s something we try to teach all our clients, along with learning to listen to your body and acceptance of your true current fitness levels.
It’s all about the quality and quantity of your recovery time however it depends on a number of factors:
We often work with coaches to help work this out individually. In some cases where the client doesn’t have a coach we will act as their coach to ensure they’re minimising risk and maximising performance.
The sooner the better! If you manage a sports injury correctly in the first 48 hours it can have a significant impact on your recovery.
How significant? An acute three week injury could drag out to a six week injury if poorly managed during that early stage. Measures can be taken to control inflammation, immobilize or support any instabilities, and often the diagnosis is easier and more accurate if seen when the injury is fresh.
We also have an advantage being at a collaborative clinic in that we can work with our musculoskeletal doctor Dr. Robert Brzozek for further expert opinion and to administer other treatments such as cortisone injections, that can often require multiple visits and thus more time before an effective treatment.
We see injuries from all sports but definitely a lot coming from endurance and adventure sports, football, cricket, netball and weight lifting.
I had just about every injury that comes through the door while competing as an international triathlete and national long distance runner. It was handy as I was studying to become a physio and the best way to learn is through experience.
That said I wish I’d known more about prevention. While I still do something every day (surf, run, gym) I’m now less competitive and prioritise health above performance. I allow more of that recovery time I mentioned and am injured far less.
Graduating from a Bachelor of Physiotherapy at LaTrobe University in 2003, Ben has since gained a wide range of experience treating the musculoskeletal conditions of some of our most elite athletes to our most senior citizens.
He worked for two years within the acute and rehabilitation hospital sector at Epworth Richmond before making the move into Private Practice. Ben has since worked across several prominent Melbourne Clinics with clinical interests in AFL footballers, track and field athletes, triathletes and adventure sports.
Ben is very pleased to now be treating at Kardinia Health and looks forward to the expansion of the physiotherapy component within the broader multidisciplinary team. Ben will be building to full time and will treat all spinal, upper and lower limb injuries combining manual therapy, dry needling and exercise therapy, including clinical Pilates, to obtain optimal outcomes.
