Relieve Pain Like A Professional
Have you ever stopped to wonder how professional athletes are able to bounce back from sports injuries so quickly? If we twist an ankle playing tennis or running, we could be out of commission for at least a week. But when a professional athlete does it, he barely misses a play period. So what’s their secret?
While it’s really not a secret, athletes have many resources available to them that contribute to their speedy recovery. Part of it has to do with the job description. These people are, in fact, “professional” athletes. Their bodies are in terrific shape, which greatly helps when they get injured. They also have access to immediate and constant medical care and rehabilitation therapy. And, most notably, they have access to the most start of the art, high-tech healing.
The select rehabilitation treatments and equipment pro athletes use, such as electric stimulation, cryotherapy and anti-gravity treadmills, are crucial toward a speedy recovery. One example is the AlertG treadmill, a zero gravity treadmill. An airbag is strapped around the patient’s waist. When inflated, the bag lifts the patient, allowing him to run without putting pressure on the injured limb. The purpose is to allow the patient to continue his cardiovascular training without the worry of overstressing, spraining or straining.
With cryotherapy, the injured party steps into a chamber, wearing only gloves, socks and slippers to protect their extremities. The head and neck remain at room temperature above the chamber. As the chamber fills with nitrogen gas the temperature drastically drops, rapidly lowering the skin temperature to approximately 32 degrees. The extreme cold tricks the brain into believing the body is in danger of freezing and cannot keep the arms and legs warm. The brain signals the body to push all the blood to the core to keep the vital organs and core temperature warm enough to survive. Once out of the cold, the brain detects the return to room temperature and quickly circulates newly purified, enriched oxygenated blood throughout the body.
Compression equipment like the Game Ready sleeves and the NormaTec boots are often used to reduce swelling. With the NormaTec, the patient slips each leg into a full-length nylon boot. The boots, connected to a compressor, inflate much like a blood pressure cuff. Once inflated, the boot begins sequential pulsing, starting at the base of the foot and moving up to the ankle, calf, knee and upper quad. The process flushes the lymphatic fluids and deoxygenated blood out of the legs and promotes circulation of fresh oxygenated blood, which speeds up healing and recovery.
Unfortunately, many of the resources, techniques and equipment used by physical therapists for professional athletes aren’t widely available or financially accessible for weekend warriors. But that shouldn’t prevent any of us from playing ball, swimming laps or running marathons.
In the event you get injured, take comfort in the knowledge that you have a dedicated compound pharmaceutical team that will work with you to prepare a customized medication that is just right for you, your injured body part and level of pain.
ABOUT VH PHARMACY: VH Pharmacy is a family-owned and operated neighborhood pharmacy. In business for more than 40 years, VH Pharmacy has been under the leadership of Pharmacist Eddy Blanco for the past 11 years. With his extensive knowledge of pharmaceutical compounding, Eddy Blanco has transformed VH Pharmacy into a technologically cutting-edge facility. To learn more about our services, please visit our website at www.vhpharmacyrx.com or call us today at 305.324.8777.
