¿Cuándo es seguro volver a hacer deporte después de una lesión?

En Charlie Bannigan, un osteópata y especialista en lesiones deportivas en Joy Lane Clinic en Kent, explica que las consecuencias de una lesión a menudo pueden ir más allá de lo físico y comenzar a afectar la salud mental de una persona.

“Trying to tell an athlete or sportsperson that they cannot train is difficult, because for one they are used to training and secondly if they don’t train this could lead to them feeling very low. For some, it can lead to depresión,” dice él.

The temptation, then, might be to soldier on irrespective – ignoring the pain and attempting to train as you always do. In some cases, you might be able to get away with this. All sportspeople deal with twinges and niggles from time to time, and if you had to wait for your body to function 100% optimally, you likely wouldn’t train at all.

Oftentimes, however, this stoical approach can backfire. Through forcing yourself through strong pain, you risk making a bad situation worse.

“Running through significant pain can result in further damage to an already injured body part – e.g. tendon, muscle, bone,” explains Dr John Rogers, a sports and exercise medicine consultant at the Instituto de Salud y Rendimiento de Manchester, operated by HCA Healthcare UK. “It can also result in a significantly greater injury such as ruptura de tendón or displacement of a fractura por estrés.”

Cuándo ver a un fisioterapeuta

Entonces, ¿cómo puedes evaluar la gravedad de una lesión y saber cuándo es seguro volver a practicar tu deporte preferido?

Como explica Rogers, hay varios factores a tener en cuenta. En primer lugar, ¿cuál fue el mecanismo de la lesión? Si se trata de una lesión aguda o traumática (como una caída de una bicicleta o un golpe de pelota en el ojo), es importante buscar atención médica de inmediato. La excepción sería si has sufrido una distensión muscular leve; en este caso, puede ser razonable manejar la lesión por ti mismo primero. (Prueba el ‘POLICE’ enfoque hacia la autogestión.)

If it’s an overuse injury (often caused by biomechanical factors, poor technique, or a sudden increase in training volume), you’re probably best off seeing a physiotherapist or sports medicine doctor. However, it really depends on your level of pain.

“If it's only very mild pain then the chances are you won't have done anything too serious. If it’s moderate or severe pain (4 or more out of 10) that persists over 12-24 hours then it is more likely that you have a more significant injury,” says Rogers.

Bannigan adds that one basic test is whether you are still able to perform the activity, albeit with mild discomfort.

“If it doesn’t get worse during the activity, then ice the area after each time you train,” he says. “If after two to three weeks there is no improvement in your symptoms then perhaps it’s time to see a qualified expert. A GP is fine but most only have a broad knowledge of musculoskeletal injuries, so it’s best to see a sports osteopath or physiotherapist.”

En términos generales, la intervención rápida es clave, ya que una lesión debería resolverse mucho más rápidamente con tratamiento en las etapas iniciales que más adelante.

“To use tendinopatía de Aquiles as an example, if it is treated early enough usually two to three sessions should resolve the symptoms,” says Bannigan. “But if it becomes chronic, fibrotic fibres will need to be broken down, which takes longer and sometimes requires anti-inflammatory injections.”

For those who are injured playing football, it’s generally important not to chance it, as many injuries can mask something more serious.

“The most common football injuries we see in our clinics are esguinces de tobillo, lesiones de isquiotibiales and groin pain,” says Lucy Macdonald, a physiotherapist who runs the Octopus Clinic in London.

“In all three cases, a bone fracture can be missed if they are not examined thoroughly by an experienced physiotherapist or sports doctor. Once the physiotherapist has ruled this out then they can reassure the patient with a treatment plan. This is an important part of the recovery process and continues until both player and physio are 100% confident in the player’s performance.”

El fisioterapeuta trabajará contigo para elaborar un plan de rehabilitación. Esto puede implicar una derivación para pruebas diagnósticas o tratamiento adicional, así como terapia manual para reducir el dolor y la hinchazón.

Importantly, it will also involve certain exercises designed to strengthen muscles, improve balance and retrain skills. While you may not be able to train as you usually would, you won’t need to ‘rest’ completely either – a physio should be able to recommend alternative types of training alongside exercises for the affected body part.

“For example, an exercise that would be appropriate for many football injuries, once severe injuries have been ruled out, would be standing on one leg with the eyes closed to retrain the body’s positional sense. You can learn more about how to do this safely in este video,” dice Macdonald.

Above all, the key is to train around the injury. Through keeping going in some capacity, you’ll not only recover more quickly – you’ll also be less prone to stress and frustration, and will maintain your fitness levels.

“For example, if someone has had a shoulder operation and cannot use their arm for four to six weeks, they could still train their legs and one side of the upper body with resistance exercises and do cardio on a stationary bike,” says Bannigan.

Perhaps surprisingly, if you train just one side of the body (as per Bannigan’s example), the other side también tenderá a aumentar en fuerza. Este fenómeno se llama 'efectos contralaterales' o 'educación cruzada' y puede darte más incentivo para seguir adelante si te has lesionado una extremidad.

Hagas lo que hagas, es importante ser proactivo en la gestión, lo que generalmente significa consultar a un profesional de salud adecuado. Los ejercicios de fisioterapia pueden parecer un poco laboriosos y muy diferentes del deporte que amas. Pero el objetivo es que vuelvas al campo de fútbol o a la pista de atletismo lo más rápido y seguro posible.