Everyone who picks up an injury whilst training or competing will manage it in a way that makes sense to them. Some will research the internet, some will ignore it, and others will seek the help and guidance of a health professional.
As with any injury, it is crucial a diagnosis is reached, and the reasons why the injury occurred in the first place are identified. Once this is known, then an action plan can be formulated specific to the patient, meeting their own individual expectations and needs.
Treating every injury as if it is the same unfortunately isn't the best approach. Muscles, ligaments, tendons, and joints all heal at different rates, and respond to load and stress differently. If a one size fits all approach is adopted, the injury could be made worse or further develop into a chronic condition unnecessarily.
Leaving an injury to heal by itself can work, but the risk of re-injury can be quite high, if the predisposing factors haven't been addressed, or the injury site has healed poorly.
Make sure you are part of the journey to recovery, understand your injury, and why it is important to intervene rather than hoping it will just go away. Most people want to be better as soon as possible, so they can get back to their normal daily training regimes. Accelerating the healing process with hands-on therapy and guided home-based rehabilitation can really knock weeks off your return to training.
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