Sports Injury Treatment in Düsseldorf Unterbilk
Professional physiotherapy for sports injuries – centrally located at Fürstenwall 146
Not every sports injury begins with an accident. In running and at the gym, problems often creep in: first a pulling feeling after training, then pain during it. On this page you will learn how such overuse injuries develop, which signs must be checked by a doctor and how Praxis Pirnay in Düsseldorf-Unterbilk supports you in getting back to training after a sports injury.
Overuse injuries in running and fitness training
An overuse injury occurs when the load over a longer period is greater than the capacity of the tissue to bear it. Heart, circulation and muscles adapt to new training quickly; tendons, bones and cartilage take considerably longer. If you feel fit and therefore increase quickly, you overtax exactly these slow tissues. Nothing tears all at once – many small stimuli add up until one spot is permanently irritated.
In running, this mainly affects the leg: the outside of the knee (runner’s knee), the area around the kneecap, the edge of the shinbone, the Achilles tendon and the tendon plate of the sole of the foot. In strength training, it is more often the shoulder, elbow and lower back that complain, for example after many pressing and pulling exercises or deadlifts with a heavy load. At the serious end is the stress fracture, a fine crack in the bone caused by repeated loading.
The course often follows a pattern. At first it hurts only after training, then already during it, and finally in everyday life too. A complete break from sport followed by a restart at the old level often leads back to the same point. It makes more sense to lower the load in a targeted way and to build up the tissue at the same time.
How training errors lead to problems
Increasing too fast
More kilometers, higher speed or more weight in a short time – often several at once, for example when preparing for a competition.
Too little recovery
Adaptation happens during the breaks. Without rest days and sleep, the next session starts before the tissue has processed the last one.
One-sided program
Only running and never strengthening, or a lot of pushing with little pulling: certain structures then permanently carry the main load while their counterparts stay weak.
Technique under fatigue
In the last repetitions, the back rounds, the knee drops inward and the running stride becomes heavy. The load is then distributed unfavorably.
New stimuli
Different shoes, a hard surface, a treadmill instead of the park, or intervals for the first time: even a change at the same volume is an increase for the tissue.
How overload makes itself felt
When running
- • Stabbing pain on the outside of the knee after always the same distance
- • Pain behind the kneecap going downhill and downstairs
- • Pulling on the inner edge of the shinbone
- • Heel pain with the first steps after getting up
At the gym
- • Shoulder pain when pressing overhead
- • Elbow pain with pull-ups and rowing
- • Pulling in the lower back the day after deadlifts
Signs that it is getting too much
- • Pain starts earlier from session to session
- • Symptoms last until the next day
- • The spot is stiff or tender in the morning
When training stops and a doctor is needed
Overuse complaints are usually benign, but there are exceptions. With the following signs, do not keep training; have yourself examined by a doctor before physiotherapy begins.
- Chest pain, tightness in the chest, shortness of breath or dizziness during exertion: stop training and call the emergency number 112.
- Pinpoint bone pain at the shinbone, midfoot or groin that increases when you put weight on it and persists at rest.
- A sudden tear or pop with loss of strength, for example at the Achilles tendon, chest muscle or biceps.
- A joint swells, locks or gives way under load.
- Back pain with numbness between the legs (saddle area), bladder problems or paralysis in the leg: call the emergency number 112.
- Severe muscle pain with dark-colored urine after an extreme session: go to the emergency department immediately.
What we do for overuse in Düsseldorf-Unterbilk
Rest alone does not make tissue more resilient. Treatment therefore combines relieving the irritated spot with targeted building up. At Fürstenwall, these therapies are available, depending on the prescription from your doctor (Heilmittelverordnung).
Physiotherapy exercises on machines (Krankengymnastik am Gerät)
On machines, resistance can be dosed finely and increased step by step. This lets you strengthen the calf, thigh, hip or shoulder girdle in a controlled way before free weights and jumps are added again.
Exercise therapy
We look at the movement that causes the symptoms – running stride, squat, overhead press – and practice variations that stress the irritated structure less. Exercises for stability and mobility are added.
Manual therapy
If a joint is restricted in its mobility, for example the ankle or the thoracic spine, the body compensates elsewhere. Targeted hands-on techniques can improve mobility; the training that follows makes use of the gain.
Classical massage
Tight calves, thighs or shoulder and neck muscles can be loosened by massage, which many people find pleasant. On its own, it does not change the underlying cause, the balance between load and load capacity.
Step by step back to training
- 1
Training history and assessment
We go through your recent training – volume, pace, equipment, shoes – and examine strength, mobility and the movement that triggers the pain.
- 2
Setting a goal
Whether it is ten kilometers in one go, a half marathon or squats with your old weight: the goal determines which load we test at the end.
- 3
Relieving and building up
You lower the triggering load to a tolerable level and start targeted strengthening in parallel. We steer both based on your feedback.
- 4
Plan between appointments
You receive a written plan with exercises and guidance on how much running or strength training alongside it makes sense.
- 5
Return and prevention
At the end, we test the target load and discuss how you should increase from now on, in order to lower the risk of renewed overuse.
Managing load: four rules for active people
These rules help to catch an incipient overload. They do not replace an examination if symptoms persist or one of the warning signs appears.
Reduce instead of stopping
Lower the volume or weight far enough that the symptoms stay mild during the session and are not stronger the next day. This is usually better tolerated than a complete break.
Turn only one dial
Increase either volume or pace or frequency, never everything at once. After each increase, stay at the new level for a few sessions before the next step follows.
Work around it
Cycling, swimming or aqua jogging maintain endurance while an irritated tendon or shinbone edge takes less impact. At the gym, you keep training the unaffected regions as normal.
Strength for runners
Two short strength sessions per week for calves, thighs, hips and trunk can make the leg more resilient to the load of running. Bodyweight and a stair step are enough to begin with.
Appointment, directions and what to bring
Praxis Pirnay is at Fürstenwall 146 in 40217 Düsseldorf, not far from the Medienhafen and about 1.5 km from the Königsallee. The stops “Fürstenplatz” and “Kirchplatz” are nearby. If you come by car, take the B8 or the A46 to the exit Düsseldorf-Bilk and look for a space on Fürstenwall or in a side street, because there is no practice parking lot.
You can book online via Doctolib, as well as by phone or through the appointment form. Bring your prescription and insurance card to the appointment, and also any findings if an X-ray or MRI was done. Bring sportswear and the shoes in which you run or train. Records from your training app help with the assessment.
We treat in German, English and Spanish. At the first visit, we take more time for the assessment; the following treatments usually last 20 to 60 minutes, depending on the prescription.
Opening hours: Mon 8:00–19:30, Tue–Wed 7:00–18:30, Thu 9:00–18:30, Fri 9:00–14:00
Questions from runners and fitness athletes
Do I have to stop running completely with runner’s knee?
Usually not. Often it is enough to temporarily reduce distance, pace and downhill sections and, in parallel, to strengthen the hip and thigh muscles. A complete break is appropriate if even walking or climbing stairs hurts. Where your limit lies, we clarify in the assessment.
How do I know when I can increase again?
When the current load causes hardly any symptoms over several sessions – neither during it nor the day after. Then you increase in one small step and observe again. If the pain returns, go back to the last tolerable level.
Do new running shoes or insoles solve the problem?
Rarely on their own. Shoes and insoles change how the load is distributed, but not how much you train or how resilient the tissue is. An abrupt change of shoes can even become a trigger itself. An orthopedist assesses whether insoles make sense; they are prescribed by a doctor.
Can I keep going to the gym despite shoulder pain?
As a rule yes, with adjustments. Exercises that trigger the pain you replace or modify: less weight, a smaller range of motion, a different grip. You keep training your legs and trunk. If the pain persists despite adjustments, occurs at night or strength suddenly fails, the shoulder should be examined by a doctor.
How do I get a prescription and an appointment in Düsseldorf-Unterbilk?
You receive the prescription after the examination at your doctor’s office, for example from a family doctor, in orthopedics or in sports medicine. People with statutory health insurance pay the statutory co-payment unless they are exempt. Those with private health insurance ask their insurer beforehand which services the plan covers.
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