For runners, modified rest may entail training on alternate days rather than every day or reducing long and intense workouts. For tennis players, it may involve playing fewer weekend matches and lengthening the recovery time between matches. Each exercise session may minimally exacerbate an existing overuse injury, triggering a microinflammatory response. Cryotherapy appears to limit this response and minimize any contribution of the workout to the injury. Applying ice to or using ice massage on the injured area for 10 to 15 minutes after a training workout is effective.
Every overuse injury involves some loss of range of motion due to neural inhibition or scarring.
As a result, stretching of the injured extremity is needed to reestablish normal motion and flexibility. In addition, every overuse injury is accompanied by a loss of strength. It may be difficult to quantify the degree of strength deficit clinically, but it does occur. If some form of strengthening is not implemented, the strength deficit will propagate further injury or slow an incomplete recovery. This primarily consists of taking an in-depth look at specific intrinsic factors to determine whether correction will return the athlete to safe competition and reduce the chance of recurrent injury.