Physical Therapy for Athletes

AT EVOLVE

Physical Therapy for Athletes

HOW CAN PHYSICAL THERAPY BENEFIT ATHLETES?

Among athletes, there is a common saying of “no pain, no gain” and a sometimes unspoken pressure to play through pain and injury in order to prevent losing progress toward your or the team’s goals. As physical therapists, we want to show you a better way. Working with a sport-oriented physical therapist has numerous benefits from addressing aches and pains before they become full-blown injuries, identifying and addressing risk factors for future injuries, helping you recover fully from an injury in order to resume your sport and showing you how to safely develop foundational principles such as speed, power, and strength to excel at your sport.

WHAT DOES PHYSICAL THERAPY FOR ATHLETES LOOK LIKE?

Physical therapy for athletes will look different depending on the reason the athlete is attending physical therapy. In some cases a physical therapist may be performing a movement screen to identify areas of weaknesses in an athlete’s movement patterns that may be negatively affecting performance and upping their injury risk. In other cases a physical therapist may be developing a workout program that can maximize the safety and resiliency of a previously injured area as an athlete returns to play. Alternatively they may be working with an athlete to rehabilitate an injury from its acute stage post-injury or post-surgery on their path to eventually resuming athletics.

No matter the reason you are here, my team of therapists and I will always start by getting to know your concerns and goals and perform a thorough physical exam to assess an injured area and/or to assess the mechanics and movement skills needed to excel at your sport. After discussing your goals, we will create an individualized therapy program to facilitate full recovery from any existing injuries while addressing risk factors for future injuries as well as addressing impairments that may impact sport performance.

HOW LONG WILL I NEED PHYSICAL THERAPY?

The length of a physical therapy plan of care may last only a few visits if the goal is to establish an exercise program for an uninjured athlete looking to reduce future injury risk and maximize performance. It could also last much longer if an athlete needs to undergo rehabilitation for a specific injury or following a surgery. Your therapist will discuss this with you at your first visit so that you know what to expect.

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WHICH ATHLETES CAN BENEFIT FROM PHYSICAL THERAPY?

The short answer is, all athletes! Whether you are a recreational athlete, a weekend warrior, a college athlete, a competitive masters athlete or an Olympic hopeful, physical therapy can help you gain an edge in your short and long term performance.

WHAT ARE THE GOALS OF PHYSICAL THERAPY FOR ATHLETES?

Ultimately, my team and I want your physical therapy program to support your goals. Having a personalized goal to work toward helps you feel dedicated and committed to the program. In general though, some of the goals that we as therapists have in mind when working with athletes are as follows:

Identify risk factors for future injury and create a plan to address them. This may include imbalances in muscle strength or flexibility, movement coordination, biomechanics, endurance, soft tissue mobility and so forth.
Review and potentially modify your current training plan and load in the context of current or potential injuries as well as performance goals.
Optimize your movement patterns during both training exercises and actual sport performance in order to derive both a performance benefit and an injury-prevention effect.
Intervene to address any small aches, pains and niggles that may initially seem like minor annoyances before they develop into full-blown injuries.
Help you properly and fully rehabilitate from an injury or surgery. This includes progression to sport-specific drills and exercises to help you safely return to your prior level of activity while decreasing the risk for reinjury in the future..

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End Injury Progression

Physical therapy for athletes has proven to slow and even stop pain issues and injury progression in many cases.

**Relieve Pain**
The movements used in this technique can target your entire body helping you to manage pain during the course of your physical therapy treatments.

**Improve Range of Motion**
Posture awareness is an important area to focus on due to the fact that certain positions may cause you further discomfort and pain.

**Restore Mobility**
You can gain mobility and flexibility back by taking part in the stretches and exercises as prescribed by your physical therapist.

How Long Will My Athlete Physical Therapy Treatments Last?

If you decide to work with a physical therapist to help correct your sports related issues, your entire treatment plan could consist of around 8-20+ different physical therapy sessions that will each last 60-90 minutes. Once you complete your customized athlete physical therapy treatment plan, you will be able to continue to do the prescribed stretches and exercises utilized during your PT sessions yet in the comfort of your own home.

TYPES OF PHYSICAL THERAPY INTERVENTIONS COMMONLY USED TO TREAT ATHLETES

The specific techniques and approaches to treating athletes should always be individualized. This is why my team and I take our time to perform a thorough assessment so that we can create a treatment approach specific to your needs. So, while there is no one-size-fits-all approach to working with athletes, these are common interventions that we use to treat our athlete population:

Muscular strength, endurance and power training: all sports have different physical requirements and exercises to optimize muscular strength, endurance and power are important aspects of both injury prevention and performance.

Mobility and flexibility training: having appropriate muscle, joint and tissue flexibility and mobility is also an important aspect of both injury prevention and performance. We teach mobility warm-up routines to prepare your body for exercise and sport as well as show you how to address any limitations in these areas.

Neuromuscular control and coordination training: having great strength, endurance, power and flexibility is important but it is how you utilize these components that makes you a good athlete and lowers your risk for injury. Sport-specific neuromuscular control and coordination training is an essential part of both rehab and prehab programs for athletes.

Manual therapy: at times manual therapy to reduce pain and inflammation, improve tissue extensibility and joint mobility may be needed. In this case the skilled hands of a physical therapist are essential to achieve the desired outcomes.

Pain and inflammation management techniques: managing pain and inflammation is an important part of injury recovery. Your physical therapist will educate you about your pain and inflammation so you know what to expect during rehabilitation. They may also employ tools such as ice or ultrasound, dry needling, soft tissue and joint mobilization and even exercises to manage pain and inflammation. They will also teach you how to modify activities as necessary and use tools like crutches, canes, braces or taping, for example.

If you are an athlete who has not been utilizing your physical therapists to their full potential, it’s time to make a change. My team of skilled physical therapists and I are ready to help you stay active and take your athletic endeavors to the next level.