Being an athlete can bring many benefits to your life, from improved mental health from the endorphins to finding friends with similar interests. Unfortunately, having an athletic lifestyle also brings a risk of injury.
In 2023, there were more than 3 million sports and recreational injuries in the U.S. that required a trip to the emergency room. Whether you’ve sustained a mild torn ligament or a serious broken leg, there are treatments that can help you move along the recovery process and get back to your regular activities. That’s where physical therapy comes in.
4 techniques used in physical therapy for athletic injury management
Sports physical therapy is all about preventing injuries as well as treatment and performance enhancement for athletes who sustain one. A physical therapist can design a personalized plan for you that focuses on injury management. The goal is to reduce the symptoms and restore the function and strength as much as possible so you can safely return to your activities.
Techniques will vary depending on the cause and severity of the injury as well as medical history and overall wellness goals.
Here are four physical therapy techniques used to manage athletic injuries:
- Hydrotherapy
The power of water is often utilized for injury recovery, such as with hydrotherapy. This method involves sitting in a hot tub to let the jets apply pressure to the affected area. It can reduce pain while encouraging circulation for faster recovery. The buoyancy of the water also reduces the stress that may be placed on the affected area throughout the day.
- Sports massage
There are several types of manual therapy techniques that can help athletic injuries, and sports massage is one of them. It involves a physical therapist using their hands directly on the affected area for soft tissue mobilization. They’re able to find and break up the restrictive scar tissue that’s causing pain. It also helps to reduce inflammation and muscle tension.
- Dry needling
Pain management for sports injuries can come from many different techniques, including a technique like dry needling. It involves using thin needles to stimulate the trigger points that are contributing to pain and reduced range of motion. It alleviates your symptoms while accelerating the body’s healing process by increasing blood circulation to the area.
- Monitored exercises
When your muscles and joints have been impacted by an athletic injury, therapeutic exercises can help alleviate your pain and increase your strength. They can help restore your regular mobility and function as much as possible. But it’s important that you do exercises that are guided and monitored by your physical therapist to make sure that you are performing them safely and correctly.
At REPAIR SI, we have many sports therapy techniques that help you manage your injury symptoms and get back to throwing the ball, running the track or making the goal. We’ll create a personalized treatment plan that may include hydrotherapy, sports massage, dry needling, targeted exercises and more.
Contact our team today for more information or to schedule an initial appointment.