5 essential treatments offered in professional sports therapy programs

When you’re an athlete, you’re putting your body through a lot of stress in pursuit of your goals. The key to continuing that pursuit is staying on top of your physical health. That means going beyond regular workouts and nutrition. Sports therapy can play an important role in your athletic journey, from performance training to injury recovery. 

Professional sports therapy programs work to help athletes reach and maintain the highest level of athleticism possible. They often center on injury prevention, diagnosis and treatment. That includes everything from reducing injury risk by improving biomechanics to returning to the sport following an injury.

Read on to learn about the treatments that are commonly found in professional sports therapy programs, like REPAIR SI.

5 treatments used in a professional sports therapy program

There are a few staple treatments of a professional sports therapy program that are designed to support a patient’s needs and challenges in every stage of their athletic career. A physical therapist or trainer can determine the best treatment plan for you. They’ll consider your current physical abilities, challenges, the requirements of your sport and your overall goals.

Here are five essential treatments offered in professional sports therapy programs:

• Monitored therapeutic exercises

Exercise is required for nearly every type of sport out there. It’s also a pillar of professional sports therapy programs in many different facets. You may learn strengthening exercises to boost performance and stretches that restore mobility following an injury.

A physical therapist can guide you through exercises that can boost your strength, flexibility, range of motion and balance. They can use these exercises as a way to monitor your progress and determine whether you’re ready to return to play or may benefit from continued rehabilitation.

• Hydrotherapy

Many professional sports therapy programs utilize the power of water to help athletes recover after workouts or practice. It can also support the body’s natural recovery process after an injury. Hydrotherapy involves sitting in a hot tub, as the jets can provide pain management.

Hydrotherapy is used for both injury prevention and strength improvement. Your therapist might create a workout plan that you can perform in the water. The buoyancy of the water can relieve stress that’s placed on the muscles and joints during athletic activities. It can also boost blood circulation to help heal damaged or injured tissue. 

Both of these benefits allow you to improve your strength, which helps reduce your future injury risk. Exercising in the water can also reduce your risk of worsening an injury while you’re doing your recovery exercises.

• Sports massage

Manual therapy refers to a physical therapist using their hands directly on the affected areas. In professional sports therapy, sports massage is a type of manual therapy technique that utilizes soft tissue mobilization. The physical therapist will use their hands to feel for scar tissue and apply therapeutic pressure to it as a way to release the tension in that area that’s causing pain and stiffness.

There are a variety of sports massage techniques that can be beneficial to athletes. For example, a physical therapist may use kneading, which involves alternating between applying moderate pressure and relaxation to improve blood circulation. Or they may focus on releasing trigger points by applying focused pressure with their hands directly to the irritated area.

• Dry needling

A modality like dry needling may help athletes who are experiencing muscle tension, repetitive strain injuries or joint pain. It involves using thin, dry needles to stimulate the muscles and trigger points. They can cause contractions that release the tight tissue. 

Dry needling does more than reduce pain — it can also help reduce swelling and inflammation. By increasing blood circulation to the affected trigger points, it can help to move the body along the recovery process so that you can get back to your regular activities, including playing sports.

• Compound movement training

Compound movements refer to using multiple muscle groups and joints at the same time. Learning how to properly carry out these movements can help athletes because they mimic the movements used in sports. They can also work to boost strength, balance and coordination.

Compound movement training can help athletes learn how to safely and efficiently carry out their movements. They can enhance their performance while reducing the risk of injury.

REPAIR SI’s professional sports therapy program is designed to support athletes at every level of their journey

The benefits of a professional sports therapy program go beyond healing injuries. The treatments this type of therapy includes are meant to help athletes reach and preserve their peak athletic performance. They can also help navigate any challenges that may come their way while throwing a ball, swinging a bat or running on a track.

At REPAIR SI, our services include dry needling, compound movement training, and more. Our sports therapy covers all needs, skill levels, and concerns of athletes to help you reach your goals.

Contact our team today for more information or to schedule an initial appointment.