When you work so hard for your next athletic goal, you don’t want to be thwarted by a preventable injury. You can work with a physical therapist to develop strength, stability and mobility. Many athletes use this strategy as an effort to avoid injury. REPAIR SI offers a variety of options for athletes.
Which physical therapy techniques do athletes use?
Whether their sport is running or rock climbing, all athletes have a few things in common: a commitment to their fitness, an enjoyment of their sport and a need to keep obstacles like injury out of their path. Athletes often use physical therapy techniques to support their goals.
Five of these techniques of physical therapy for athletes are:
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Proteus® power testing and training
Some athletes use Proteus testing to develop a more detailed, more specific understanding of their strengths. This testing consists of 15 full-body exercises, which professionals use to pinpoint athletes’ strengths and weaknesses.
Physical therapists use this information to create training programs that enhance strengths and rectify weaknesses. By correcting athletes’ weak points, this system may reduce athletes’ vulnerabilities to injury.
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Personal and performance training
Many people pursuing athletics work with trainers, but they don’t all get personalized guidance from professionals. REPAIR SI’s physical therapists and trainers draw from extensive expertise to support athletes through individualized personal and performance training. This provides a unique advantage over only receiving group training.
Additionally, we help athletes build strength in the specific areas where it is needed most. Athletes work with us to develop the capabilities most valuable in their sports, whether they’re professional athletes or weekend warriors.
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Orthopedic and sports therapy
All types of people use physical therapy to improve their fitness, increase mobility and reduce pain. But what about athletes? Physical therapy tailored to their needs is available. We provide orthopedic and sports therapy to help athletes improve their performance.
This includes helping them prevent injury. Athletes can learn many strategies for this in treatment, including improving their balance and strengthening weak points. They’ll build greater endurance, which can help them avoid the risks of playing while fatigued.
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Kinesiology and sport taping
Have you seen basketball players wearing tape on the court or runners sporting tape around joints? They may have been using kinesiology or sport taping for gentle support. Some athletes use these two types of taping in an effort to reduce strain and prevent injury.
When physical therapists provide kinesiology taping, they aim to increase mobility and guide muscle movement with the support of stretchable material. When professionals provide sport taping, they do the opposite. They reduce mobility with inflexible material, lending stability and compression to the treated area.
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Return to sport therapy
Some of the athletes most motivated to prevent injuries are those who have already experienced them. REPAIR SI professionals help these athletes get back to their training and competition routines with return to sport therapy. Athletes can participate in this form of therapy to make a strong recovery and prepare for a successful return.
Plus, some participants may use it to prevent recurring injury. They can learn strategies to protect vulnerable points, increase their strength and improve their stability. They can combat issues that may contribute to injury risk, like balance and proprioception (your awareness of your body’s position and movement).
Reach for your goals with an experienced physical therapist
You can use these same techniques to stretch toward your next athletic goal. Our professionals at REPAIR SI can work to help you lower your risk of sport-related injury and build the strength to succeed.
If you are already dealing with wear and tear or an acute injury, as many professional and nonprofessional athletes are, you can turn to us for help. We treat a variety of injuries in physical therapy for athletes to reduce pain, accelerate healing and return to their sports.
One of our professionals can help you, too. We can provide therapeutic exercise and nonmedication pain-relieving treatments for the aches that can come with playing sports. You can discuss treatment options like manual therapy, chiropractic care, acupuncture, dry needling and shockwave therapy with a physical therapist.
It all starts with an initial appointment, which includes a comprehensive assessment by a physical therapist. If you schedule your first appointment, they’ll give you detailed information about your fitness from a medical perspective, then make personalized recommendations. These may be the injury-preventing options described above or some of our additional specialized options, like the Graston Technique® or McKenzie Method®.
Contact our team today for more information or to schedule an initial appointment.