Anyone who has ever played sports for a period of time should be all too familiar with sports injury, and the risk you take every time you play. Whether you’ve experienced the pain for yourself, or witnessed one of your teammates taking a nasty fall, you can understand how easy it is to get hurt during a game, and how serious some of these injuries can be. For those extra hard hits that you take, where the coach telling you to “walk it off” won’t quite do the trick, you may find yourself off your feet for several weeks, and possibly even requiring surgery. It happens to the best of us. It’s during times like these where sports physical therapy comes into play. Here, we will discuss the role that physical therapy can play in curing sports injuries and getting players back in the game.
What Is Sports Physical Therapy?
Physical therapy is a rehabilitation science which aims to restore movement and function of an individual who is affected by injury, illness or disability. A sports injury can leave a person immobile or sedentary for several weeks at a time while the injury heals, which is understandable because it’s instinctual to avoid any activity that will result in pain. The downside to this healing process is that it results in stiffness and weakened muscles around the injured area (not to mention scar tissue). Physical therapy is designed to address this exact problem. Different methods of physical therapy can include the following:
1. TENS – also known as Trans-cutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulator
2. Hot & Cold Applications – Hot to alleviate pain and cold to deal with the swelling.
3. Ultrasound – Using sound waves to apply vibrations to soft tissue areas to promote healing
4. Range of Motion – routines that focus on maintaining the joint’s range of motion
5. Stretching & Exercising – re-strengthening the weakened muscles in the injured area
How Sports Physical Therapy Helps
When a person gets injured playing sports, the damage usually runs much deeper than what may be visible on the surface. Broken bones and strained muscles usually involve serious damage to the soft tissues in the area of the injury as well, which takes much longer to heal. Sports medicine physical therapy can implement a combination of stretches, exercises, massage, and hot and cold therapy that focuses on the effective healing of the injury as well as re-strengthening the area so it can be restored back to its normal functionality once the healing has finished. The goal of recovery isn’t just healing an injury and stopping the pain. The goal is to get back to your normal life and back to doing the things you love comfortably, and without the avoidable physical limitations. Patients who skip this vital part of the recovery process often find themselves with recurring levels of pain and limited mobility, especially as they get older.
Theradynamics Clinics
When recovering from a serious injury or procedure, choosing the right clinic is vital to your successful recovery. Theradynamics is a therapy and rehabilitation clinic that specializes in sports medicine physical therapy. If you or someone you know has recently suffered from a sports injury, please do not hesitate to begin the path to recovery. The longer a patient remains inactive, the more difficult it can become to restore their body to its pre-injury functionality. Theradynamics has a number of convenient locations throughout New York City fully staffed and equipped to provide you with the care you deserve. Visit our website to learn more about the services we offer, and schedule your first appointment today.