5 Ways Physical Therapy Can Benefit Athletes
If you are an athlete, then you know that injury is part of the game. It is rare that any athlete will go their entire life without a sprained ankle, torn ligament, pulled muscle, or broken bone. Recovery after an injury or surgery is crucial for athletes who want to continue playing and competing in their sport, but without proper aftercare, the likelihood of that happening is slim to none. It is never too late to attend physical therapy after a sports-related injury to help rehabilitate the injured part of your body.
Consult a specialist if you or your young athlete is in pain or has been injured. Imaging procedures like MRIs and X-rays provide comfort. But for the majority of injuries, healing and returning to play don’t need exposing the athlete to radiation via an X-ray. Physical therapy is now directly accessible in the majority of US states. This means that even if you don’t have a doctor’s prescription, you can still visit a PT first. It’s a fantastic choice for athletes who have had discomfort that has gradually worsened without being injured suddenly. Athletes who initially consult a PT are frequently better able to learn about their ailment and receive the appropriate therapy.
If you have a recent or even past injury and never sought out physical therapy, here are 5 ways physical therapy can benefit athletes.
5 Ways Physical Therapy Can Benefit Athletes
Flexibility and muscle training can differ from your rehabilitation treatment, although they often go hand in hand. While rehabilitation treatment focuses on the injury itself, flexibility and muscle strengthening can help strengthen the muscles surrounding the injury, as well as help with the prevention of future injuries. A lot of athletes use physical therapy as another form of working out and perfecting their craft. With physical therapy, you learn certain exercises, stretches, and techniques to help maintain your fitness level on and off-season. Many athletes use physical therapy in preparation for a big competition or to prepare for the season because it is a great way to get their bodies in the best shape possible.
So, let’s dive into how PT can help athletes on and off the field!
Evaluation of Mobility
One of the best things about attending physical therapy due to a sports-related injury is the evaluation of mobility of the injured body part. Physical therapists specialize in mobility, which means they will perform different evaluations in order to best assess your injuries and come up with a recovery plan personalized to your individual needs. No two injuries are ever the same, which is why these evaluations are so important. They allow the doctor to examine your injury in a unique setting to see how much movement you really have. They want to test your strength and flexibility in order to know how to proceed with your physical therapy regimen. These assessments will help in your recovery process, allowing both you and the doctor to set realistic goals to get you back to playing the sport you love in a minimal period of time. Evaluation of mobility is one of the 5 ways physical therapy can benefit athletes and lead to a speedy recovery.
Improve Movement & Comfort for Athletes
Most pediatric physical therapy programs for sports last four to six weeks. According to research, it takes six weeks of a particular strength and conditioning regimen to observe signs of muscular growth (AKA muscle build). When performed appropriately, the results of neuro-muscular re-education can be observed in as little as two weeks. The majority of the time that someone finds themselves or their young athlete in physical therapy, it is because there has been some kind of tissue damage because most people don’t go to PT to prevent injuries. Most injuries will recover in six weeks based on the healing rates of the majority of tissue strains and sprains. The growth in intensity and vigor of strength training activities can be paced by where an athlete is at in terms of the sharpness or irritability of an injury.
Rehabilitation Treatment
One of the 5 ways physical therapy can help athletes is through the actual rehabilitation treatment. A lot of times after an injury, athletes are timid to return to their sport because they fear their injury has not had the appropriate recovery time and the thought of re-injury is daunting. Physical therapy helps athletes relearn how to use those injured counterparts. The rehabilitation treatment is designed to gradually get your body functioning the way it did pre-injury, with the hopes of a 100% recovery. The rehabilitation treatment will teach you natural methods to practice at home to expedite the recovery process. The only natural way to recover from an injury that has a proven success rate is through physical therapy rehabilitation treatment. As an athlete you are used to practicing every day for hours at a time; if you treat your rehabilitation physical therapy like practice, you will see results and know that a full recovery is possible with time.
Quicker Recovery
One of the most important of the 5 ways physical therapy can benefit athletes is the speedy recovery. It is a known fact that those who participate in rehabilitation treatment through physical therapy have a quicker recovery than those who do not. Physical therapy allows athletes to begin using the injured muscle or body part in a safe and controlled setting with specific movements meant to help in the healing process. A lot of times after an injury, your body tends to become stiff and weak in the injured area, but physical therapy helps to avoid that which in return shortens the recovery time. If you are an athlete and are considering a physical therapy treatment to assist with your rehabilitation, make sure to find a doctor who can help with your specific needs. If you are looking for a great physical therapist for a sports injury in Peoria or the surrounding Phoenix area, Desert Edge is who you should call.
Prevention of Future Injuries
Wouldn’t it be great if you could help prevent injuries from happening? Well with physical therapy, you can. For athletes competing in high-intensity sports, prevention is everything. You want to learn how to protect your body and care for it in a way that will help avoid torn muscles and broken bones. Physical therapy for sports injuries will teach you specific stretches and exercises that are specific to your sport and the constant movement your body performs while competing. It is important for your body to stay flexible and to strengthen specific muscles geared towards your sport; physical therapy will do that.
5 Ways Physical Therapy Can Benefit Athletes in Peoria, AZ
If you are an athlete in Peoria or the surrounding Phoenix area, we want to be your athletic physical therapy treatment center. We can help with each of the 5 ways physical therapy can benefit athletes in order to get you back to the active lifestyle you love. We can help with recovery and prevention, making sure that you don’t have to stop competing. If you are interested in how we can help in your recovery, call today. We are happy to answer any of your questions and set up a consultation with our physical therapist to help you back to a speedy recovery.
Contact us today to set up a consultation with our therapist in Peoria, AZ!
