Sports injuries affect athletes frequently, which play a crucial role in reducing their performance. Although we say that we can prevent sports injuries by enhancing our physical fitness, abiding by the rules of the game, and by taking proper training but that can’t always be true. Yes, an athlete can definitely work towards reducing the risk of sports injuries, but they can’t control them completely.
There are chances when you try your level best to stay fit, but again your fitness levels keep on fluctuating due to various reasons, so all you can do is take proactive steps when you encounter an injury or an illness.
Common sports injuries include sprains and strains, which can occur in any part of your body, so you have to be careful while playing your game. Now, if you talk particularly about sprains, they are nothing but the injuries to ligaments, which are accountable for keeping your bones intact in your joints. And since joints are highly complicated structures, sports injuries like sprains can lead to a huge pain and discomfort. Sprains are generally caused by the overstretching of ligaments.
On the other hand, strains can be best defined as injuries to muscle fibers or tendons, which are caused by the overuse of muscles.
However, if you want to be more specific about sports injuries they include ankle sprains, shin splints, tennis elbow, knee injuries, shoulder injuries, and hamstring strain and concussion etc.
Since it’s not possible for you to prevent sports injuries always, the only way to grow in your career is to treat them effectively whenever you receive them. One of the best ways to deal with them is to go for a sports injury rehabilitation program.
Here’s how a sports injury rehabilitation program can benefit athletes.
If you are an athlete who is struggling with a serious sports injury you can return to your routine activities quickly by opting for a sports injury rehabilitation program that is offered by a renowned physical therapy clinic.
In short, physical therapy is one of the most reliable ways of dealing with sports injuries. Sports injury rehabilitation programs offered by good physical therapy clinics focus on the prevention and evaluation of the injuries apart from their treatment. Yes, a wide range of exercises is included in the treatment plan so that your muscle strength and flexibility can improve.
Targeted Exercises
Your physical therapist tries to heal your condition with the help of targeted exercises, which make it easier for you to return to your normal routine. These exercises, not only help in subsiding the pain but they also address swelling and improve circulation.
The reduction of pain and swelling play an important part in accelerating the natural self-healing mechanism of the body. And the best part is that your physical therapist treats you on a one-on-one to basis. Yes, they offer their full support to you in every step of the recovery process. For example, when they include targeted exercises in your treatment plan, they always try to teach you each type of exercise effectively. They keep on teaching you the right way to perform an exercise until you learn them to perform on them on your own.
In short, they ask you to perform strengthening and flexibility exercises which help you in gaining back your strength and flexibility.
What’s really important for athletes to understand is they should not return back to their activities until they recover fully from their injury especially if they are struggling with a concussion or a shoulder injury.
According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “It is important for an athlete’s parent(s) and coach(es) to watch for concussion symptoms after each day’s return to play progression activity. An athlete should only move to the next step if they do not have any new symptoms at the current step. If an athlete’s symptoms come back or if he or she gets new symptoms, this is a sign that the athlete is pushing too hard.”
Therapy For Accelerating The Healing Process
Apart from including powerful exercises in your treatment plan, your therapist may also use physical therapy techniques such as aquatic therapy to improve your condition. Aquatic therapy is a type of physical therapy, wherein a patient has to perform different types of exercises in water under the guidance of a skilled therapist.
These exercises help in offering tremendous relaxation to the patients, apart from improving their physical fitness. Aquatic therapy is performed in a temperature-controlled pool.
Aquatic therapy services are also tailored to meet the individual requirements of the patients.
According to Crestview Physical Therapy, a Florida-based physical therapy clinic “Performing specific exercises and activities in aquatic therapy allows for improved strength, coordination of muscle groups, and reduction of swelling and enhanced nervous system feedback.”
Aquatic therapy is also very good for dealing with the pain caused by conditions like arthritis, fibromyalgia, and low back pain.
So, if you have taken a surgical treatment for healing a sports injury, you can easily benefit from a sports injury rehabilitation program. In addition to that, this treatment approach is also very good for dealing with rotator cuff repair, musculoskeletal injuries (both acute & chronic), meniscus tears, tendonitis and bursitis. In addition to that, sprains and strains that cause a lot of pain are also addressed during a sports injury rehabilitation program.
When you consult a physical therapist to recover from a sports injury, they consult your doctor in the first place, so that appropriate treatment can be offered to you. Yes, your doctor and physical therapist work closely to reduce your pain and improve your function.
Since your therapist focus on healing the root cause of your problem you definitely experience quick improvement in your condition. And the best part is that physical therapy techniques are designed for people of all ages, therefore, whether you are a teenager who is planning to develop a career in sports or an established sportsperson, you can definitely benefit from treatment offered by a physical therapist.
