What is Sports Physiotherapy?
Sports physiotherapy helps athletes and other sport players to achieve their goals and perform at their best. Sports physio provides support to sports players by treating injuries and helping with recovery from injuries and importantly, helping them understand how to avoid injuries. Physiotherapists have a broad knowledge when it comes to sport related injuries.
Sports physio can benefit anyone who participates in sporting activities, from those who play recreational sport to professional athletes. Athletes tend to put much more demand on their bodies, particularly their joints and muscles compared to the usual activities of everyday life. This additional demand and load mean athletes can often benefit from physio treatment.
The Benefits Of Sports Physio
Sports physio can be used to reduce pain and improve a joints’ range of motion. Assisting with a wide range of musculoskeletal problems, a sports physio can assist with improving endurance, strength and speed. Sports related injuries can be frustrating, especially for professional athletes. By understanding injury prevention and taking precautions, you can continue to enjoy sport while performing at your best.
Injury Management And Recovery
Massage and dry needling are excellent for the management of pain, injury and stress and is an important part of the rehabilitation process. These forms of treatment can also play an important role in an athlete’s recovery post-competition. Athletes need to take time to loosen hypertonic muscles and prepare their bodies for future activity. Releasing this tension, reduces stress on the muscles and enhances recovery. It can also reduce the risk of future injuries.
Prevention
Another benefit of sports physio is helping to prevent injuries. Physiotherapists understand what your sport requires from your body and how to perform these moves safely. By understanding your strength and flexibility as well as how to move correctly, physiotherapy can help to reduce the stress on joints and reduce the risk of unnecessary strains or injury.
Increased Strength
Athletes need their physical strength and can often take hits and blows to the body depending on the sport. This puts a strain on the muscles and joints. Physio can help to strengthen the muscles, joints, ligaments and bones improving an athlete’s ability to withstand the physical stress that sport requires.
Improving Flexibility
Many sports require extra flexibility. This is a critical part of achieving optimum performance in most sports including: gymnastics, dance, soccer, swimming and cricket. Sports physio can help to improve flexibility helping an athlete perform at their best.
Treating Sports Injuries
Sometimes we can’t avoid an injury, but if one happens, sports physio can help with a thorough assessment and treatment of your injury, getting you on the road to recovery. Depending on the injury, treatments may include: massage, joint mobilisation and guidance on protecting your injury as it recovers through to flexibility retraining and a specific reconditioning based exercise program. Other treatments include strapping, bracing and taping for joint and soft tissue support and injury prevention while your finalising your exercise rehabilitation.
