How Sports Physiotherapy Boosts Recovery from Injuries

Photo by: Bigstockphoto
Photo by: Bigstockphoto

Sports physiotherapy – also known as physical therapy – is a type of rehabilitation program to augment recovery. Usually, physiotherapy is applied to patients who suffered from a stroke or cerebral palsy. But it is also used to boost recovery from sports injury.

A sports physiotherapist will develop care and injury prevention program according to the patient’s condition. The program can be applied to enhance performance, recover from an injury and guarantee safe participation, especially in intense training.

How Sports Physiotherapy Treats Chronic Pain and Injuries

Low-Impact Aerobic

Most physiotherapy programs require low impact aerobics training to raise the heart rate, tone the muscles and build strength. These workouts are also kinder on the joints, tendons and ligaments because the impact is very low.

Muscle Strengthening Workout

Apart from low impact aerobic exercises, muscle strengthening and conditioning are also a part of physiotherapy. Most of these exercises do not require a fancy gym equipment or machine. All you need is your body weight to tone and strengthen the muscles.

Pain Relief Exercises

These exercises are meant to restore flexibility and gain range of motion after an injury. Pain relief exercises also reduce pain so the injured part of the body heals faster.

Stretching Exercise

These exercises are meant to improve flexibility and restore range of motion. The therapist will warm up and stretch a patient’s muscle to promote healing and alleviate pain.

The Benefits of Physiotherapy

Restore Range of Motion

One of the reasons why physiotherapy is indispensable among professional athletes is its ability to restore flexibility and range of motion. This translates to better performance. Physiotherapy also helps athletes regain balance and strength. Certain physiotherapy methods – such as ultrasound or shock wave therapy – help speed up healing and recovery too.

Customized Exercise Programs

Usually, a physiotherapist will develop a customized exercise plan for injured athletes. The plan aims to meet goals for physical performance in a safe and controlled manner. The fitness routine also ensures that the patient does not push himself too hard as he recovers from his injury. The plan should reduce flare-ups or reduce the chances of worsening the condition of the patient.

Untreated sports injuries could cause permanent damage, which is something that all professional athletes try to avoid. If the injury is not healed, the athlete should stop continuing to play sport and undergo rehabilitation.

Restore Muscle Strength

Being out of commission for months on end will take a toll on an athlete’s performance. Physiotherapy helps restore muscle strength to achieve peak performance after an injury. This allows the athlete to take on more challenges without re-injuring the same body part.  If the athlete did not go through physiotherapy or failed to complete his physiotherapy program, re-injuring the same body part could spell the end of his career.

Alleviates Pain

Chronic aches and pain from neck, lower back or shoulder injury is reduced significantly through physiotherapy. As long as the athlete stuck to his physiotherapy program, mobility will be restored on any injured parts of the body. Even better, he will experience less pain because the root cause of the problem has been addressed.


Facebook Fan Page

Be first to get an exclusive and helpful articles every day! Like us on Facebook