Playing a sport is both a hobby and a passion, and for some people, it’s a career. Whatever the reason for your activity, if you’re injured, you want to recover and get back to action fast. That’s where sports physiotherapy can help.
This type of healthcare is a specialized form of physical therapy. It’s designed for athletes and hobbyists who enjoy playing a sport but have an injury or condition that prevents them from participating.
Sports physiotherapy includes modalities to relieve pain and fix the problem at its source. With treatment and rehabilitation, athletes and casual players can recover and learn how to avoid another injury in the future.
The type of therapy you receive depends on the training and equipment at the facility. Sports physiotherapy in Dubai at premier clinics, for instance, will have state-of-the-art equipment and staff. The key to finding a good therapist is understanding what this type of therapy involves.
What’s Involved in Sports Physiotherapy?
When you find a reputable sports physiotherapy facility, you’ll receive care specific to your injury. A sports injury is never a one-size-fits-all problem. It depends on the sport’s requirements and your health and injury.
You’ll receive a thorough examination and diagnosis of the injuries at the facility. The therapist will work with you to identify what’s causing the problems and create a treatment plan specifically for you.
From that plan, you’ll receive a schedule of appointments. During each visit, you’ll have rehabilitative exercises, performance enhancement tips, and suggestions on how to avoid exacerbating your injury outside of the clinic.
The goal should be for an outcome that gives you the best performance after your injury is as resolved as possible. This is done through special exercises, and hands-on treatment modalities that reduce pain in your neck, back, and any injured areas, and help facilitate healing.
What Sports Are Suitable for Physiotherapy?
There aren’t too many sports that don’t pose a risk to the player. Any sport that could result in damage to a body part can benefit from physiotherapy.
The best course of action is to prevent damage, of course. Using warm-up techniques, protective gear and safety equipment, and cool-down exercises, you can avoid many of the most common injuries.
However, if you’re hurt anyway, whether it’s on the field or off, you want to get the injury fixed quickly and get back to the game. Injuries are part of the risk you take when you play a sport, with a few that are more dangerous than others.
Football, soccer, tennis, hockey, basketball, and cricket are frequent causes of physical damage to players. Keep in mind that unless your sport is completely inactive, it’s possible to become injured. Even chess players can develop “tennis elbow” from repetitive motion.
What Types of Injuries Does Physiotherapy Help?
In general, any kind of physical therapy can help with medical conditions that limit movement. Sports physiotherapy takes this rehab and recovery to the next level, working specifically with players who want to be able to enjoy their passion again.
The injuries that occur in athletes commonly include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Strains in the muscles due to overstretching (often from lack of proper warm-up or overextending the muscle). This usually occurs in the quads, calves, lower back, shoulder, or groin.
- Tendonitis refers to inflammation of the tendons. Tendonitis occurs from overuse or a traumatic injury.
- Whiplash from unexpected or abrupt neck motions. Whiplash is common in car accidents but also happens when an athlete falls or gets hit in the head.
- Fractures from overuse (stress fractures) happen when the muscle can’t take the pressure of the activity. Stress fractures are often involved in the feet and lower legs.
- Impingement of the shoulder from repetitive overhead movement (for example, tennis and volleyball actions). Shoulder impingement injuries require rest and ice at first and then exercises to increase muscle and ligament flexibility.
While these are the most frequent types of injuries, there are many others that can occur. Contusions, acromioclavicular joint injuries (shoulder separation), tennis or golfer’s elbow, rotator cuff injuries, and pain and strains to other body parts can benefit from physiotherapy.
Is Sports Physiotherapy Right For You?
Physiotherapy is beneficial for every patient—as long as they’re willing to put in the work to do the exercises and listen to the therapist’s recommendations.
If your goal is to recover from your injury and learn ways to improve your performance, sports physiotherapy can help. Cardiopulmonary exercises target breathing and endurance so you perform without straining your body when you are on the field. Rehabilitation teaches you how to move in ways that put less pressure and effort on the body, preventing injuries later.
Your recovery time and capacity depend on factors such as the severity of the injury and the effort you put into the exercises. With the right therapist, you’ll gain the knowledge you need to approach your sport (and your life) better informed about how to use your body.
Therapy can take weeks or months to get you to your optimal recovery. Unlike the intense, vigorous workouts you’re probably used to as an athlete, healing your muscles requires gentle stimulation through careful care and stimulation.
Be willing to listen to the therapist, even if you think you can handle more than their light stretching suggestions and strengthening exercises. They know what they’re doing, and they’ll increase the intensity gradually as they see your muscles are ready.
Your customized recovery program permanently gets you back to peak performance. If you rush into the exercises and don’t listen to the therapist, you could exacerbate the injury and add to the recovery time. Even worse, you could take a temporary injury and make it permanent by pushing yourself and your body.
Sports physiotherapy is right for any athlete or sports hobbyist with a condition that keeps them from playing their game. You must remember that it’s not an immediate fix. Your body needs time to heal from the damage. Along the way, you’ll learn how your body works so that you can prevent future injuries, too.
