Hence, many athletes prefer physical therapy for sports injuries, as it helps in their speedy recovery and educates them with techniques to prevent future injuries.

Almost every type of sport can have the risk of injury. Sports injuries can happen due to poor warm-up practices, inadequate conditioning techniques, or improper training procedures. Physical therapy treatments and procedures help athletes regain their strength, balance, and flexibility, allowing them to return to their sports as quickly as possible.

Sports Injuries and Physical Therapy

Sports physical therapy is a specialized form of rehabilitation program designed for athletes to help them recover from their sports injuries and return to the sport within the shortest possible time while minimizing the chances of re-injury.

Depending on the type of injury, physical therapists help in the recovery process by customizing the rehabilitation to the athletes’ goals, including exercises, pain relief techniques, and functional skills.

Sports physical therapists work closely with the athletes and monitor their progress throughout the rehabilitation for any poor performance or adverse health outcomes, assisting them in an efficient and successful return to sport.

The primary goals of sports injury rehabilitation include

• Reduce pain and swelling initially and limit the extent of the injury.
• Developing specific and personalized exercise programs to improve mobility restrictions and help athletes return to pre-injury function.
• Prevent the risk of any further injury through the screening process.
• Help improve peak athletic performance.
• Monitoring for better outcomes.
• Conditions Treated Using Sports Injury Rehabilitation

Athletes can sustain injuries in the head, shoulder, arm, thigh, or knee while playing football, cricket, tennis, hockey, or athletic events. The following are the most common sports injuries that can be treated using physical therapy.

Muscle Strain

Muscle strain or pulled muscle is one of the most common sports injuries due to overuse or overstretching of a muscle or a tendon. It primarily affects the lower back and hamstrings. It mostly happens in contact sports but is also common in long-distance running, swimming, golf, and racquet sports.

Physical therapists suggest the PRICE protocol initially to reduce pain and swelling, help with strengthening exercises to stabilize the affected muscles and teach proper warm-up techniques to prevent muscle strain injuries.

Whiplash

Whiplash injury can occur suddenly due to the backward or forward movement of the neck and getting the neck strained while playing contact sports or falling suddenly. It causes damage to the muscles and ligaments in the neck and vertebrae, leading to pain and numbness in the arms. Physical therapists will teach various exercises to improve strength and range of motion in the neck, thus reducing neck pain and promoting healing of the soft tissues.

Rotator Cuff Injury

Rotator cuff injury occurs due to repetitive movements in overhead sports such as basketball, baseball, golf, or tennis. Athletes may experience shoulder pain, weakness, and radiating pain down the arm.

Physical therapists suggest the PRICE principles of protection, rest, ice, compression, and elevation to reduce pain and swelling. They will then teach stretches, strengthening exercises, and range of motion exercises to improve and restore full, pain-free mobility in the shoulder.

Shoulder Impingement

Shoulder impingement occurs due to the repetitive overhead movement while swimming or playing baseball, tennis, and volleyball. It causes pain and tenderness in the front of the shoulder, weakness, and stiffness in the shoulder and arm.

Physical therapists initially suggest rest, ice, and Kinesio taping to reduce pain, support the injured area, and prevent further damages. Then they will teach the athletes range of motion and strengthening exercises to increase the flexibility of the muscles, ligaments, and tendons.

Back Pain

Back pain is one of the most common sports injuries as the spine undergoes a lot of stress, twisting, or turning, increasing strain on the back and causing damages. It is more common while playing basketball, football, ice skating, tennis, golf, skiing, or running. Physical therapists create a specific exercise program, including strengthening exercises targeting the back and abdominal muscles to increase strength and flexibility.

Tennis Elbow

Tennis elbow occurs due to the repetitive wrist and arm motions, resulting in irritation of the tissue connecting the forearm muscle to the elbow. It causes pain and tenderness outside the elbow and radiating pain in the upper or lower arm. Physical therapists initially suggest rest, ice, and Kinesio taping to reduce pain and swelling and support the affected area. They also teach specific exercises for stretching and strengthening the muscles.

Other injuries treated using sports rehabilitation include carpal tunnel syndrome, iliotibial band syndrome, Torn ACL, torn MCL, patellofemoral pain syndrome, plantar fasciitis, and Achilles tendonitis.

Final Thoughts

Physical therapy plays a vital role in rehabilitation following sports injuries. It helps restore normal function as quickly as possible, strengthens the weakened muscle groups, reduces pain and swelling, improves flexibility and coordination, minimizes the risk of future injuries, and helps athletes return to sport.