Playing sports comes with risk. At some point in your life, you will face an injury. Whether you play sports for fun or on a professional level, you will likely need sports physical therapy and performance training to speed up your recovery and get you back in the game. Specialized Physical Therapy has roped in a team of experienced and trained therapists who can help you recover from many common sports injuries. Schedule an appointment today to improve your performance both on and off the field.
Don’t let a fall bring you down. Our experienced physical therapists can retrain your muscles, improve coordination, and increase endurance via specialized physical therapy. With our help, you can get back to playing your favorite sport fairly quickly.
Symptoms
The symptoms of sports injuries include:
- Pain – You will either experience immediate or delayed pain from a sports injury. Immediate and prolonged pain occurs each time you use or move the injured area. Delayed pain occurs when a joint feels tender right after playing a sport, but the pain increases gradually. Applying pressure to the affected area indicates the severity of the injury.
- Swelling — Your body responds to injury and starts the healing process, which results in inflammation. You may not notice swelling initially but eventually notice it over time when your body sends blood, histamines, and fluid to heal the damaged bone or tissue. The three types of swelling include: Effusion – Swelling within your joint; Edema – Swelling in the soft tissues; Hematoma – Swelling caused by bleeding in the soft tissue.
- Stiffness – You can measure mobility by moving, walking, raising your arm/leg, and sitting. Certain sports injuries can limit your range of movement.
- Instability – Joints feel loose or want to give out or buckle. An unstable joint can indicate a ligament tear or sprains, such as torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) or lateral ankle sprain.
- Weakness – Limits your strength and indicates structural damage to your tendon or muscle. This, in turn, restricts you from using the joint.
- Tingling and Numbness – Tingling and numbness indicate a nerve injury or nerve irritation.
- Redness – Inflammation, allergy, infection, or abrasion can result in redness.
- Confusion or Headaches – Mild head trauma can cause a concussion. Symptoms include confusion, inability to concentrate, minor memory loss, dizziness, irritability, and nausea.
Causes
Poor training and practice, sudden impacts, an accident, improper or incorrect use of equipment, or insufficient stretching and warmups can result in a sports injury. Some common sports injuries include a torn ligament or tendon, head injury, muscle strains and sprains, and dislocated joints. Playing sports can cause some of the following sports injuries:
- Concussion
- Labral shoulder tear or rotator cuff tear
- Lateral epicondylitis or tennis elbow and medial epicondylitis or golfer’s elbow
- Wrist fractures
- Jammed finger, swelling of finger, and finger joint dislocation
- Lumbar strains or low back muscle strain
- Hip and groin strains such as labral tears and femoroacetabular impingement (FAI)
- Muscle strain, tear or pull in the quadriceps, hamstrings, and adductor muscles
- Patellofemoral pain syndrome or anterior knee pain
- Ankle sprain
- Plantar fasciitis
Diagnosis
We diagnose, examine, and then deduce to create the best sports performance treatment plans.
At Specialized Physical Therapy, we can identify and diagnose your sports injury as acute or chronic by performing a physical examination.
The physical examination is divided into three steps:
- Consultation: Our physical therapist takes your medical history and information. They ask questions regarding the incident and symptoms experienced in the aftermath.
- Examination: The physical therapist will palpate the affected area to determine your pain or tenderness level. After that, you will be instructed to move the injured area so that we can assess the range of movement
- Treatment: After performing a physical examination, we will create a sports performance treatment and exercise program. The primary goal would be to eliminate the symptoms related to your sports injury and prepare you to return to your sport.
If you are receiving treatment after surgery, your physical therapist will follow your doctor’s rehab protocol and work closely with them to ensure your recovery and goals are met. On the other hand, if you have a sudden, acute injury, and are seeking sports physical therapy, you can receive treatment without a doctor’s prescription – this is called Direct Access.
Treatment and Exercises
Specialized Physical Therapy will start sports performance training once your doctor clears you. Our physical therapists will create a tailored sports therapy program to help you return to playing sports. Before you can return to your sport, we will perform several tests to confirm you can safely play.
Your journey to successfully recovering from your sports injury is incomplete without the state-of-art Neubie device. Neubie is for injury rehabilitation, reducing pain, and improving performance. This unique tool gives your muscles a rigorous workout by optimizing the function of the injured muscle. When you train with Neubie, one exercise session equals numerous traditional workouts. We use the Neubie with strategic mobility drills, large doses of various movements, and neurological re-education.
The device trains your muscles to become more flexible and absorb force. Neuromuscular stimulation improves the function of your nervous and musculoskeletal systems, your speed, and your strength.
If you want to get back in the game and need sports physical therapy, contact us at 201-773-8851 or email us HERE.