If you have pain from an injury or have recently had surgery, your doctor may send you to Summit physical therapy for rehabilitative treatment. Depending on what caused your injury, your doctor may send you to a regular physical therapist. However, if you are an athlete and your injury affects your ability to perform in your preferred sport, your doctor may send you specifically to a sports physical therapist.
What Do Sports Physical Therapists Do?
Sports physical therapists start out the same way as regular physical therapists, receiving the same training and learning the same techniques. However, before a sports physical therapist says, “I am going to look for physical therapy jobs near me” more training is necessary.
The job of a physical therapist is to help patients rehabilitate injuries and return them to normal function so that they can perform activities of daily living. A sports physical therapist works specifically with athletes with the goal of returning them to sports-specific conditions. If you are an athlete, you demand a lot more from your body than non-athletes do. A sports physical therapist receives special training to be able to help athletes specifically.
Even if you don’t have an injury, a sports physical therapist may be able to help you. With the therapist’s help, you can train your body to be more resilient to prevent injury.
A sports physical therapist may work alongside regular physical therapists at a Redmond physical therapy clinic. However, because they work primarily with athletes, sports physical therapists may work for specific teams. If your team has a sports physical therapist on staff, that individual may attend practices and even travel with the team to be able to help you whenever needed.
Why Should I Get One?
Working with a sports physical therapist offers many potential benefits if you are an athlete. For example, a sports physical therapist may be able to help you improve your endurance by having you do cardio exercises that help your heart and lungs work more effectively.
A sports physical therapist may be able to help you increase the flexibility of your joints. More flexibility can help you prevent injuries. It can also improve your performance, especially if you are a gymnast or a swimmer.
As an athlete, you put more stress on your body than the average non-athlete does. Strengthening your body helps it to be able to withstand this stress more effectively. As with increased flexibility, this can help you avoid injury and could help your performance in certain sports, such as boxing or weightlifting.
While exercises to increase strength and flexibility can make you more resilient, sports injuries can still happen. Because of the stress that athletics puts on your body, sports injuries can be more severe than other orthopedic injuries. A sports physical therapist can assess your condition and develop a rehabilitative physical therapy program. In some cases, you may be able to recover from your injury and get back to playing without surgery.
If surgery is necessary, sports physical therapy may help you get back to your pre-injury condition more quickly after the operation. Ask your treating physician to refer you to a sports physical therapist.
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