Athletic Therapy

Athletic
Therapy

Participating in sports is an essential part of a healthy life­. It helps improve your heart health, improves your breathing, and is an excellent way to build and maintain muscular strength. However, there are risks associated with taking part in sporting activities. You can easily make the wrong move, trip and fall, or collide with someone else and, as a result, get injured.

Have you suffered from a sports-related injury? Working with an athletic therapist at Movéo Sport & Rehabilitation Centre can help improve your physical function.

At Movéo Sport & Rehabilitation Centre, our goal is to help patients achieve optimal health and performance potential by providing comprehensive and innovative rehabilitation and sport-specific training. Our athletic therapists are highly skilled and trained to help you return to the activities you love.

What is athletic therapy?

Athletic therapy focuses on the prevention and immediate relief of musculoskeletal injuries (injuries involving the muscles, bones, and joints). The treatment follows a sports medicine rehabilitation model to manage injuries sustained during sporting activities, recreation, occupational activities, and daily activities.

Athletic therapy is a profession governed by the Canadian Athletic Therapists Association (CATA). For one to become an athletic therapist, one must first earn a degree from a registered institution. They must then complete an internship and complete at least 1200 hours of practical experience under the supervision of a certified athletic therapist. A certification candidate must then pass a comprehensive written exam and a practical exam covering all the components of athletic therapy’s scope of practice. After completing all the requirements, qualified candidates will receive certification from CATA.

How can an
athletic therapist help you

Athletic therapists assess injuries and utilizevarioustreatment methodsto ensure quick healing and a fast return to physical activities. Throughout their careers, athletic therapists must keep current with first responder training and continually complete professional development courses to stay updated with advancements in the field.

Athletic therapistsare trained to find the root cause of an injury to minimize the risks of re-injury and future injuries.They can help with injury prevention, immediate care and continuous rehabilitation.

Injury prevention

For an athletic therapist, facilitation of injury prevention includes:

  • Postural and musculoskeletal evaluation
  • Warm-ups
  • Equipment selection
  • Conditioning programs
  • Fitting and repair
  • Supportive and prophylactic taping
  • Exercises to helpindividuals adapt to the environment, activity, and facilities

Immediate care

Athletic therapists act as first responders. The immediate care that an athletic therapist provides includes:

  • Injury assessment
  • Recognition and management of acute traumatic neurological dysfunction
  • Provision of first aid
  • Basic emergency life support
  • Preparation for admission into an appropriate health care delivery system
  • Utilization of methods that facilitate a safe return to participation, where appropriate

Rehabilitation
of injuries

Athletic therapists focus on providing acute and chronic injury management. The rehabilitative treatment that a certified athletic therapist provides includes assessment of conditions and injuries and the use of:

  • Therapeutic modalities
  • Modern rehabilitative techniques
  • Soft tissue mobilization
  • Physical reconditioning
  • Supportive strapping methods

These techniques help promote a conducive environment for optimal healing in preparing the patient for safe reintegration into their former active lifestyle.

Who should see
an athletic therapist?

Athletic therapists have a sports-centric background and focus solely on musculoskeletal rehabilitation, making their treatment ideal foranyone looking to return to athletics and other physical activities following an injury. Professional athletes looking for help with injury prevention could also benefit from regular sessions with an athletic therapist.

If you were injured during physical activity and are searching for an athletic therapist in Walnut Grove, give us a call today to learn more about our services or book an appointment online.