Athletes do a variety of things to keep their bodies working at an elite level. Even if you are an amateur athlete, mobility and function are important. One of the things that sports enthusiasts partake in is physical therapy, as it not only helps improve athletic abilities, but it also assists with injury recovery. Whether you play team or individual sports, physical therapy has numerous benefits, and it makes sense to check out the best physical therapists near Austin TX.
Increase Mobility and Flexibility
Full range of motion and flexibility are important for all types of sports and general movement. Various things, such as age, medical conditions, stiff muscles, and injuries, can limit mobility which, in turn, affect flexibility. One of the things that sports physical therapy treatment does is relieve stiff muscles. As athletes are constantly using and taxing their muscles, stiffness is common, especially if there are imbalances in the body.
Working out on stiff muscles increases the chances of injury, and it impedes athletic performance. The goal of sports therapy is to increase mobility and flexibility so that athletes have better:
- Endurance
- Strength
- Coordination
- Speed and explosiveness
- Balance
- Agility
Depending on the individual, sport played, and the specific issues, a physical therapist may do a combination of treatments to help improve function. One is manual therapy, which includes myofascial release, joint mobilization, trigger point therapy, and muscle strengthening techniques.
Therapeutic exercises are often part of physical therapy. Unlike exercises designed to strengthen muscles or improve endurance, therapeutic ones focus on gently stretching tight and stiff muscles to improve flexibility and stabilization.
Another part of sports physical therapy may be ergonomic training regimens. These focus on moves or postures of specific sports and train the athlete on how to do them correctly so that they do not overwork or injure muscles.
Recover from Sports Injury Effectively
Injuries are common in athletes, and physical therapy is the perfect way to recover quickly. Injuries affect various parts of the body, including soft tissues and nerves. To help a PT determine the best treatment and therapies for recovery, he or she may use nerve physical therapy. This allows the physical therapist to work not only on healing the muscles and joints, but also the nerves supplying these.
Pain management techniques are often a part of early treatment. These may include hot or cold therapies, massage therapy, electrical stimulation, ultrasound therapy, or intersegmental traction. Once the pain is manageable or gone, the physical therapist can then focus on improving the function of the injured area. This often includes a variety of hands-on therapies as well as strengthening exercises.
Athletes hate taking time off to heal from an injury, and they may try to rush through physical therapy. However, if they return to extreme workouts too quickly, the injury is more than likely going to return and become chronic. If athletes take the time to heal and recover, and they do the exercises prescribed by their physical therapists, they will be able to fully recover and return to their sport ready to perform.
