Sports Physiotherapy
These days, so many of us are health-conscious and active that it’s not just professional athletes who rely on physiotherapists to help them recover from a range of common sports-related injuries.
Sports physiotherapy is now one of the most frequently accessed types of therapy in Canada. Inspine Therapy operates two locations – a physiotherapy clinic in Port Moody and a physiotherapy clinic in Coquitlam, where highly trained teams help many patients from all walks of life speed up their recovery time and get back on the track, field, or in the gym again after a sports injury.
What is Sports Physiotherapy, and what can I expect?
Sports physiotherapists in Coquitlam and Port Moody diagnose and treat a broad range of conditions from sprains and strains to fractured bones and soft tissue injuries. In most cases, after any problem, promptly seeing a sports physio will reduce downtime and avoid the risk of pain becoming chronic. If ice and rest don’t help after a day or two, it might be time to book an appointment at your local physiotherapy clinic.
Specifically, sports physiotherapists treat injuries that happen during athletic activity. When you visit our physiotherapy clinic in Port Moody or Coquitlam, your therapist will start by performing a thorough assessment to determine the cause and severity of your problem and begin developing a custom treatment plan. Physios have several targets at the start of any course of treatment, and they’ll differ according to your condition.
Typically, at the outset, they’ll look to reduce painful symptoms so they can work on getting you back to normal activities using a range of options, including massage therapy, manual treatments, and carefully designed exercises. Most of that will be in the form of regular appointments, but your physiotherapist may also recommend activities and exercises you can perform between sessions.
Sports physiotherapists can turn to a range of treatments and techniques to get you back on your feet, including:
- Muscle reconditioning
- Movement education
- Acupuncture
- Electrotherapy or dry needling
- Activity-specific exercises
- Bracing or taping of affected areas
- Manual therapy
Sports physiotherapists don’t just concentrate on reacting to injuries; they have in-depth knowledge about risks and problems associated with specific sports and activities and provide advice and recommendations aimed at avoiding future issues. That might extend to modifying your gait, movement, and the type of exercises and training you perform.
Sports physios in Coquitlam and Port Moody may also provide advice about nutrition and nutritional supplements that can help your body cope with specific activities and sports in order to protect against the possibility of future similar or associated injuries.
Sports physiotherapists often devise fully-customized exercise programs that are designed to help patients maintain their physical health and conditioning without affecting an existing and ongoing injury. Such treatment may be accompanied by specific muscle strengthening exercises and stretching that promote the return of normal mobility. Sports physiotherapists can also provide expert advice about equipment, orthotic devices, bracing, and footwear that can protect against future problems like knee ligament injuries.
What conditions do sports physiotherapists treat?
Sports physiotherapists often deal with concussions acquired in contact sports as well as a myriad of different soft tissue injuries, broken bones, and sprains and strains.
They deal with many different muscle injuries that occur during typical sporting exertions and competitions and are particularly adept at addressing both recurring and one-off problems, such as:
- Whiplash and other neck injuries
- Foot injuries like metatarsal damage
- Dislocations
- Strains and sprains
- Herniated discs
- Fractured Ribs
- Hand and wrist problems
- Injuries to the Achilles tendon
- Arthritis
- Ankle Sprains
- Groin Injuries
- Lower back pain and injuries
- Tendonitis
- Knee injuries and ACL problems
- Plantar fasciitis
- Heel spurs
- Rotator cuff injuries
- Tennis elbow
- Golfer’s elbow
Sports Physiotherapy in Port Moody and Coquitlam
In many cases, injuries acquired on the sports field just need a bit of time, rest, and home treatment to heal. In other instances, however, not getting prompt, expert attention can cause an injury to worsen, and treatment is essential for a normal recovery.
Because of the rough and tumble nature of many sports and the fact activities can exert enormous pressures on the human body, many sports injuries can become highly debilitating if they get ignored – and that can lead to all sorts of problems with ongoing pain and a lack of fitness.
It’s never a bad idea to visit a sports physio in Coquitlam or Port Moody if you’ve encountered a problem on the field that’s causing you a noticeable amount of pain or immobility, and it hasn’t diminished after a day or two.
The faster your physio performs an assessment and prescribes appropriate treatment, the quicker you’ll be back to the sport you enjoy. Getting help is quick and easy – just talk with our team by calling 604-936-8288 or make an appointment online.