Why Athletes Need Sports Physical Therapy in Napa County, CA

Physical therapy helps thousands of children, adults and elderly people minimize pain and recover from major injuries and surgery each day. Physical therapy operates under a wide umbrella and has many specific specialties to best serve different types of people. One such specialty is sports physical therapy.

Athletes put their bodies at risk every day with rigorous training, competitive play and repetitive movements. Many athletes suffer from injuries, with even more working to minimize pain that might lead to injury. This is why athletes should consider physical therapy—more specifically, sports physical therapy in Napa County, CA.

The dedicated specialty of sports physical therapy provides numerous benefits to athletes while helping them stay true to their passion for the sport. Here’s how athletes benefit when they work with a physical therapist who understands sports therapy.

Injury prevention

For athletes, an injury could cost them the rest of the season and even put their entire future with the sport at risk. This is why many athletes turn to sports physical therapists to work on injury prevention, rather than injury rehabilitation.

Physical therapists understand the common injuries associated with each sport. A soccer player puts a lot of stress on their knees, while softball players tend to have more issues in their shoulders. By focusing on problem areas where athletes’ bodies may be compensating or have higher risk of injury, physical therapists can help them build their strength and agility while minimizing the risk of getting hurt on the field.

Improve mobility

Sports physical therapy in Napa County, CA can also help athletes improve their overall performance in their sport. Many physical therapy exercises are aimed at full-body wellness and strength.

Therapy can also greatly improve mobility, particularly in problem areas for athletes like the shoulders, knees and ankles.

Get back to what they love

Avoiding injury forever is nearly impossible, particularly for higher-level athletes, and surgery or rehabilitation may be necessary at one point or another. While normal physical therapy is also aimed at strengthening the area of injury and returning it to its proper functionality, sports physical therapy takes it a step further, preparing the injured athlete to return to their former glory on the field.

Sports physical therapists can build in exercises related to the patient’s sport that help them gauge the athlete’s performance and readiness to return to the field. By placing this additional emphasis on the demands of the sport, both the therapists and the athlete will better understand their progress and comfort with certain required movements.

Finally, sports physical therapy aims to help athletes recover as fully as possible, as quickly as possible. While no athlete wants to sit on the sidelines for months, returning to the sport too quickly can cause more damage. With specialized treatment designed for the athlete and their sport, the athlete can be sure they are ready before they step back up to the plate.

Are you an athlete starting to notice the bodily effects of your sport? Give Focus Forward Wellness & Physical Therapy a call. For over a decade, our licensed physical therapists have offered a whole-person approach to wellness, serving athletes of all kinds with our tailored sports physical therapy in Napa County, CA. Call us today to learn more about our services!

Categorised in: Sports Physical Therapy

This post was written by Writer