28 Jan What is Sportscare?

What Is Sportscare?

For an athlete, the worst possible thing, but probably the most common to deal with are injuries. After suffering from a minor injury or a more serious one that may require surgery, the main goal on every athletes mind is how quickly they can get back on the field. Sportscare is a sector of physical therapy that sets up a specific plan to cater to the needs of the athlete. The goal in mind for sportscare is to help increase mobility and function as well as keeping pain at a minimum.

Sportscare uses a combination of manual therapy and modalities to optimize the results of the athlete. Manual therapy or manipulative therapy consists of three parts: manipulation, mobilization and massage. Manipulation is often the most painful part because its main goal is to break down the gas bubbles that are in the specific joints. Following manipulation, a therapist will use mobilization. The main purpose of mobilization is to increase flexibility through soft tissue stretching. Massage is the final step of manual therapy where the therapist rubs or kneads at the target area to absorb swelling or decrease spasms in the muscles.

Along with the the manual therapy a therapist would use modalities. The goal of this process is to strengthen and heal the muscles. A therapist can use a variety of modalities to help a patient depending on their injury. Common modalities are hot packs, cold packs, ultrasound, electrical stimulation and biofeedback, and all of these processes work together along with the manual therapy.

Therapists very often give you specific exercises to do at home in your own time to enhance your results and sport performance. If you are suffering from a sports related injury and your main goal is to get back to playing as soon as possible see a physical therapist and work on getting a sportscare plan set up so you can be back on the field in no time!

Lake Country Physical Therapy & Sportscare PC offers the very best physical therapy in Ontario County. We treat all your wants and needs with our trusted and experienced Physical Therapists and staff. To begin to feel pain and stress free, start your Physical Therapy journey today and schedule your evaluation by calling (585) 396-1400.