Sports Therapy
Sports Therapy
Hands-on therapy combined with exercise rehabilitation
Sports Therapists are highly-skilled allied health professionals who use a combination of hands-on treatment and comprehensive exercise programmes to maximise their patients’ outcomes.
Applying the principles of sport & exercise science, Sports Therapists can not only help you recover from pain or injury sustained whilst training or competing but also when related to social or work-related activities.
What Do Sports Therapists Treat?
Although Sports Therapists are best known for their treatment of sports injuries, the scope of their expertise stretches considerably wider. They treat a wide-range of work and general life-related problems, just like our osteopaths – for example:
Who can benefit from Sports Therapy?
Almost anyone can benefit from Sports Therapy if they are suffering with pain or injury. The list of people that our Sports Therapists treat include: elite athletes, recreational athletes, fun-runners, tradespeople, farmers, office workers and even fellow health professionals!
How do Sports Therapists work?
Sports Therapists work with their patients to help them find a pathway back to health by reducing their pain and helping them regain optimal levels of functional movement or sporting fitness.
The types of techniques sports therapists use include soft tissue release, soft tissue therapy, joint mobilisation, taping/strapping and exercise therapy.
How does Sports Therapy differ from Physiotherapy?
Sports Therapists and Physiotherapists are both highly-skilled healthcare professionals who have undertaken a 3-year degree at university.
Practitioners in both professions help manage musculoskeletal disorders – by diagnosing and treating pain and injury through hands-on treatment, rehabilitation and patient education.
The main difference between the two professions is that Physiotherapists have a wider scope of practice due to their work in the rehabilitation of the more ‘medical’ conditions – such as stroke, heart disease and respiratory problems – whereas Sports Therapists focus solely on the management of musculoskeletal problems.
What qualifications do Sports Therapists have?
Our Sports Therapists are all educated to degree level and have all completed a minimum of 100 clinical hours as part of their 3-year Bachelors of Science degree.
What can I expect at my consultation?
Your initial consultation with a Sports Therapist will start with them taking a detailed account of your current problem along with any relevant medical history.
This is generally followed by a physical examination including functional movements and specific clinical tests if needed.
Once a diagnosis has been made and discussed with you, the Sports Therapist will guide you through their recommended treatment plan.
Although the initial consultation often involves treatment this is not always the case and is dependent on the complexity of your problem. Getting to the roots of the problem and forming a management plan are the prime objectives of the initial consultation.
Also, if your practitioner feels that you require further investigations prior to the formation of any management or treatment plan then they will advise on referring you to the appropriate place or person.
How many appointments will I need?
The number of sessions required with the sports therapist will depend on a number of factors including the severity of the injury/problem, how long you have been suffering with it and what your aims and expectations are in terms of activity.
Although it is difficult to say how may appointments you will need, most problems tend to resolve within 4-6 visits.
Would you like to know more?
Contact us now to book a FREE 15-minute chat with one of our therapists to see if Sports Therapy may be something that would benefit you.
Need help? Call us on 01354 694050 or book online here