Dozens of sports are played by Melbournians every day. It’s a great way to stay fit, healthy and have fun. However, if you’re confronted with a sports injury, it can hinder your routine and performance. Unfortunately, injuries can strike anyone, whether you’re a high performing athlete or if you just engage in low key activities.

Sports physiotherapists have specialised training in order to treat athletes who are more prone to injury due to the high intensity of the sports they play. A sports physiotherapist can provide tailored training plans for an athlete’s upcoming sports events, treat sports related injuries or provide hands on treatment to maximise performance and prevent injury.

Benefits of Sports Physiotherapy

1.    Immediate Relief of Pain

A sports injury physio can provide immediate pain relief by providing treatment for pain, depending on the nature of the injury. This can include providing hot or cold packs, taping certain areas of the body, hands on treatment or dry needling which can ease or relieve muscular tension. Sports physiotherapists are knowledgeable in their treatment, which allows them to assess and target the source of pain.

2.    Prevent Injury

Regular visits to a sports physiotherapist is an essential part of keeping healthy for athletes. They can assess current movement and identify areas of weakness or minor inflammation which could otherwise have led to injury. They can assist with building up strength appropriate for the sports being undertaken, and in this way can prevent injury from occurring in the first place, something all athletes wish to avoid.

3.    Tailored Treatment Plans – to specific clients

A sports injury physio will design a focused training plan specific to the client or athlete’s areas of weakness and can make adjustments for current or previous injury limitations. A sports physio works one-on-one to develop and challenge an athlete’s limitations, whilst building the strength of ligaments, joints, bones and muscles, in order to improve their performance. A tailored treatment plan helps an athlete to reach their full potential.

4.    Promotes Relaxation

Having a healthy body can lead to a happier and healthier individual, making a well-rounded sports person. Hands on treatment by a sports physiotherapist is also effective in relaxing muscular tension. Assistance from a qualified physiotherapist gives a sports person peace of mind knowing they are in the best possible hands for their sports needs or injury management.

5. Injury Treatment

A sports injury cannot always be prevented and unfortunately it occurs to many athletes from time to time. Drawing from their vast knowledge from their training and experience, sports physiotherapists can assist with achieving a faster rate of recovery from injury and improve healing time by providing specific exercises and treatment. The types of treatments depend on the injury and its severity, as well as the physio’s knowledge of the individual.

6.Unexpected Benefits – Cardiopulmonary Training

In addition to hands on treatment and exercises, physiotherapists can also provide assistance with cardiopulmonary training to enhance cardio fitness. This practice is a beneficial tool for athletes wanting to improve endurance, breathing and build their fitness.

7.    Muscle & Joint Flexibility

Increasing muscle and joint flexibility is a key component of treatment with a sports physiotherapist. Improved flexibility results from the exercises performed

Sports physiotherapy has come a very long way since its beginning in the nineteenth century. Before the last century, physiotherapy was seen by many as being outside the realm of science. It took real scientific investigation and efforts of sport physiotherapists to show there are real benefits and scientific methods behind sports physiotherapy.

Thankfully in more recent years the public continues to learn about and enjoy the many benefits of sports physiotherapy. With the aid of sports physiotherapy many conditions and injuries can be improved or assisted to heal even faster. For example, physiotherapy can be invaluable in training an individual to compensate for issues such as irregular muscle tone, as well as more pronounced or longer term challenges like amputated limbs.

Growing public acceptance of sports physiotherapy has made real relief and improvement in performance a reality for millions of people. From working out stretching and other physical sports physiotherapies, to more focused therapy like cryotherapy for treatment of soft tissue injuries, the benefits of physiotherapy are many.

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