Sports injuries can cause athletes to not only miss a game or a season but the future opportunity in their sport. Today more and more athletes are starting a sport at a younger age and therefore making them susceptible to injuries. We are also seeing more athletes playing the same sport all year around. Research is showing the benefit of playing more than one sport throughout the year to help athletes become well rounded in their abilities and prevent injuries. Once an athlete reaches a semi-professional or professional level training becomes integrated with the whole body to reduce injury. In today’s professional athletic world more physical therapists are stepping in to help them reach the next level and reduce future injuries. In 1981, APTA Delegated the approval of Sports Physical Therapists, and today more professional sports teams are using Physical Therapists on the side lines and not just Athletic Trainers to improve Athletic outcomes. To name a few places physical therapists work with professional athletes include: NFL, NBA, USA Swimmers, Universities, and Private Professional Athletes. According to the APTA, a Physical Therapist is described as a “Functional Movement Specialist” and in this case, one who works in sports medicine. Sports medicine is a process of correcting cross trained patterns in the body and improving the athletes’ ability to handle their body in all plans of movement. At 1st Classen Physical Therapy™ we address sports related injuries and deficits with up-to-date research & skills, years of clinician experience, holistic treatment across multiple joints, and a plan of care (aka “POC”) monitored by a Doctor in Physical Therapy. We do this by looking at the athletic issues from a movement standpoint not a static position. Whereas some clinics only treat that one body part and not the muscles moving across multiple joints and how that affects the persons’ ability to play the sport. This allows us to make gains towards the athletes’ goals. We improve and prepare athletes for football, baseball, basketball, track, swim, volleyball, dance, golf, and more. Our outcomes are 56%-85% better than the national average according to Webpt® National Average Outcomes 2023. We attribute this to our seasoned and educated therapists, who always improve themselves and therefore their patients. This specialized branch of medicine focuses on the prevention, diagnosis, rehabilitation, and treatment of injuries in order to heal the athletes, both amateur and professional. Our goal is always to seek previous levels of function and move past them to improve outcomes. The athlete should return to the sport stronger, faster, and more capable of playing without recurring injury after therapy. 1st Classen Physical Therapy™ sports medicine techniques include learning to fall without injury, improving coordination, single leg balance, increasing reflexes, rapid movement patterns, run jump assessments, and how to use the core more effectively. We also assess stance position per sport & goal, foot work, and overall body strength improvement for combining not just the injured areas but looking at the joints above and below in regards to movement. On evaluation day at 1st Classen Physical Therapy™, the patient will receive a holistic evaluation with a Doctors of Physical Therapy who then follows their POC til discharge. The POC includes finding any imbalance in range of motion, strength, posture, form, and active movement testing. Athletic injuries can range from sprains (ligaments), strains (muscles), fractures, tendinitis, and neuromuscular involvement in which we find and address the issue to increase the athletes performance. The treatment plan will be specific for the certain diagnosis of each patient, the patient’s motivation level and skill level. The visits following the evaluation at 1st Classen Physical Therapy™ focus on muscle/tissue recovery and repair, making sure there is no active or passive insufficiency in muscle length and use, strengthening, functional capacity movement training, biomechanics, and returning to sports protocols. 1st Classen Physical Therapy POC Techniques include:
Graston®
Dry Needle
Fascial Release (running or sustained)
FRWM®
Mobilization
Mulligan Concept™
MWM
McKenzie Method
Schroth Method
O’Sullivan PNF Techniques
Stretching
Strengthening
Tools used: bosu, agility ladder, nmes, wedge, balls, weights, cones, and more
Neuromuscular techniques
Coordination
Agility
Balance
Form
Multi Joint biomechanics
Functional Movement Muscles Together in Different Planes
All of this is done so the athlete can return to plyometrics at a higher performance in their sport with full speed and full power. 1st Classen Physical Therapy™ we believe in teamwork to make change happen. Any patient coming to our office is encouraged to have the Coaching Staff connect with the Physical Therapists for continuity of treatment, discuss any precautions for the athlete and timeframe for POC. This can also include anything the Coaching Staff would like to see improve for the athlete. We also communicate regularly with the referring physician or sports medicine doctor. Come see us today at 1st Classen Physical Therapy™. We will be with you every step of the way in your recovery and here after you are better and well, available for future needs if they arise. Let us be part of your journey returning to your sport and activity! For a full list of services please see our services page or call us at 281-435-5732 or email: frontdesk@1stclassenpt.com. Article By: Keiren Maglaqui, PT, PTA and Dr. Kristen Classen, PT, DPT, McP Published: 07/15/23 Resources Mike Boyle. (2010). Advances in Functional Training: Techniques for Coaches, Personal Trainers, & Athletes. On Target Publications. Jonathan T. Finnoff, D., & Mark A. Harrast, M. (2017). Sports Medicine : Study Guide and Review for Boards: Vol. Second edition. Demos Medical. APTA®. July 15, 2023. https://specialization.apta.org/become-a-specialist/sports Dr. Hernandez, Jon. Life as an NFL Physical Therapist. The Prehab Guys. July 15, 2023. https://theprehabguys.com/podcast/life-as-a-nfl-physical-therapist-with-dr-jon-hernandez/ Webpt®. July 15, 2023. https://www.webpt.com/