Getting Back to Sport With a Sports Rehab Program

As a New Yorker you know what it's like to hit the daily grind of the city and how necessary it is to have an outlet for your energy (and maybe even the frustration you didn't get to let out in your day full of back-to-back meetings...). Sports, even if you're not a pro, are a huge part of staying healthy, physically fit, and even maintaining your sanity. New York City is stressful enough without letting an injury keep you from your sport of choice. 

If (or when...) you do find yourself injured from your sport, whether you're a weekend warrior, a novice, or a professional, the rehabilitation program you follow should offer two things. 

First of all, it's always helpful to go to a physical therapist who understands your passion for your sport of choice and will be committed to help you get back to the game even better than you were before. As an office of former professional cyclists, gymnasts, dancers, soccer players, and gym rats Sloane Stecker has a wealth of knowledge in getting you back to your game with a vengeance (you gotta get let steam off somewhere, right?) and making sure you'll be able to gain strength around the weak areas that caused the injury in the first place. This means your exercises will both help you regain basic movement AND prepare you to return to your sport. 

Next, you'll want to find an office with a strong commitment to excellent manual therapy. Did you know it only take a certain (very small) amount of manual pressure to tear a muscle fibre? This is the kind of thing you want to be aware of when you go in to work with a physical therapist and absolutely something you want your therapist to practice. Sports massage will be very different from manual therapy with a physical therapy professional. You might be used to lots of pressure and attention to knots and trigger points, but when you're working on a sports rehab program you'll want to find a therapist who works with a lot more precision and focus on the areas of your body that have become tight from overcompensating for your weaknesses. Find a therapist who knows by their touch exactly how much pressure they are giving in their manual therapy, it's a skill that shouldn't be overlooked. 

Finally, as we've mentioned with so many things before, prevention is always preferable to rehab. If you feel like there are small pains you're consistently taking advil for it is a good idea to sign up for some preventative sport or personal training. We've all been in games where someone pivots on a weak knee and an ACL snaps, leaving your teammate (or opponent) down for the count. What if the player had taken a few sessions with a professional to evaluate their biomechanics and assess weakness in muscle structure or movement patterns? They could be going to a championship game instead of the emergency room. It seems like a simple choice, but most people just reach for the pain killers and ignore warning signs from their body that it needs to repattern movement, strengthen weak muscles, and stretch ones that have become tight from overcompensation.  

In short, find a physical therapy office that is dedicated to get you back to sport because they know how important competitive sports (of any level) are from personal experience. They'll understand the drive to get back to your game and will design the most effective sports rehab program to get you moving again, better than before. Work with therapists who understand the fine art of manual therapy, it'll do wonders in your recovery. If you're really committed to your sport of choice, come in for some personal training. It might just be the thing that keeps you in the game.