Sports Medicine is a branch of medicine dedicated to treating sports related injuries in athletes and people with active lifestyles. People who are physically active are at a higher risk for developing overuse injuries, broken bones, joint dysfunction, and muscle/tendon strains or tears.
The primary goal of Sports Medicine is to heal injury, provide pain relief and prevent injuries. At ActiveCare Physical Therapy, our Physical Therapists provide patients with information to avoid sports injuries as well as non-surgical treatment options to obtain recovery and achieve functional goals.
We also offer pre- and postsurgical therapy. Our goal is to maximize your functional performance prior to surgery. Even if you cannot return to 100% function, we want you to perform as close to your potential as possible. We will show you the correct body mechanics to prevent re-injury and keep active.
Knee Injuries
Knee injuries cause pain, swelling, limited mobility and decrease ability to walk or perform functional tasks. Often it can be treated with non-surgical treatments such as physical therapy. The most common knee injuries include knee sprains, meniscal tears, ligament tears (ACL and MCL), knee fractures, knee bursitis, knee tendonitis and runner’s knee (patellefemoral syndrome).
Shoulder Injuries
Shoulder injuries are common among athletes and activities that require repetitive use of the shoulders or overhead movements. Shoulder pain, shoulder stiffness and difficulty raising your arm are symptoms commonly experienced by people with shoulder injuries including rotator cuff tears, dislocated shoulder, shoulder impingement and general shoulder pain.
Back Injuries
Back Injuries are extremely common and can affect the discs, vertebrae, muscles and tissue around the spine. There are many different types of back injuries that cause back pain. Common back injuries include back muscle sprains or strains, herniated discs, stenosis, arthritis, lower back pain and mid to upper back pain.
Tennis Elbow
Tennis elbow, or lateral epicondylitis, is an overuse injury of the elbow that cause outer elbow pain and forearm pain, commonly seen in tennis players and people who overuse their forearms. Tennis elbow affects the muscles and the tendons that attach the forearm to your elbow but can be treated with non-surgically with physical therapy.
Golfer’s Elbow
Similar to tennis elbow, golfer’s elbow (medial epicondylitis) is an injury of the elbow that causes pain in the inside of your elbow as opposed to the outside. While golfers are prone to this condition, golfer’s elbow can affect anyone if enough strain is put on the forearm. Physical therapy and interventional pain management are often effective treatments.
Plantar Fasciitis
Plantar fasciitis is a common cause of foot pain and heel pain. Injury to the plantar fascia can be caused by overuse, a sports injury, over-exercising or standing for long periods of time. The plantar fascia is the main tissue that supports your foot. Injuries to the plantar fascia are most commonly plantar fascia tears, plantar fascia ruptures or ligament sprains.
At ActiveCare Physical Therapy treatments for sports injuries include:
- Active Release Techniques
- Dry Needling
- State-of-the-art Modalities and Exercise Equipment
- Advanced Manual Therapy Techniques
- Sport-specific Biomedical Evaluations
- Evidence-based Functional Training Programs
- Effective Communication Between Physicians, Coaches, Patients and Parents to Optimize the Recovery Process
