Sports Therapy or sports physical treatment is a special area of medical, physical treatment that focuses on both acute, treatable, and chronic injuries in competitive, professional, college, junior high school, and recreational athletics. There are many types of athletic injuries, but most can be treated as follows: muscle injuries, tendonitis, ligament injuries, joint injuries, bursitis, and sports hernia. Different sports have different unique characteristics of their injuries. Each injury requires a unique style of treatment.
One area that sports therapy emphasizes is the prevention and treatment of traumatic injuries. The most common injuries in the physical fitness professions are those to the lower limb, such as falling and sports-related car accidents. Sports related accidents often include a requirement for rapid intervention because of the gravity of the impact. Traumatic injuries are diagnosed through a thorough physical examination and a detailed history of the patient's symptoms. Initial management usually includes conservative treatments such as rest, ice, heat, and exercise.
The goal of therapy and rehabilitation is to reduce pain, limit or eliminate disability, improve function, and return the athlete to sport as quickly as possible. The treatments used by sports therapists often combine conservative care with corrective measures to restore balance, strength, speed, agility, endurance, and sports skill. Sports therapy also may include physical education activities and stress management techniques to prevent overuse injuries. Athletes that suffer from torn rotator cuff muscles, tendonitis, shoulder impingement, or bursitis may need to undergo a program of rehabilitative exercises, stretching exercises, and strengthening exercises.
Different types of rehabilitation techniques are used by sports therapy and rehabilitation specialists. These include e.g., cortisone injections, physical reconditioning, electrotherapy, manual resistance training, anti-inflammatories, and anti-aging therapy. Certain medications may also be prescribed to help reduce pain and improve function of the shoulder and arm while patients recover from their injury. In e.g., nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), corticosteroids, and pain medications may be prescribed to help manage pain and inflammation, respectively.
While both sports therapy and rehabilitation involve treating athletic injuries, they operate in different fields of healthcare. They use different techniques, often working together to develop a program of treatment designed to restore a patient's function and prevent further injury. Although patients can choose which physiotherapy and rehabilitation technique(s) they want to pursue, there are key differences between the two professions. For instance, sports therapy professionals cannot administer drugs, perform invasive physiotherapy, or use devices during the recovery phase. As such, they have a more hands-on approach, meaning they do not need to complete a degree in physiotherapy first.
Sports physiotherapists are allowed to participate in physical therapy in the event a patient has suffered an injury that restricts their movements. In most situations, they will start with a walker and perform exercises in this order until the patient is able to stand on her own. Once they feel comfortable enough to go into a clinic or hospital setting, physical therapists will introduce patients to medicine balls, resistance equipment, TENS (transcutaneous electronic nerve stimulation), and other therapeutic items. Most physical therapies are supervised by a physical therapist, who is an approved training school for medical students. A doctor is usually involved to ensure that the patient's injury is progressing safely and that the chosen therapy plan is being followed correctly. A sports therapist may not be involved in providing medical care. Read more about Elite Spine and Health Center.
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