"I don’t do much sport, can I still see a sports therapist?"
Here at the Horsham Sports Injury Clinic this is one of the most common questions we get asked by new patients, and absolutely YES! Despite our job title initially suggesting to some that we can only treat high level athletes, we regularly see people from all levels and ability of sport and activity.
We hope that this article will help you better understand exactly what we can do to help you.
Recent Injuries
To many this is the most obvious reason for making an appointment with a sports therapist. The skills which we have as sports therapists allow us to assess and diagnose, as well as treat and rehabilitate a wide range of conditions. These include anything from sports injuries through to niggling aches and pains with no apparent cause. Sore legs from running your most recent marathon? We can treat that. And the niggling pain in your back from sitting at your desk all day? We can treat that too.
Long term conditions and pain management
Unfortunately, there are some cases where we can’t treat the cause of pain, but we certainly can help to manage it. The understanding that we have of biomechanics (how you move), allows us to look at things such as posture and movement patterns to see if these could be contributing to your pain. Not only can we identify faulty movement patterns, we can use corrective exercises to help improve them. If we don’t think biomechanics are the cause of your pain, we can use other approaches to treatment including mobilisation, massage and electrotherapy to help manage symptoms.
Rehabilitation
A little like personal trainers, sports therapists have the ability to prescribe bespoke exercise programmes. We can tailor these to your individual needs whether it is pre or post surgery, return to play rehabilitation, or a preventative exercise programme. It is common for programmes to include a combination of stretching, strengthening and range of movement exercises to aid your recovery and return to full fitness.
Training whilst injured
To many sports people, the most valuable skill of a sports therapist is their ability to help you continue to train whilst carrying a niggling injury. Although this isn’t possible for all conditions, when possible we will incorporate normal training into treatment programmes. Training around an injury is frustrating, especially when key movements cause pain. By using our knowledge of strength and conditioning we can use exercises to strengthen key muscles and adapt movement patterns, allowing you to continue to train to a high level, without causing any additional harm, and managing pain.
Day to day aches and pains
A lot of people come to see us in the clinic who have developed aches and pains without doing any sports. People who sit at desks, and are able to move around little during their working day often complain of postural conditions, which we are usually able to help correct and manage using a combination of mobilisation, massage and posture re-education.
We hope that this article has helped you to get a better understand of how a sports therapist can help you, regardless of your sporting background. If you want to speak to a member of our team we are always happy to answer any queries you may have.