Athletes put their bodies to the test daily by playing the sports they love. However, high-impact athletics can take a heavy toll on your body. Practices like athletic therapy provide prevention, rehabilitation, and maintenance care to improve athletes’ physical outcomes. What is Athletic Therapy? Athletic Therapy specializes in the prevention, evaluation and management of neuromusculoskeletal injuries (muscles, bones and joints, etc.), especially sports injuries. Their focus is on athletics and physical activity to help athletes return to their sport or individuals to return to an active lifestyle. They work with individuals of all ages and abilities, from amateur and professional athletes to the general population. During a session, they use a variety of techniques to help their patients manage and recover from injuries, improve their physical function and performance, and reduce the risk of future injuries. These techniques include manual therapy, exercise prescription, and modalities such as ultrasound and electrotherapy, and more. They…

What is turf toe? Turf toe is a type of sports injury that occurs in athletes with a lot of pushing off or changes in direction in their sport. Anatomically, turf toe is a hyperextension injury of the joint of the big toe. Essentially, the toe is forced past its normal range of motion. Unfortunately, this results in injury of the joint and tissues around it. How does it happen? The big toe is one of the most important joints for generating speed and power in our lower body. When we land on or push off from a surface, the…

So you’ve decided to be part of the 1% that completes a marathon, an incredible achievement! Training for a marathon is demanding on both your physical endurance and mental resilience. One of the most common dangers comes from experiencing a sports injury during your training. This could be overuse injuries, strains, sprains, and more. Ultimately, these can hinder your progress and even affect you on race day itself. To help you keep your body as healthy as possible, here are some essential tips to avoid sports injuries while training for a marathon: 1. Start Slow and Build Gradually Tip: Avoid…

Sports injuries are an unfortunate but common occurrence among athletes of all levels. Whether you’re a weekend warrior or a professional athlete, injuries can interrupt your training and competition plans. However, with the right approach to rehabilitation, you can get back to doing what you love with confidence. In this blog post, we’ll explore how physiotherapy plays a crucial role in managing and preventing sports injuries. Understanding Sports Injuries Before diving into how physiotherapy can help, we should understand the nature of sports injuries. Firstly, they can range from acute injuries like sprains, strains, and fractures to more chronic conditions…

What is a torn meniscus? Different types of meniscal tears, depending on location and orientation The meniscus is a C shaped fibrocartilage in our knee joints, located between the tibia and femur. Importantly, they work as shock absorbers for the knee joint. Our knees are weightbearing joints and as a result, must withstand a lot of force. On each side of our body, we have one meniscus on the inside (medial), and one on the outside (lateral). Unfortunately, the medial meniscus tear is more common torn. Especially, in individuals who play contact sports and high impact sports. How does a…

If you have had a sprained/rolled ankle recently, you may have felt like it isn’t quite the same anymore. Usually, after an injury, there is a loss in strength and coordination of the ankle. While this may not affect you as much in your day-to-day life just walking around, you can notice a difference when you play your sport. The following are a list of 5 potential exercises that may help your ankle get back in tip-top shape! Ankle Alphabets After an injury, the ankle loses some fibers called proprioceptors. These proprioceptors give us our sense of proprioception, which is…

What is the rotator cuff? The rotator cuff is made up of a group of 4 muscles which control shoulder movements in all directions. Each rotator cuff muscle takes part in a slightly different anatomical shoulder movement like flexion, abduction, or rotation. In addition, they are all used in combination for movements like sport=specific movements. For example, in overhead, throwing, and racket sports such as badminton, tennis, volleyball and basketball. The 4 muscles involved in the rotator cuff are as follows: 1) Supraspinatus 2) Infraspinatus 3) Teres major, teres minor 4) Subscapularis What is rotator cuff tendinitis? Rotator cuff tendinitis…

Shockwave therapy has been gaining popularity in the field of physiotherapy as an effective treatment modality for various sports injuries. Athletes and sports enthusiasts alike are turning to shockwave therapy to help alleviate pain and promote healing. Why choose shockwave therapy for athletes? One of the key benefits of shockwave therapy is its ability to target specific areas of injury with high-energy acoustic waves, stimulating the body’s natural healing process. This non-invasive treatment option can be particularly beneficial for conditions such as tendonitis, plantar fasciitis, and other soft tissue injuries commonly seen in sports. By incorporating shockwave therapy into their…

  What is the ACL? The ACL stands for the anterior cruciate ligament, which is one of the stabilizing ligaments in the knee joint. It is located behind the kneecap and connects the femur to the shin bone (tibia). Importantly, this ligament prevents excess forward and backwards movements of the femur and tibia overtop each other. When people say their ACL is injured, this refers to either a sprain or tear of the ACL ligament. How is the ACL injured? Ligaments work as a connective, stabilizing band for two bones. The ACL, one of two ligaments that cross in the…

Sports injuries can vary widely depending on the type of sport, the level of competition, and the mechanisms of injury. Some of these injuries you may have experienced yourself while others you may have heard of or even seen them happen on television. Our team at PhysioNow has treated many athletics and sports injuries over the years and would love to share our experiences with them! 1. Ankle sprains/tears Rolled ankles are very frequently seen sports injuries Often, injuries to the ankle ligaments are seen as a result of a running or jumping sport. In most…