Common Sports Injuries: A Guide to Physical Therapy Treatments

Playing sports is a great way to stay active and challenge yourself both physically and mentally. Unfortunately, there’s no way around it: playing sports also comes with the risk of injuries. But did you know about physical therapy for sports injuries? It offers effective solutions to help you recover quickly and get back to your favorite activities.

Sports injuries can happen to anyone, whether you’re a professional athlete or a weekend warrior. From sprained ankles to pulled muscles, these injuries can land you on the sidelines and disrupt your training routine. 

Physical therapy at The Fitness Lab is essential in treating these injuries. We offer targeted, personalized rehabilitation programs that will help you recover from one injury while helping to prevent another one in the future. Through a combination of manual therapy, mobility work, strength training, and more, physical therapy for sports injuries will help restore your function and improve your overall performance. 

Today, we want to explore some of the more common sports injuries and what physical therapy can do to treat them. By learning the signs and symptoms of these conditions, you can seek treatment with The Fitness Lab as soon as possible, helping get you back in the game much earlier.

Sprained Ankle: One of the Most Common Sports Injuries

Ankle sprains are among the most prevalent sports injuries. They occur when you force your ankle too far out of its normal range of motion (such as during a fall), damaging the ligaments in your ankle joint. A mild ankle sprain might cause slight pain that fades after a few days. More severe ankle sprains can cause more intense pain, swelling, and instability.

If you suffer a sprained ankle — even a mild one — it’s a good idea to visit our physical therapists. Spraining your ankle once makes you much more likely to sprain it again. Rehabilitating with one of our experts can help reduce that likelihood through targeted exercises to strengthen and stabilize your ankle.

Runner’s Knee: This Sports Injury Doesn’t Just Affect Runners!

As the name might suggest, this condition is common among runners, although it can affect anyone who jumps into an intense new training routine. It occurs when the cartilage under the kneecap becomes irritated, causing a dull, aching pain around the front of the knee, particularly when going up or down stairs, squatting, or sitting with bent knees for extended periods. 

Physical therapy for runner’s knee focuses on alleviating pain and addressing the underlying causes of the condition — whether that’s an awkward running gait, muscular weaknesses in the leg, or something else. We’ll develop a personalized treatment program emphasizing targeted strengthening exercises and activity modifications. We can also help address acute pain through manual therapy or pain-relieving modalities.

Rotator Cuff Sports Injuries: Why Physical Therapy is Essential

The rotator cuff comprises four muscles and their tendons that stabilize the shoulder joint and help you perform various shoulder movements. Injury to any part of the rotator cuff can lead to a dull ache deep in the shoulder, shoulder and arm weakness, and difficulty lifting the arm or performing specific movements. 

Rotator cuff injuries are especially prevalent in athletes who perform repetitive overhead motions, such as baseball players, tennis players, and swimmers. Many rotator cuff injuries are overuse injuries, which develop gradually over time. However, you can also damage your rotator cuff through an acute injury, like a fall.

Treatment for a rotator will vary based on the severity of your injury. However, with mild to moderate injuries, physical therapy alone is generally enough to get you back in the game. If you do need to undergo a rotator cuff repair surgery, we’re here to rehabilitate you afterward. We’ll use manual therapy, therapeutic exercise, and functional training to address your injury.

Suffered A Sports Injury? Don’t Skip on Physical Therapy 

Ankle sprains, runner’s knee, and rotator cuff injuries aren’t the only ways athletes can injure themselves. Shin splints, muscle strains, Achilles tendinitis, and overuse injuries like tennis elbow or swimmer’s shoulder can cause significant pain and disability. And all can be addressed with physical therapy for sports injuries!

At The Fitness Lab, our team has extensive experience working with athletes and active people. We know you don’t want to give up your training and sports schedule — but it’s important to address even minor injuries before they bloom into something worse.

If you suspect you’ve suffered a sports injury, schedule an appointment at The Fitness Lab today to begin treatment.