The Role of the Sports Physiotherapist
A sports physiotherapist should have an in-depth understanding of a wide variety of sports and have the ability to analyse the movements needed for participating in various forms of exercise. A good sports physiotherapist should recognise the importance of sports participation and aim to get you back to your sport as soon as possible but with adequate recovery time to reduce the risk of reinjury.
Many active people will experience a sports injury at some stage. The extent of the injury and recovery can vary widely from weeks to months.
Establish the cause of injury
Determining the cause of your sports injury:
Did you have a fall or acute injury?
Is there a movement ‘flaw’ in an area of the body, leading to stress and strain on soft tissues?
Have you recently increased your training, or changed the surface you’re training on?
Are you working longer hours at a desk? This could mean you’re stiffer than normal when you’re training.
Whatever the cause, a sports physiotherapist will advise you on correcting the problem and helping to prevent it from recurring.
Treatments
As each injury is different, your physiotherapist will develop a bespoke treatment plan for you. However many treatments include:
Manual therapy- using specialised hands-on treatment to assess and treat a sports injury. Manual therapy can include joint mobilisations and manipulation to improve joint movement and relieve pain, and sports massage to loosen tight muscles.
Dry needling - this can be used to relieve stiffness and improve movement.
Exercises - Rehab of your sports injury will include specific, targeted exercises focused on restoring strength to an injured area.
Sports Clinic
Elizabeth Bovich and David Richards lead the Sports Physio Clinic here at our Dublin 4 clinic. Together they have an extensive sports background. Elizabeth is a certified athletic trainer in the USA and spent three years working with NCAA Division I Athletes in Basketball, American Football, Field Hockey, Track and Field, and Swimming and Diving at Michigan State University. Dave is the former physiotherapist to the Senior Men’s Irish Hockey Team and is an accredited service provider to the Irish Institute of Sport.
If you have had a sports-related injury or have been experiencing sports-related pain, contact us or book online.
Sports Clinic
Our sports clinic is lead by Elizabeth Bovich and David Richards. Together they have an extensive sports background with high level athletes in Ireland and the USA.