Whether you’re a “weekend warrior,” a high school or college athlete, enjoy sports recreationally, love staying in shape, or are even a professional athlete – using our bodies, challenging ourselves physically, and competing can be an important and integral part of life for lots of people. But with all that physical demand can come the risk of injury. We all know it when we step on the court or the field or wherever it is we do our thing right?
High effort, increased loads and speeds, other bodies, implements and balls… There are tons of things that can contribute to getting hurt. And when that injury happens or pain develops it can be crushing to imagine life without those activities you hold near and dear to your heart. Finding the right answer for the pain and the limitations of mobility or strength and explosiveness is key.
The team at Peak Performance are movement experts. Each of the providers has themselves played sports at high school and/or college levels. Some have coached as well. The American Physical Therapy Association considers Sports PT a specialty area and has developed a certification to recognize this. Mike, the owner, is a Sports PT Certified Specialist (that’s the “SCS” in his initials). He was one of the first PT’s in Rochester with this designation. Mike’s trained the entire team in these areas.
Peak also is proud to have Karen, who is also an Athletic Trainer, and Rachele, who is a Certified Athletic Trainer. They each have additional unique backgrounds in helping athletes specifically at the high school and college levels.
Our entire team has done certification and/or fellowship training in Applied Functional Science © with the Gray Institute. That means every provider has more in-depth training in biomechanics related to human movement, sports, and pathomechanics (that essentially means how things go wrong in our body) that is far beyond the normal training the therapists get from the basic education, even with the more extensive doctorate/DPT programs.
This training uniquely equips Peak’s providers to be able to understand and analyze sports movements and design exercise progressions that are customized and authentic to that sport, a key in safely returning athletes to the rigors they aspire to return to. It’s especially critical because their whole goal is to return to the very activity that caused the injury… and even the same movements/forces/positions etc – expecting that they’ll be prepared to not get injured this time!
Many athletes honestly fear getting formal help to rehab an injury. Too often some athletes will delay being honest with (themselves too) coaches or parents out of the worry they’ll be fully removed from participating. As Sports PT’s we appreciate the passion for and the joy in participating and we strive to help athletes remain participating to whatever extent they can safely.
For some, with more serious injuries or surgery, it can definitely mean some time off. For others, getting help sooner than later can absolutely mean less time away and a quicker return to full activity because they avoided ignoring an injury, which otherwise was going to get more severe as they kept playing.
Being experts in movement, Peak’s therapists can help athletes safely navigate the waters of Return to Play, providing guidelines for gradual return. Sometimes direct communication with coaches is necessary as well.
Remember too – the key is ‘Getting Beyond Feeling Better to Being Better!” right? So simply waiting for the pain to lessen doesn’t mean you’re ready to return to playing. Too often athletes try to skip doing the right thing and end up worsening an injury or even hurting another body part, all unnecessarily!
If you require sports injury physical therapy, Peak Performance can help relieve your pain, restore your mobility, and get you back on the field quickly and safely.
What Issues Does Sports Injury Physical Therapy Treat?
While there are many injuries that are more common in athletes because of the rigors of physical demand they undergo, a majority of the injuries sustained are actually the same types that non-athletes can get.
Acute traumas happen with sudden forces and injury to tissues, often ligaments, bones, or muscles. Chronic injury related to smaller forces over time can affect especially tendons and bones. The real key difference in Sports PT rehab is appreciating the biomechanical and other physical demands of the activity an athlete is returning to.
An ACL reconstruction, for example, is far more stressed in an athlete returning to a cutting, jumping, change of direction-based sport than someone who enjoys jogging, cycling or works an office job. Some of the most common sports injuries we tend to see include…
Foot and ankle injuries such as lateral sprains, fractures, Achilles tendonitis, plantar fasciitis, posterior tibial, or peroneal tendonitis benefit from foot-ankle physical therapy.
Knee injuries such as kneecap (patellar) subluxations and dislocations, ACL and MCL tears, meniscus tears, and patellofemoral pain are helped by knee physical therapy
Elbow injuries include tennis elbow, usually a more chronic condition, also known as lateral epicondylitis (outer elbow) , golfer’s elbow or medial epicondylitis, and biceps tendonitis.
Shoulder injuries such as labral tears, rotator cuff tears/strains, tendonitis, subluxations and dislocations, and fractures all benefit from shoulder care physical therapy
Leg injuries like shin splints, stress fractures, and calf strains are helped by physical therapy. Hip injuries such as groin or hip flexor strains, labral tears, trochanteric bursitis and iliotibial band syndrome benefit from hip care physical therapy Spinal injuries like sacroiliac dysfunction, disc bulges and herniations, and muscle strains can be helped with Peaks spine care physical therapy program.
The first step in sports injury care is determining what tissue is injured, the severity, and the early treatment recommendations. Direct Access to Physical Therapy allows injured athletes to come directly to the expert PT’s at Peak Performance for evaluation.
Oftentimes treatment can be started immediately while other times having a pediatrician, family physician, or orthopedist involved is necessary for further medical testing and workup, especially when films may be needed to rule out a fracture or identify soft tissue injury.
Most injuries do not require films immediately, however, early films may be indicated for traumatic injuries like an ankle sprain to ensure a fracture or chip fracture (avulsion) did not occur. Peak’s therapists work closely with Rochester physicians and surgeons and can oftentimes facilitate being seen more quickly than you may on your own.
Many patients have seen a physician already and come to Peak Performance with a therapy prescription. Whichever means athletes start off their PT experience, the Initial Evaluation is the key first step to recovery. Depending on the severity of your injury, surgery may be unavoidable. In many cases, however, physical therapy can reduce the likelihood of an athlete needing surgery, and can also be used to help a patient rehabilitate their body following surgery.
Some patients with sports injuries require surgery. Expert physical therapy is an essential part of optimizing biological healing, understanding modifications and limitations of day-to-day life during early restricted phases, and safely advancing through to the high-intensity stages prior to Return to Play.
Progressive loading during therapy ensures tissues are built up and back toward normal in a safe way. The exact path can be very different for each athlete depending on the physical demands of their sport and position. These must all be taken into account when designing a rehabilitation program and the Return to Play sport-specific drills and activities leading up to formal practices and competitions
We Offer Sports Injury Physical Therapy in Rochester, NY
Because Peak Performance physical therapists are experts in functional biomechanics, we can assist athletes in returning to competitive shape not just as quickly as possible, but safely as well. The goal is optimizing physical capacity while restoring confidence so that performance on the court or field or wherever you compete is back up at a high level and the risks of reinjury have been dramatically reduced.
Our state-of-the-art facility is equipped with everything you need to rehab your sports injury, including…
A 20×65 rubber floor that allows for short sprints, jumping, and agility work
A customized medicine ball plyometrics wall that allows for power development, improving deceleration capacity, and reactive training
Our True Stretch © cage allows multidirectional/multiplanar 3D positioning for replication of authentic sports position demands on the body
Our Goalrilla® cage allows for full-speed kicking, hitting, and throwing, helping athletes enjoy comprehensive functional return progressions right there in the clinic
A Spark Motion software system that allows athletes’ body movements to be analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively
Exercise space with 13-18’ high ceilings, DB’s to 80#Olympic bars and weights, Squat rack cages, slideboard, VibePlate, Medicine Balls, CoreBalls, Vipr, CoreSticks, golf hitting mat, basketball hoop…lots of toys to help prepare athletes return to sports!
Call today to schedule an appointment with Peak Performance’s sports physical therapy experts to learn more about how our team can help you or your loved one get back to their best. We look forward to hearing from you!
