Sports Physical Therapy In Hot Springs
The South is filled with professional athletes, and as a result, there tends to be a lot of sports related injuries here in Hot Springs, AR. When you experience injuries and pain, especially from the result of a sports accident, you should definitely check into Sports physical therapy.
Physical therapy uses a combination of different techniques, exercises, and equipment to reduce swelling, pain, and injuries to get you back on your feet. Each physical therapy center is different, and different clinics specialize in a different field of expertise. For instance, at Spa City Therapy, our focus is on sports physical therapy; your needs may be different, so talk to your doctor to find the right therapist for you.
Manual Sports Physical Therapy
For sports injuries, there are a few options in physical therapy. For instance, manual therapy, which is used by our team, is what many confuse for “massage therapy”. Although manual therapy involves targeting specific injured areas and using hand massage techniques releases areas of pain and discomfort. However, unlike massage professionals or massage therapists, trained physical therapists may manually mobilize injured body parts, such as your spine, muscles, joints, and other areas.
Manual therapy should only be performed by a specialized trained team of physical therapists. If the practitioner doesn’t know what they’re doing, they could cause serious permanent damage to the patient.
Manual therapy is great for back injuries, including lower back pain or even sciatic pain. This is because manual therapy targets problem areas and mobilizes the muscles, tendons, and nerves to provide release. Furthermore, the manual therapist can release any part of the back or the sciatic nerve that has become inflamed or has suddenly moved away from the position it should be. This is what generally causes the inflammation and pain to begin with.
Therapeutic Exercises
Therapeutic exercises are another technique used by professional physical therapists like the ones you’ll find at Spa City Therapy. By assisting patients with strengthening exercises, the patient can regain mobility, flexibility, and core strength. While eventually the patient will be instructed to perform these techniques at home, they need to be mastered with a professional first. If improper form is used, the patient could end up causing further damage rather than healing. Generally, therapeutic exercise is used in combination with other techniques to maximize its efficiency.
Therapeutic exercises are not difficult to learn. However, they do need to be learned the right way if the patient wants to speed up their recovery time. The other issue as well is ensuring the patient actually does them at home. Many think that because they no longer have to come to the clinic, they can stop. This is not the case.
Neuromuscular Reeducation
Sometimes, serious sports injuries require neuromuscular reeducation. This is especially true in patients who have received some degree of nerve damage from their injury. Through neuromuscular reeducation, the brain relearns the right way to use the injured portion of the body. Whether the patient needs help relearning how to walk, how to grip things with their hands, or is trying to recover from partial paralysis, a physical therapist can help with neuromuscular reeducation.
Contact Spa City Therapy here for a free screening!
