Every four years, we watch the best of the best compete in the Olympic Games, marveling at the skill and athleticism on display. But even if you don’t achieve that level of success, many recreational athletes can still benefit from, and genuinely need, physical therapy.

It’s true!

Recreational athletes can put their body through the paces and can greatly benefit from the many benefits physical therapy can provide. After all, injuries and overtraining can happen to anyone, and physical therapy is great for prevention and/or rehabilitation.

Physical therapy can help athletes of all stripes with pain, recurring and chronic injuries, mobility and imbalances in the body – all things that can affect not only how you play your sport or participate in your favorite activity, but also how you move on a daily basis.

So, even if you didn’t qualify for Tokyo, here are some things physical therapy can do for all recreational athletes.

Mobility

Mobility is very different from flexibility. You might remember from a previous blog post; mobility is dynamic, and flexibility is passive. You may be able to lie on your back and use a yoga strap to pull your straight leg up toward your face, which is flexibility. But can you lie on your back and do the same thing without the yoga strap, bringing your leg up toward your face simply using the muscles of your leg? That’s mobility.

If you don’t spend time on mobility, it can come back to haunt you. Many injuries occur in the range of movement that you can obtain passively, but not actively. Physical therapy can help you by providing a comprehensive physical assessment of your body to determine where you might be lacking mobility. Your physical therapist will then develop a tailor-made program for you based on your specific needs and your activity or sport to keep you pain- and injury-free.

Chronic or recurring injury treatment

If you have a chronic or recurring injury that you haven’t addressed, a physical therapist can help. Your physical therapist will first get a complete verbal history of your condition, and then they will perform a comprehensive physical/functional assessment of the entire body in order to identify movement dysfunctions and painful movement patterns. They will then address soft tissue and joint restrictions and re-educate the corrected dysfunction on a neuromuscular level. You will then receive exercises specific to you and your condition that will help to maintain the corrected dysfunctions, adjust any movement dysfunctions and painful movement patterns, and strengthen any muscles that may have become weak or unused so you can get back to doing the sport or activity you love.

Many patients will also see an increase in performance and a decrease in pain as well.

Physical therapy helps ALL athletes

Whether you are training for a big race or competition or your only competition is improving your day-to-day performance, you are an athlete. And, as an athlete, a physical therapist can help you with strength, mobility, and stability so you can keep doing what you love – while limiting pain and preventing injury.

Beacon Physical Therapy

At Beacon Physical Therapy, we support our clients in establishing healthy movement patterns that help maintain strength, flexibility and mobility. If you are having an issue, make an appointment today. We’d love to meet you and get you back to doing what you love.