Sports Physical Therapy in Arlington, TX

What Is Sports Physical Therapy?​

Sports physical therapy helps athletes recover from injuries, rebuild strength and mobility, improve movement, and safely return to their sport. Treatment can be customized to the demands of activities such as soccer, basketball, running, baseball, and other recreational or competitive sports.

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What Sports Injuries Can Physical Therapy Help Treat?

Physical therapy can help rehabilitate many common sports injuries, including muscle strains, ligament injuries, tendon problems, joint injuries, fractures, and post-surgical conditions. Your rehabilitation plan should be based on the specific injury, healing stage, physical demands of your sport, and individual goals.

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How Can Physical Therapy Help an Athlete Return to Sports?

Physical therapy can progressively rebuild mobility, strength, balance, coordination, power, and sport-specific movement. As recovery progresses, exercises can become more demanding and increasingly resemble the movements and physical requirements of the athlete's sport.

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Can Sports Physical Therapy Improve Athletic Performance After an Injury?

Yes. Once appropriate healing and rehabilitation have occurred, sports physical therapy can progress beyond basic symptom management toward strength, power, movement quality, conditioning, and sport-specific performance. The goal is to help athletes regain the physical abilities required for their sport.

 

When Should an Athlete See a Physical Therapist for a Sports Injury?

An athlete should consider seeing a physical therapist when pain, weakness, swelling, stiffness, instability, or reduced performance interferes with training or competition. Early evaluation can help identify movement limitations and establish an appropriate rehabilitation plan.

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When Is It Safe to Return to Sports After an Injury?

Returning to sports should depend on more than simply whether pain has improved. Readiness may involve adequate healing, range of motion, strength, balance, coordination, power, sport-specific function, and the ability to tolerate progressively higher training demands.

 

How Does Physical Therapy Determine if an Athlete Is Ready to Return to Sport?

A physical therapist can evaluate the athlete's symptoms, mobility, strength, movement quality, functional performance, and ability to tolerate sport-specific activities. Depending on the injury and sport, rehabilitation may include specific performance or return-to-sport tests.

 

What Tests Can Be Used to Assess Strength, Balance, and Athletic Performance?

Testing depends on the injury and sport and may include isometric strength testing, range-of-motion measurements, balance assessments, jumping or hopping tasks, movement assessments, endurance testing, and sport-specific functional activities. Physical Therapist will check for asymmetries and compensations during functional movements. The appropriate tests should reflect the demands of the athlete's sport.

 

How Can Physical Therapy Reduce the Risk of Reinjury When Returning to Sports?

Physical therapy can progressively rebuild the physical qualities needed for sport while identifying remaining deficits in strength, mobility, balance, coordination, or movement. A gradual increase in training demands allows the athlete to develop tolerance before returning to full competition.

 

Can Physical Therapy Help Athletes Return to Their Previous Level of Performance?

Physical therapy can help athletes rebuild the physical capacities needed for their sport, including strength, mobility, power, coordination, conditioning, and sport-specific movement. The rehabilitation goal can be adjusted to the athlete's previous level of participation and performance demands.