… You’ll recover best at a state-of-the-art sports PT facility that offers one-on-one sessions with your physical therapist
… Find a facility with room for running, cutting, throwing and moving
… Receive more personalized care with a selection of strength and conditioning equipment and specialized services
… Ask about private treatment rooms
For athletes about to begin physical therapy after a sports injury or post-surgical rehab, not just any facility will do. You not only need to return to normal daily activities. You need to rehab your body and your skills to return to your sport and build the strength, endurance and agility needed to do so. Just as you practice your sport at a gym, athletic center or practice facility, you need the right place to double-down your efforts for sports rehabilitation and physical therapy.
What makes a sports physical therapy facility different from other PT facilities? These features should serve your needs as an athlete and make your rehabilitation effective and complete.
Just like you play your sport on a field, court, rink, track or practice area, you need plenty of room for sports physical therapy. The facility you choose should have enough room for running, cutting, throwing, moving and performing your exercises under the supervision of your therapist. The area should also include an appropriate surface for moving. This allows your muscles and joints to get used to the mechanics of whatever movement you need to practice and your therapist can help you with good form.
As you begin recovering in rehab, you will need to practice performing the movements of your sport to ensure you can do so safely before playing again. One of these movements common to many sports is cutting. A fast change of direction like cutting puts stress on your body – for many athletes, it’s what led to their injury in the first place.
To practice safe cutting before returning to play, you need turf for the ultimate practice session. The best sports PT facilities will have turf for you to cut on that simulates the real thing and gets you ready to play again.
Throwing is another sports-related action you may need to gradually work up to if you suffered an arm injury or you’re recovering from shoulder surgery. Having the space to practice throwing with your physical therapist is critical for relearning those mechanics and developing good form during rehabilitation. If you need physical therapy for your throwing arm, make sure to book your appointments at a facility with space to let you practice throwing under your therapist’s supervision.
Every athlete benefits from strength and conditioning exercises whether you’re recovering from an injury or trying to prevent an injury. You’ll meet your goals easier when you have a full selection of strength and conditioning equipment to work with. The more equipment and specialized services you have available, the more personalized your workouts can be. Services such as manual therapy, dry needling, cupping, blood flow restriction and runner’s gait analysis add that little extra. This will help you build strength and resiliency to play your sport better after rehab. Don’t go to a PT facility that doesn’t prioritize strength and conditioning for athletes.
This might seem like a given, but not every PT facility has private treatment rooms. Maybe that doesn’t concern you, but some PT exercises and conversations might be more comfortable if done in privacy with just your therapist. If anything, it cuts down on the amount of distraction so you can truly focus on your own work without seeing or overhearing other patients.
The ultimate sports PT facility has sports-specific therapists on staff, who know your sport. They will work with you one-on-one to learn the cause of your injury, develop ways to rehabilitate the injury and recommend a plan for future injury prevention that is essential for you to return to your sport or daily activities without pain.
When an athlete needs physical therapy, the facility you go to is just as important as the therapist you work with. There’s a reason there are specific sports environments for athletes to practice their sports, and the same concept is true for athletic PT patients. You deserve to get physical therapy at a facility that has all the features necessary to recover your full abilities and return to the sport you love stronger and better than ever.
At True Sports, we’re sports-focused because you’re sports-focused. The best physical therapists in Baltimore and Maryland provide the highest level of sports physical therapy and expertise you need to get back to your sport. With five convenient state-of-the-art locations to choose from, any athlete who takes their rehab seriously can get awesome care and extraordinary results. Select your location and schedule an appointment and have True Sports get you back to your team. For questions about insurance or self-pay rates, please call our office at 1-401-946-1672.