Services - Sports & physical Therapy
Sports & Physical Therapy
Sports therapy is an aspect of healthcare that is specifically concerned with the prevention of injury and rehabilitation of the patient back to optimum levels of functional, occupational and specific fitness, regardless of age and ability.
Muscle and soft tissue injuries are often caused by physical activities such as sports, recreational activities, work related injuries or stress and tension.
A Sports/Physical Therapist is able to:
- Assess, and where appropriate, refer on for specialist advice and intervention.
- Provide sports massage pre and post activity.
- Implement appropriate rehabilitation programmes.
- Utilise sports and exercise principles to optimise strength and mobility and prevent injuries.
- Tailor a rehabilitation programme to each client’s interest and ability.
Sports Therapy can improve many conditions.
For example:
- Acute and chronic back pain
- Sciatica
- Hip/knee/shoulder injuries
- Sports injuries
- Postural problems
- Tennis/Golf elbow
- Neurological condition
Rehabilitation/Exercises:
Prescribed exercises aim to re-educate the muscles, tendons, ligaments and joints to work appropriately at all times. When an injury has occurred our bodies start using incorrect movement patterns, which may cause the wrong muscles, in the surrounding area, to compensate. This in turn may lead to more injuries and pain.
Sports Massage:
Massage has been used as a therapeutic treatment for over 5000 years, initially in China and India. The Greeks and the Romans used sports massage in the first Olympic Games!
Sports massage is a deep tissue massage technique that focuses on the deep layers of muscle tissue. It releases chronic patterns of tension in the body through long, slow strokes and deep finger pressure on contracted areas. The massage strokes either follow or cross the fibres of the muscle, tendon and fascia.
The Therapist may also make more use of friction and trigger response techniques. This involves applying deep finger pressure to tissues repeatedly to breakdown adhesions and soft internal scar tissue.
The benefits are:
- Increased performance
- Relaxed muscle spasm
- Reduced strain
- Improvement in the body’s own healing process
- Prevention of further injury
- Improved recovery rates
- Increased circulation and improved tissue condition
- Improved lymphatic circulation and drainage
- Increased physical and mental relaxation
- Reduced stiffness and pain
- Bone nourishment stimulation
- Improved muscle contraction and tone
- Softened adipose tissue
- Cellulite reduction
- Improved fluid absorption around the joint
- Improved break down in soft tissue adhesions
Core Stability/Fitball
Stability work focuses, primarily, on the core muscles. These muscles lie deep within the trunk of the body and generally attach to the spine, pelvis (i.e. transversus abdominus, multifidus) and the muscles which support the scapula (shoulder).
Evidence suggests that, following a period of lower back pain, there is a specific motor dysfunction of these muscles - with or without symptoms. These muscles need to be specifically re-trained. Combining floor and ‘Fitball’ exercises has been shown to significantly improve stabilising and postural muscles thereby positively impacting on athletic or everyday functional performance, i.e. sitting at a desk, watching television, playing sport.
Consultation fees:
Initial consultation 1 hour - £40
Subsequent treatment 1 hour - £40
Subsequent treatment 45 minutes - £30
Core stability 1 hour - £40