Sports Rehabilitation

Your ankle is made up of many ligaments that help connect and stabilize the joint. Sprains occur when ligaments are overstretched and/or torn. Sprains come in different forms of severity and can happen to anyone at any age. Athletes, especially those who run, skate, ski, or require quick pivots and changes in direction on their feet are more prone to receive this injury.

Symptoms of a sprained ankle can include swelling, bruising, sensitivity to touch, and/or instability or inability to put weight on the ankle. With more severe cases, such as a complete tearing of the ligament, patients describe a “popping” sound when the sprain occurs. These kinds of injuries require immediate care.

It is strongly recommended that you see a physical therapist if you sprained your ankle since lack of treatment can weaken the ankle and make it susceptible to future injuries.

The goal of rehabilitation is to strengthen the ankle’s muscles and ligaments. Our therapists create custom treatment plans to ensure that restore range of motion, prevent stiffness, and increase the flexibility of the ankle.

Groin strains are a kind of injury that can range from mild to severe affecting any of the adductor muscles in the inner thigh, usually in the form of a tear or rupture. Sports involving running with quick changes of direction, kicking against a resistance (like a ball or martial arts), or overstretching the adductor muscles (like a deep lunge or high kick). The symptoms can vary from a sharp pain to bruising and swelling in the inner thigh.

Treatment can include stretching, strengthening, performing progressive functional and sports specific movements and exercises to help restore the muscle back to full function.

Hamstring strains occur when the muscle is overstretched or receives a sudden force, such as poorly landing on the ground from a high jump. This injury is most common in dancers and athletes that require sprinting such as soccer, basketball, track, and football.

There are a number of reasons an athlete can experience a strain. Some of them include tightness in the muscles due to lack of stretching, muscle imbalances – usually occurring when certain muscles are stronger than the opposite muscle group, or generally having weak muscles.

Symptoms include swelling after a few hours of injury, bruising, and weakness of the hamstring that can last a few weeks.

Depending on the severity of the strain, our therapists may prescribe a knee splint to immobilize the leg to let it heal. In most cases, a standard treatment program would be designed to increase flexibility and strengthen the muscle. Our physical therapists work closely with athletes to ensure they recover with a full range of motion after treatment.

Our physical therapists are also skilled in postoperative rehabilitation should the patient undergo surgery for more severe hamstring strains.

A common injury to runners, shin splints is described as a pain that comes on gradually on the inside of the lower leg around the shin bone. People usually feel soreness the day after a long run, long walk, hike, sprinting, or jumping for a long period of time. Irritation occurs when the muscles of the lower leg pull on the sheath covering the shin bone. Pain will vary depending on the intensity or length of training.

Runners who experience shin splints frequently should see a physical therapist for an assessment of their gait while they run or walk. With a few a adjustments and exercises to improve their running form, they will be better equipped to prevent shin splints from happening.

This is a very common sports injury that can occur from changing direction rapidly, stopping suddenly, slowing down while running, landing from a jump incorrectly, or direct contact or collision. Your knee is a joint that connects the thigh bone, kneecap, and shin bone together by 4 ligaments, one of them being the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). An ACL tear or sprain can cause pain and swelling in the knee and can affect your balance due to the inability to put weight on the injured knee.

Your doctor may order x-rays or an MRI to properly diagnose an ACL injury. Our physical therapists are sports specialists.