We’ve all experienced one time or another that “one size fits all” rarely ever actually fits all. The same is true for rehabilitation plans. It’s easy to google rehabilitation exercises and treatments for various injuries and pains, but how do you know which ones are best for your specific situation. A personalized assessment can be used to get you those answers and maximize the efficiency of your rehabilitation plan so that you can get back to doing the activities you enjoy sooner. With this assessment, an Athletic Therapist looks not only at getting you back to being able to do the daily activities of life, but also back to being able to meet the demands of your sports and hobbies. For example, a competitive gymnast and a recreational golfer have very different demands on their bodies, but both still need to be able to do more than the bare minimum.
A personalized assessment starts with taking a history. This includes getting information about the event that caused the injury (if there was one), how it felt at the time and whether there were any previous injuries to the areas surrounding. We will also look at the behaviour of the injury symptoms. This includes looking into what types of activities provoke the symptoms, whether it’s a sharp vs dull vs nagging etc., type feeling and the possible referral patterns of the symptoms. We will also dive into the activities that you need to be able to do throughout your day. Whether it’s running a half marathon or playing catch with the grandkids, we want to get you back to it as soon and as safely as possible.
After taking a thorough history we get into the objective evaluation. With this, we look at your posture, alignment and activity-specific biomechanics. This also includes looking at the joints above and below the injured site. From there, we will look specifically at the injured site. This involves looking at how the body tissues feel and whether there is any heat or inflammation in the area. Along with testing strength we also perform special tests that test for particular injuries, such as ligament tears.
All of this information is used to create your rehabilitation plan, always within the context of your lifestyle and activity requirements. This assessment does not only have to be applied to an injury or pain, we can use also use it for injury prevention and sports performance improvement. Contact me today to see what a personalized athletic therapy assessment can do for you!
Contact me and let me create an individualized plan to address your specific needs and enhance your overall wellbeing. Call us today at 403.229.0129 or email me here.
Crystal Bartkowski
Athletic Therapy