Is an Athletic Therapist the Right Choice For Me?
If you're dealing with an injury and you're not quite sure what to do about it, you may be wondering if you should see an athletic therapist. As you may already be aware, athletic therapists are healthcare professionals who specialize in the treatment of injuries that occur as a result of physical activity. However, there are other types of professionals that can also help treat injuries - what is it about athletic therapists that sets them apart? In this blog post, we'll explain more about athletic therapists to help you determine if they are indeed the right choice for you, and hopefully get you back on your feet in no time.
What is Athletic Therapy?
Athletic therapy is a sports medicine approach to healthcare that focuses on the prevention, diagnosis, emergency treatment, and ongoing rehabilitation of musculoskeletal injuries, which incorporate the muscles, ligaments, joints, and bones. Since they do follow the sports medicine model of care, they are often the ones that you see providing emergency on-site care to athletes who suffer an injury during a practice or game.
What Kind of Education Does an Athletic Therapist Have?
You don't have to worry about receiving subpar care from an athletic therapist - they're well-educated professionals. The Canadian Athletic Therapists Association (CATA) oversees the certification process across Canada. In order to use the title, they require athletic therapists to have the following:
A Bachelor's degree
Completion of the Athletic Therapy program at one of their accredited Canadian institutions
a valid Canadian Red Cross BLS and First Responder certificate (or approved equivalent)
A passing grade on the National Certification Examination
They must also demonstrate up-to-date knowledge about the field by completing a certain number of education credits over a period of time. You can learn more about the process here.
Are Athletic Therapists Only For Athletes?
Although they specialize in sports medicine and may even technically have a version of "athlete" in their title, don't let that fool you - they actually treat a wide range of patients.
In fact, anyone who has suffered a musculoskeletal injury as a result of physical activity can benefit from seeing an athletic therapist. This includes everyone from weekend warriors to young children who play sports.
What Does an Athletic Therapist Do?
Now that we've answered some of the more pressing questions about athletic therapists, you may be wondering what they actually do.
At its core, the goal of athletic therapy is to help you return to your pre-injury state. In order to do that, they will:
Assess your injury
Develop a treatment plan
Provide hands-on therapy
Rehabilitate your injury
Prevent future injuries
The specific methods they use will depend on the nature and severity of your injury, but some common techniques used by athletic therapists include:
Manual therapy
Therapeutic exercises
Soft tissue massage
Joint mobilization
Electrotherapy
Athletic taping
Custom bracing
Functional dry needling
So, if you've been dealing with an injury, whether it's a recent one or something that's been bothering you for a while, and you just can't seem to find relief, consider reaching out to an athletic therapist. With their specialized education and training, they may just be the answer to getting you back to your old self again!
Looking to get started with an athletic therapist? Book an appointment at cedar + sage here!