Athletes-Only Physical Therapy – Downers Grove
Even a minor injury can lead to significant down time from sports activities. In many cases, sports injuries will mean that you spend a lot of time resting while the injury is healing.
This also means that it feels like you are re-learning all your game skills when you can finally participate again. There are two major reasons why it can be so hard to get back in the game after a sports injury.
At Core1Inc., we find that there are both physical and mental factors that can affects this result. The physical factor is often more understandable, since even a week off from regular workout can result in significant loss of strength and agility.
This is sometimes a result of the injury itself, since healing can shorten muscle fibers and add scar tissue that can impede flexibility. The other things that will affect the loss of strength and range of motion come from simply not working the muscles the way that you are used to.
This alone can greatly impact how long it might take you to get back into top form.
The Mental Game Of Sports Injuries
The psychological part can often be more difficult to understand, especially since you are probably rearing to get back out on the field as you near the end of your injury time.
However, being mentally out of the game can be just as detrimental as not working out physically.
There are several reasons why this is the case.
Mental conditioning plays a large part in physical performance
Anxiety about performance can also impact ability
Concerns about re-injury can cause you to hold back
Your mind and body connection has been disrupted and it can take some time to get it back
Feeling like a victim when you are injured can carry over into getting back into playing
This can make it very important to realize that physical rehabilitation is not just about regaining mobility, but it is also about regaining your drive.
For this reason, it can be wise to treat sports injuries caringly, but it can also be important to start working on rehabilitation as soon as possible.
Keeping The Mind And Body Together
One of the things we find works very well with our clients at Core1Inc. is to start light rehabilitation exercises while the sports injury is still early in the healing phase.
These activities are designed to keep the muscles adequately stretched, and to begin working on re-strengthening the muscles around the injury. A number of exercises are also designed to keep working out the rest of the body, even if the injured area stays less active.
The result of this approach is that you are able to stay active and in shape, even when you are on injury rest. You are also able to stay mentally engaged with training, and to build of the necessary confidence to really own the field once you are off the bench.
The combination of benefits can be immediately evident as soon as you start back with athletics again.
If you think that this approach could be a positive solution to your sports injury, then we invite you to contact Core1Inc. and find out about the different physical rehabilitation programs that we offer.
We are also able to set scalable practices that fit with where you are in your healing process, so that your program is personal to your specific needs.
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And if you haven’t already, grab a free session by filling out the form in the link below. You can test-drive our Downers Grove speed, strength & sports training program that coaches & athletes can’t stop raving about. Or, if you’re recovering from an injury, you can try out our athletes-only physical therapy program. Hope to see you soon!