Sports Physiotherapy in Burnaby: How It Works and Who It Helps

Sports physiotherapy is physiotherapy for injuries that come from sport and exercise. Your physiotherapist looks at the injured area and also at how you move, because training habits and movement patterns can add to an injury.

Treatment can include manual therapy, exercise and taping, depending on your assessment, and the plan is built around the demands of your sport. Sports physiotherapy is delivered by our physiotherapists as part of physiotherapy.

Sports physiotherapy suits injuries that come from training or competition and keep you from your sport. It fits when you have:

• Knee pain from running, cycling or court sport that has not settled with rest
• Shoulder pain that affects swimming, tennis or overhead lifting
• An ankle sprain, or an ankle that gives way when you change direction
• Lower back pain from golf, rowing or heavy lifting that worsens with certain movements
• A muscle or tendon strain that has not improved with rest
• Recovery after surgery such as ACL reconstruction or rotator cuff repair
• Overuse problems such as runner's knee, tennis elbow or shin splints

Athletes preparing for competition or returning after time off can also use an assessment to plan their training load. Your physiotherapist assesses you first and tells you if another treatment suits you better.

Sports physiotherapy works by finding what limits your movement, treating it with hands-on care and exercise, and building back toward your sport. A visit follows these steps:

• Book online or call (604) 364-1626, and let us know you would like sports physiotherapy.
• Assessment: your physiotherapist reviews your injury and your sport, then checks joint movement, strength and how you move.
• Plan: you agree goals for your sport and the steps to reach them.
• Treatment: hands-on work such as manual therapy, with taping when it suits, eases pain and stiffness.
• Exercise: strengthening and movement drills rebuild control, and you take a home program with you.
• Return to activity: load and sport specific work build up in steps until you are ready for full training.

Your physiotherapist adjusts the plan as you improve.