7 steps of a successful Sports Rehab Programme

At PMC Physiotherapy Dunboyne we regularly work with both elite athletes and amateur sports people. Our experience has shown us that a successful sports rehab programme should bring you from injury back to playing in the fastest, safest way possible. There are a number of key components to this:

We can’t treat an injury if we don’t know what it is. Successful sports injury rehabilitation is underpinned by an accurate diagnosis of the structures involved in the injury, the amount of damage and any precipitating factors leading to overload or injury. This is done through a full and thorough assessment and may need to be underpinned by diagnostic tests and imagery.

When we plan our rehabilitation, we make goals and set out criteria for progression. This way the physiotherapist and patient know how long the process will take and at what stages progression is made.

Rehabilitation needs to be progressive. Starting at a load that will challenge you but not irritate the involved tissues too much, and progressing things along as you and your body adapt.

Management of an injury needs to be specific to the structure involved and specific to the sport you wish to return to. The rehab of a shoulder in a swimmer is a lot different to the rehab of a shoulder injury in a rugby player.

In order to get adaptation (increased strength, increased endurance, increased flexibility etc.) the rehab plan needs to challenge you. Sometimes exercises need to be a bit tough to make a difference.

It is very important that objective measures are taken to inform your progress and to let us know when you are ready to return to training. This can be measured using specific equipment, gym equipment and through questionnaires.

Finally, a full rehabilitation programme needs to be followed through to its full completion. This will help ensure a return to full performance but also reduce the likelihood of the injury recurring.

One of our expert physiotherapists will carry out a thorough, subjective and objective examination of your injury. We will give you a specific diagnosis of the structures that are injured, grade the injury, give you a timescale for the rehab programme. We will support you every step on your journey to a full and complete recovery.