Sports and exercise physiotherapy

Sports and exercise physiotherapy is an essential factor in ensuring the highest level of fitness and physical performance for elite and recreational athletes. Sports and exercise physiotherapists work closely together and influence the sports programme. The great advantage and secret of every good athlete is the professional excellence of his/her sports and exercise physiotherapist.

Importance of sports and exercise physiotherapy

Sports and exercise physiotherapy is a form of physiotherapy for professional and amateur athletes. The main aims of sports and exercise physiotherapy are the treatment of injuries and the prevention of injuries.. Sport and physical activity activate natural processes in the body that have a beneficial effect on the healing of musculoskeletal disorders and injuries, increased lung ventilation, accelerated blood flow, increased bone density formation, improved muscle strength and endurance, and increased range of motion in the joints.

Good overall fitness is crucial when participating in sporting activities or building peak performance, so choosing the right sports and exercise physiotherapy is essential.

Common sports injuries

In the world of sport, injuries are an indispensable companion, most often caused by:

untreated injury,
lack of sleep,
inadequate preparation for sporting activities,
improper loading of the body,
disproportion between recovery and activity,
excessive sporting activities.

The most common sports injuries are ligamentous sprain, muscle strain, muscle contusion, overuse tissue injury, arthritis and stress fracture.

When to choose sports and exercise physiotherapy?

The sports and exercise physiotherapist is a strategic and indispensable part of every athlete's (elite or amateur) care during the pre-injury, training and post-injury periods.

The sports and exercise physiotherapist, through professional procedures, measures and scientifically based working methods, establishes a biomechanics of the body that is more resistant to the development of impairments and, in the event of injury, ensures a smoother course of healing.

The sports and exercise physiotherapist's expertise (during training and after the injury) influences the control of symptoms (pain, swelling and other signs of pain) and ensures appropriate rehabilitation treatment throughout the sports programme.

The foundation of sports and exercise physiotherapy

Sports and exercise physiotherapy is based on the prevention of sports injuries, which is successfully achieved through an appropriate kinesiology programme.

The foundation of good preparation for sporting activity is kinesiological training, which includes targeted sensorimotor and proprioceptive training, a well-defined frequency, intensity and duration of training, and appropriate gradations of training.

The development of a kinesiology program for injury prevention includes external factors such as appropriate equipment, suitable weather conditions and optimal terrain.

An important factor in injury prevention is the cognitive input of the athlete, their active and conscious involvement in the kinesiology programme. Awareness of the psychological stresses of professional sport and any injury is crucial, so it is important to provide psychological support such as talking, motivational speech, teaching visualisation and sports hypnosis.

The kinesiological training of elite athletes is primarily specialised in the sport discipline, but we are nevertheless focused on the all-round development and adaptation of the body to the stresses.

A common feature of injury prevention, in the approach of proper sports and exercise physiotherapy, is the good overall fitness of the individual, which includes physical performance, mental focus and the ability to tolerate loads (mental and physical), which is the main orientation of the professionals in the medicofit private physiotherapy.

The aims of sports and exercise physiotherapy

Sports and exercise physiotherapy is essential for early rehabilitation and establishing the correct functional movement patterns of the athlete after injury. Appropriate early sports and exercise physiotherapy rehabilitation has an impact on the improvement of the injury status, prevention of subsequent complications, faster return to the body's original capacity and sports performance at a higher level of performance.

The main objectives of sports and exercise physiotherapy are to:

focus on establishing an appropriate balance between tissue healing and mobility,
improving muscle imbalances,
establishing the correct load capacity of the spine,
improving posture and gait biomechanics,
reducing pain,
strengthening muscle mass,
establishing appropriate proprioceptive responsiveness,
coordination and balance,
improving agility,
having a positive psychological effect on the athlete and,
in general, maintaining quality of life.

High quality and professional sports and exercise physiotherapy treatment is the key to an effective return to physical activity and sport. Based on the nature of the injury, the appropriate rehabilitation time period is determined. The return to activity shall be carried out following assessment by a physiotherapist.

Sports and exercise physiotherapy shall be tailored according to the sport in which the individual participates. In our specialised treatment, we use scientifically based methods and techniques that focus on controlling the symptomatology of the injured condition in the primary phase and gradually progress to restorative rehabilitation. Sports and exercise physiotherapists use manual therapy, sports massage, kinesio taping and trigger-point therapy in their professional work.

The rehabilitation program consists of kinesiological exercise, which focuses on the injured area and the appropriate maintenance of the whole body biomechanics. The kinesiological training includes stretching exercises, progressive muscle strengthening exercises, proprioceptive exercise, appropriate exercise to maintain the biomechanics of gait and exercise to restore the correct load capacity of the spine.

Sports and exercise physiotherapy, in collaboration with state-of-the-art assistive technologies, achieves significantly more effective results in physiotherapy treatment. Specialised physiotherapy treatments include tecar therapy, persio therapy, shockwave therapy, hitop electrotherapy, ultrasound therapy, laser therapy, vacuum therapy and pres therapy.

Sports and exercise physiotherapy in the Modern Medical Clinic

Modern sports and exercise physiotherapy encompasses knowledge from different medical fields, so choosing and trusting a professionally qualified physiotherapist is crucial. Sports injuries are an integral part of an athlete's career, resulting in physical, psychological and psychosocial conditions that significantly affect the course of treatment and the outcome of rehabilitation.

The key to injury prevention is quality prevention, established by a sports and exercise physiotherapist, with appropriate specialised procedures and measures. A safe return to sports and the maintenance of top sporting form are key factors that are successfully and professionally achieved in the modern medicofit medical clinic.