Sports Physical Therapy
Physical therapy (PT) is a branch of medicine that seeks to help people recover from injuries and disabilities through the promotion of mobility. Physical therapy is vital in the world of sports, helping athletes recover from injury and remain able to participate in physical activity.
Sports physical therapy is primarily concerned with the management of athletic injury in five major categories.
- Acute care, the assessment and diagnosis of an injury.
- Treatment, which is the application of specialized techniques, designed to encourage healing.
- Rehabilitation, which is the progressive management of the athlete from injury to returning to sport.
- Prevention, the identification and prevention of activities that may result in injury.
- Education, teaching athletes, either as individuals or as part of a team, how to best prevent injuries.
Sports Physical Therapy Certification
Many professional sports teams have physical therapists on staff full-time. These individuals have received a specialize sports certification from a national accreditation board. While many states have their own requirements for PT accreditation, the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) serves as a nationwide umbrella for PT standards, and is also responsible for accrediting physical therapy curricula at schools across the United States.