SPORTS THERAPY

Sports Therapy

Sports Therapy

Sports Therapists

Sports therapists are the professionals who treat the injuries of athletes and sportsmen and help them in their rehabilitation process after an injury or incident. They also provide advices and training related to health to the athletes and sports professionals in order to ensure their safety. The aim of the sports therapist is to prevent the happening of an injury to the sports professional and athlete and to help the injured athletes in regaining their physical fitness (Ward, 2004).

The role of sports therapists does not lie under general health care but it is related to the special sports therapy and process of rehabilitation. It is associated with the conditions of musculoskeletal system of athletes that arise from some kind of sporting activity. Thus, the sports therapists do not treat the general health care conditions of a sportsman but he or she is responsible for the treatment of injuries or wounds obtained as a result of sporting activity. The sports therapists also deal with the effects of emotional and physical trauma of the athletes and sportsmen that are caused due to sport injuries (Hudson, 1998).

The sports therapist can work in the clinics of sports injuries treatment or they can directly associate themselves with a specific sportsperson or a sports club. They can join the sports club as an amateur or a professional in order to provide their services. Some of the sports therapist also associates themselves with other sporting activities or roles related to sports activities along with their services as sports therapists. They can privately work for individuals or a group of sportsmen and their clients and customers are present in a range at different workplaces. They can also be employed by organizations. The typical work activities of sports therapists involve a regular fitness advisory to the athlete based on the assessment of the readiness of the player or athlete. They advise the athletes before a specific event or sporting activity or a tournament to ensure the fitness of the player. They carry out different tests of the player or athlete in order to update the fitness record of the athlete.

Sports athlete provides first aid to the athlete or player after an injury (Hudson, 1998). They have a claim to stop or letting go the player from participating in a sporting activity on the basis of their assessment and examination of the player's fitness condition. Sports therapists advise exercises to the athletes under consideration and provide them with specific massage to help them in gaining physical and mental fitness for an event of sporting activity. Sports therapist plans, designs and monitors programs of rehabilitation and fitness trainings for the sportsmen. Usually, a sports therapist is included in the team of the health care panel for the sportsmen that also include doctors, managers, trainers and coaches (Ward, 2004).

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