Keith J. Cronin, DPT, CSCS

There are significant differences between post-surgical and non surgical rehabilitation after a sports injury.

Following a sports injury, athletes, parents, and coaches usually look to the medical professionals involved in an athlete's care to decide when an athlete can return to play, and how much residual pain is acceptable. Here's how a physical therapist evaluates pain over the course of an athlete's treatment and recovery.

Part of the reason athletes often think of PT as standing for "pain and torture" is because physical therapists employ a technique called "pressure to pain" to help them figure out how healing is progressing.  

The three most important things a parent should know about an MRI when they talk to a physical therapist are not to be afraid to ask questions, not to dwell on the risk of surgery, and to know that the PT treats the patient, not the MRI.

Body symmetry is important because poor balance of such things as muscle tightness, stretch, bone length, pelvic rotation, and scapular positioning increases risk of injury and can hurt performance. 

Finding the optimal balance between mobility and stability is crucial during the rehabilitation process.   Restoring normal joint mobility and stability before an athlete returns to play is important for performance and in reducing the risk of future injury. 

Restoring full range of motion to a joint should be achieved early in physical therapy as playing sports with restricted range of motion increases injury risk and negatively effects athletic performance.

Every physical therapy sessiont can be broken down into five basic parts: subjective, objective, treatments, assessment, and plan

Physical therapy is far more than about treating injuries. The real trick is preventing an injury from happening again. Here are some things that you might not know about physical therapy.