Elite Athletes Provide a Proving Ground
Allyson’s treatment included exactly the same procedures and methods we use every day in our clinic to help rehabilitate the general public. In fact it is the treatment of elite athletes that provide our staff with the knowledge of what works and what doesn’t work. Elite athletes are so finely tuned, that our physical therapy interventions create immediate results, whereas the rest of us take longer to respond. Their quick response to treatment gives us the confidence to stay the course with treatments for the rest of us mere mortals.
Allyson’s physical therapy began with Phase I treatment to prevent excessive swelling, maintain joint range of motion and strength, and prevent collateral tissue damage. The field of sports medicine addresses the body’s exaggerated response to acute injury including excessive swelling, loss of range of motion, and immobilizing pain, all which serve to prolong the time away from training and competition. Perhaps these are left over vestiges of a survival trait of early man that served to keep our ancestors sedentary to prevent them from perpetuating the damage after injury.
