How Young Athletes Can Benefit from Physical Therapy
Everyone knows that physical therapy happens when you get hurt playing sports or doing heavy lifting, and a doctor or healthcare professional puts you through the paces to get your body working right again.
While that’s true, it’s also only a part of the process. This approach to health and wellness can actually be used to prevent injuries and should be a major part of any athlete’s normal routine. Here is a look at how young athletes can benefit from training with a physical therapist on a regular basis.
Muscle Strength and Flexibility
Young athletes can work with a therapist to improve their muscle strength and overall flexibility. This kind of approach to training is designed to build strength and power, improve mobility and keep the patient’s muscular system supple and working at peak efficiency. When muscles are working at peak efficiency they are better able to avoid injuries and can heal faster when those injuries do occur.
Increased Circulation
Regular routines and proper workouts can improve blood flow and circulation to various areas of your body. Better circulation equates to higher oxygen levels in the body, which enables the athlete to perform at high levels. Some of the more common types of injuries suffered by young athletes are those caused by overuse of a muscle, joint or tendon. Increased blood flow can help to reduce these injuries and encourage healing to injured regions of the body.
Improved Endurance
Athletes at a younger age rely on their constitution and endurance to perform. Whether the sport is hockey, football, baseball, lacrosse, soccer, track and field or any other physical game, endurance is everything. Physical therapy with a trained professional can help to improve, increase and build this endurance and longevity.
Psychological Issues
A healthy body both requires and benefits from a healthy mind. All of the physical benefits of therapeutic routines benefit the brain as well, and with a healthy brain comes a healthy mind. It builds focus, determination and a positive outlook that can greatly improve the coping skills necessary to adult mental health.
Anti-Aging
You are never too young to work on staying young. Taking a therapeutic approach to physical workouts will keep your body youthful and strong, and is one of the best ways to approach anti-aging in a natural way. The more you care for your body, and the younger you start a healthy routine the more likely you are to slow down the ravages of aging when you get older.
Working with a qualified physical therapist is one of the best ways young athletes can care for their body. It is all too common for young people who play sports to wait until they’re hurt to take advantages of the services a qualified physical therapist can offer. At Complete Injury Management, Dr. Matzinger and her associates offer a complete line of physical therapy options to our Las Vegas area patients. Read a bit more about what we can do for you, and give us a call for an appointment today!
