Our Integrated Team Can Help You Get Ready for Fall Sports
Are you wondering how to prepare for this year’s fall sports season? Have you been struggling with an old injury that just doesn’t seem to be going away? Before you know it, the cooler season will come, and so will fall sports!
Everyone involved in athletics knows that one thing is for sure: competition comes with a risk of injury. Fortunately, we know how to prepare athletes for the fall sports season. At Foundation Physiotherapy & Wellness, our integrated team specializes in helping athletes recover from injuries and preparing them for their upcoming seasons.
Whether you compete in cross-country running, football, or soccer, one of our skilled practitioners can help you resolve an injury and provide you with the tools you need to be at your peak physical condition for the start of the season!
Request an appointment to get our team to help you get ready to compete!
How Foundation Physiotherapy & Wellness Helps Athletes Prepare for Fall Sports
Maintaining high performance is vital to ensure your body is strong, stable, and prepped for the game. Playing the sport you love, whether competitively or just for fun, is important to staying healthy and enjoying your life.
Conditioning is a significant part of staying healthy when you play sports. Conditioning programs can lower your risk of sustaining an injury during the game and improve your performance. Our programs focus on a whole-body approach to keeping your joints healthy and strong. We implement sports-specific strengthening and training methods to ensure your body can tolerate the demands of your sport while improving your ability to compete at a high level.
We utilize targeted exercises, lifting weights, and proactive recovery practices to prevent athletes from injuring themselves. We strive to help our athletes be prepared for the ups and downs of a sports season.
Injury Prevention with a Whole-Body Approach
One significant aspect of working with the different practitioners at Foundation Physiotherapy & Wellness is that you optimize your recovery and learn the tools to prevent an injury this fall. Injuries are a part of any sports season and are typically placed into two categories: traumatic or overuse.
Traumatic injuries are caused by a specific incident, such as:
- Sprains (i.e., ankle or ACL)
- Strains, including pulled muscles
- Concussions (i.e., football collisions, soccer ball heading, falls, etc.)
In contrast, overuse injuries are caused by repetitive movements and/or poor technique performed over time. Some examples of overuse injuries include:
- Tendinitis (i.e., shin splints, jumper’s knee)
- Repetitive stress with poor technique (i.e., stress fractures, throwing injuries)
Sprains are extremely common in sports. Ligaments connect your bone to bone. When a ligament is stretched beyond its limits, a sprain can occur. Once the ligament is stretched, it is looser and more susceptible to being sprained again in the future.
Strains, or pulled muscles, are similar to sprains but occur to muscles and tendons, not ligaments. Tendons connect your muscles to your bones. When a tendon is stretched beyond its limit, a strain can occur. Once the tendon is injured, it needs to be resolved fully, or it can lead to a chronic overuse condition.
Coming to Foundation Physiotherapy & Wellness before you begin playing this fall could make all the difference in how ready your body is to be out on the field or court. We will perform a whole-body assessment to identify any underlying condition that can lead to future injuries. If/when we identify limitations and weaknesses, we will address them head-on to resolve them thoroughly. As you progress through rehabilitation, our focus will shift to increase the intensity and complexity of your program. Our integrated team will incorporate sports-specific training to prepare your body for the demands of a competitive sports season. We will work to ensure you are ready for the start of your season.
Don’t Let Injuries Sideline You: Book Your Session Now!
No pain or injury? Physiotherapy can still help! Check out our 8-week Functional Movement Screen Injury Prevention Program!
Join Us for a Healthier You – Book Today!
Return to Foundation Physiotherapy and Let’s Continue Your Journey to Wellness Together. Schedule Your Appointment Now!
Discover Healthy Recipes
Homemade Electrolyte Drink
Ingredients
- 1 cup coconut water
- 1 cup filtered water
- 1 tablespoon raw honey
- Juice of 1 lemon or 1 1/2 limes
- 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
Directions
Add all of the ingredients into a blender and blend until combined. You can also stir everything together in a large mason jar.
Exercise of the Month
Strengthen your neck to recover from and prevent concussion with this chin tuck exercise!
Video courtesy of Dr. Gillian Growse at our Etobicoke Royal York location.
Staff Spotlight
👊 A big Foundation fistbump to our physiotherapist, Jared Bruce (@jbrehab), who was recently highlighted as one of Toronto’s three best rated physiotherapists according to ThreeBestRated.ca. Jared’s journey started seven years ago! He joined our team as a resident. Soon, after achieving great outcomes and client metrics, he was Foundation’s first senior associate. Displaying an interest in leadership, Jared was promoted to Clinic Lead at our busy CityPlace location, where he manages over 12 staff members, while continuing to assess and treat his clients. Jared is an accomplished physiotherapist professionally, achieving his Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Manipulative Physiotherapy (FCAMPT) designation. He mentors our incoming physiotherapists on effective manual therapy skills. Congrats Jared🎉 We’re proud of what you do for the company, the profession, and for patients! To learn more about Jared, check out his bio here.
Our Patients Get Great Results
“Highly recommend getting help from this team if you need. I took a treatment with Tyler for my ankle injury. He is very thorough at his job and humble to talk to and express your concerns. I often go for massages with Alisha whenever I have minor pains. Overall, wonderful staff, very welcoming and friendly, specifically Rovana at the helpdesk.”
– Lehar C.
Patient Spotlight
Meet Gloria 💙 Gloria has allowed us to share and highlight her story. Gloria came in a few months ago complaining of chronic, persistent trouble with her lower back and legs. Gloria’s granddaughter was becoming more concerned about her as she noticed her ability to walk upright was looking more and more challenging. On the assessment, working with Dr. Ryan Albert (@dr.ryanalbert) at our newest Trinity Bellwoods location, he was able to diagnose her limitations due to lumbar stenosis and explained her particular issue to her so she understood what was going on and we came up with a plan to improve her mobility. Gloria committed to a regular plan of care for once a week for eight weeks. Treatment consisted of manual therapy to her back and hips, weekly exercise progression and regular education about her condition. A few months later, Gloria’s ability to walk upright improved significantly, along with her pain and activity tolerance. Gloria continues to maintain her outcomes by visiting Dr. Albert once a month to optimize her function. We are so proud to see Gloria actively working to living better!
Service Spotlight: Concussion Rehab
A concussion is a form of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) that occurs from a direct or indirect blow or force to the head or neck region. Concussions can result from falls, blunt force trauma, sports-related injuries, car accidents, and whiplash, among other causative factors. Most symptoms of concussion, when managed properly, can recover after 4-6 weeks. However, up to 40% of patients develop and report persistent symptoms following their concussive episode, sometimes weeks, months, or years after their initial injury. This is referred to as post-concussion syndrome (PCS).
What Are The Symptoms Of A Concussion?
Initially, the patient or athlete may experience an altered state of consciousness, which may involve an actual loss of consciousness. Concussions DO NOT require loss of consciousness to be diagnosed as a mild traumatic brain injury. In fact, most concussions do not include a loss of consciousness and therefore patients are often unaware that their brain may have been injured. The symptoms can include any or all of the following: dizziness, headaches, neck pain and muscle tension/spasms, “brain fog,” decreased mental energy and alertness, fatigue, excessive sleep, insomnia, loss of appetite, mood swings, irritability, anxiety, depression, altered memory, difficulty concentrating, migraines, difficulty with multi-tasking, lack of interest, nausea, decreased balance and decreased tolerance for exercise and movement, in general (especially head movement).
How Long-Lasting Are The Effects Of A Concussion?
Our specialized therapists focus on identifying your primary impairments and concerns in your initial assessment to best individualize your post-concussion care. Every brain injury is like a fingerprint- they are all unique to the individual. Therefore, the history and exam are the most important part of developing your customized treatment plan.
Treatments can consist of manual therapy techniques to the cervical (neck) and thoracic (upper back) spine, balance and coordination tasks, strengthening, and vestibular rehabilitation. Exercise and education around lifestyle, exposure to screens, posture/positioning, and return to sport/work are the foundation of your recovery. Can results be achieved even if my concussion was a long time ago?
Studies have shown that our brain is the most plastic (trainable and malleable) organ we have! We are able to hone the benefits of neuroplasticity to “re-train the brain” so that you can make new neural connections and restore networks that may have been impaired- even if your injury occurred years ago! Typically, our patients are able to improve significantly over the 3-6 months that they participate in our post-concussion program and are able to return to a level of function and activity that improves their quality of life. If you have additional questions, feel free to ask your healthcare provider or give us a call!