Although there are many “common” injuries we treat at LIFT, we approach each situation with respect for your unique context and needs. Every treatment plan will be different.

Your return-to-play time will vary depending on the severity of injury, your pre-injury level of fitness, and the demands of your sport (such as your level of competition).

Types of therapy we may use

• Manual Therapy for soft tissue manipulation and joint mobility.
• Shockwave therapy and Ultrasound therapy to enhance tissue healing response.
• Very specific exercise programs to improve and maintain body function.

Soccer

Soccer is a sport that requires explosivity, agility and repetitive use of the lower body. A sport that is focused on precision and quickness also requires a high volume of specific movements to perform well. As a result, we see “typical” injuries affecting soccer players. Some of these injuries include:

• Hip flexor strains
• Groin strains
• ACL tears

Running

Running is a form of exercise that is dynamic, repetitive and cyclical, which is usually performed on a hard, unforgiving surface. Like soccer, running is performed in high volume. Although it is a great form of exercise, hardcore runners tend to be walk a fine line between being injured and being healthy. Some common running injuries we see in the clinic include:

• Patellofemoral pain syndrome
• Achilles tendinitis
• Hip flexor strains

Basketball & Volleyball

These two sports are similar in that they both require a lot of jumping and landing. This tends to leave basketball and volleyball players with tendonitis and sprain injuries. As a result, we tend to treat many:

• Ankle sprains
• ACL sprains & tears
• Patellar tendonitis (“jumper’s knee”)
• Achilles ruptures

Hockey

Hockey is a sport that requires agility, speed and precise hand-eye coordination. Hockey is quite the physical sport and demands a lot strength, quick changes of direction and endurance from our bodies. As a result, we often treat common hockey injuries like:

• AC joint separations from bodychecking
• Concussions (see our Concussion Treatment page)
• Groin strains
• Ligament sprains

Baseball

Baseball is a sport that demands excessive use of the upper body. A batter requires a lot of torque through the thorax, while throwing requires high load, speed and precision of the most mobile joint in the body, the shoulder. Specializing in a position like pitching can eventually lead to a host of long term injuries. Taking this into consideration, we tend to treat baseball players for:

• Rotator cuff tears/tendonitis/tendinopathy
• SLAP tears
• Tennis elbow
• ulnar collateral ligament sprains
• Mid-back strains

Boxing

Boxing is a whole-body activity with the focus on the arm and thorax. It requires repetitive movements with high speed and intensity of the shoulder, with high impact of the hand. Most of the force with each jab, hook or undercut is generated by the thorax. A stable core, but mobile thoracic spine is needed. Boxing injuries tend to include:

• Hand injuries
• Back injuries
• Shoulder injuries
• Concussions (see our Concussion Treatment page)

Dance, Gymnastics, Figure Skating

These are different than othger sports as they all require excessive flexibility to perform. The elegance, yet high level of technicality to excel in these sports demand the body to move, contort and stabilize in ways that are beyond our body’s natural ability. Therefore we tend to see:

• Hypermobility (excessive flexibility) injuries
• Low back compression injuries
• Hip strains
• Hyperextension injuries

A common question we get in our practice is whether or not we treat kids or youth athletes. The answer is YES! We understand that high level athletes generally start their careers at a young age, and require special care and attention during treatment. Here are some answers to some common questions we receive about our youth athletes:

Q: What sports do you specialize in?

A: We treat young athletes involved in all sports. Our promise to our clients is that, if we are not familiar with your sport, we will learn about it. This will help us help our athletes and clients get better.
 

Q: How will physiotherapy help my child?

A: Physiotherapy can help in many ways. Most commonly, we help young athletes recover from injury and help facilitate a safe transition back to sport. However, we can also help with improving mobility, stability, strength, power and agility.

Physiotherapy can focus on optimizing performance for athletes. So often, we see young athletes who already specialize in sports. The problem with early specialization is that it loads certain tissues excessively.

The concept of cross-training is typically overlooked in the young athlete but is a vital component of a complete training program.

Q: How long will it take for my child’s injury to heal?

A: Every injury is different. Therefore, it can be hard to predict recovery time without an assessment. In the initial visit, we provide a thorough evaluation of your young athlete. We will make recommendations of effective treatment options, along with prescribing exercise therapy to help facilitate recovery.

Most importantly, we will educate you and your young athlete on the expected recovery time frame and how to get back on the field as soon as possible.
 

Q: Is there something my young athlete can be doing to prevent injuries?

A: Preventing injuries is extremely hard and therefore, we do not promise that we can prevent injuries from occurring. However, as physiotherapists we can mitigate the risk of injury in many different ways. First of all, an assessment of any athlete can help us discover mobility and stability deficits.

Lacking either mobility or stability can lead to injury, especially as playing sports often demands a lot from our bodies. By identifying underlying asymmetries in the body based on the demands of the sport, we can use interventions strategically to reduce the risk of developing an injury.