Treatment of Sports Related Injuries For athletes of all ages
Whether you are a student or professional athlete, a weekend warrior or simply an active adult, OSI is committed to helping you be at your best. We focus on a quick and safe return to activity after injuries, the prevention of future injuries, and the improvement of overall performance. We emphasize functional training as well as core stability in which an individual learns how to perform their activity so they can stay healthy and pain-free.
Kristen May, PT, ATC Sports Medicine Coordinator
Student Athletes
Many of our physical therapists are dually certified as Athletic Trainers (ATC). These professionals have the experience and the athletic mindset to get you back in the game. You might see one of these therapists on the sidelines of sporting events throughout the east metro and western Wisconsin areas.
Our clinical staff works closely with the physicians, coaches, trainers, and parents of the student athletes. They can provide valuable expertise in determining the safe and effective return to competition.
Professional Athletes
Some of the OSI therapists work wtih members of professional teams, providing rehabilitaiton after injuries and training advice. You might see a professional pitcher on the pitching mound at OSI-Stillwater or a professional dancer at the ballet bar in OSI-Maplewood.
The Aging Athlete
Our therapists have the experience to understand the needs of the aging athlete. We support and promote physical activity for people of all ages, whether they compete or not. Functional training is emphasized in which an individual learns how to perform their activity(s) so that they stay healthy and pain free.
How do we treat and manage sports related injuries?
Our physical therapists take an aggressive approach to getting injured athletes “back in the game”. We have a commitment to helping each injured athlete return to participation as quickly and safely as possible. Even though some injuries require “rest”, we initiate treatment and incorporate conditioning as soon as possible. Your physical therapist will provide a plan of care that is specific to your sport and recreational needs. It may include:
A thorough evaluation of the injury including range of motion, strength, and flexibility.
Physical modalities to alleviate pain and swelling. For example, electrical stimulation, compression and ultrasound.
Manual therapy to improve biomechanics, relieve pain, and increase range of motion. This often includes soft tissue and joint mobilizations
Therapeutic exercise and neuromuscular re-education to regain range of motion, strength, balance/coordination, and endurance.
A Self Management Program to promote continued performance improvement and maintenance.
What results can you expect?
It is difficult at times to predict recovery from injury. It often depends on the activity to which you are returning as well as the severity of the injury. To best serve our patients, OSI is a leader in tracking their progress and outcomes. If you are inerested in injury specific predictions, click here for OSI patient utilization outcomes .
Performance Enhancement
The most important piece of equipment in a sport is your body! OSI offers sport-specific consultation and training in:
These programs include video-analysis of the sport activity, a physical exam of the related joints and movements, consultation, and recommendations for exercise and training techniques.
Throwing Assessments
Athletes with repetitive overhead motions such as baseball players, quarterbacks, tennis players, and fastpitch softball pitchers strive to throw with peak performance. Furthermore, these athletes are also very susceptible to various injuries of the shoulder, elbow, and forearm.
OSI has highly skilled and experienced physical therapists who specialize in assessing both underhand and overhand motions and the biomechanics associated with those highly demanding activities. We will visually assess throwing mechanics, evaluate joint mobility and muscle function, perform special clinical tests, provide advice on improving performance including exercise programs, and if need be, provide treatment of injuries and conditions as indicated.
A Physical Therapist will:
Perform a 60 minute assessment to evaluate muscle strength, flexibility, motion control, posture, and biomechanics of movement.
Provide a multi-directional biomechanical analysis by videotape to assess the athlete's motions from three different angles.
Simulate the environment (i.e. pitcher's mound) that is most often used during the athlete's sport.
What are the typical results from a Throwing Assessment?
An athlete will receive indivudualized care / consultation from a physical therapist and will attain:
Awareness and understand correct technique for overhead motion.
Decreased risk for shoulder, elbow, and/or forearm injury or re-injury.
Modified exercise program specific for their sports needs to enhance their overall performance.
Running Assessments Runners are serious about running...Our physical therapists are too!
Running is a great sport and activity for your health and enjoyment both physically and mentally, but runners put their bodies through a lot of physical pounding. This can sometimes result in pain
or injuries.
We want runners to keep running and to run their best. OSI has physical therapists who have expertise in the in-depth evaluation, analysis, treatment, and management of conditions that runners often face. OSI's physical therapists who are running experts can provide runners of all ages with an assessment of their running situation. This assessment often times results in helpful suggestions on how to run with a safer, more efficient stride, shoe advice, distance and pacing advice, custom or off the shelf orthotic options, flexibility, strength, or balance exercise prescription, and/or specific treatment if indicated.
What is a Running Assessment?
It is an assessment of your physical components (range of motion, flexibility, strength, balance, alignment) as it relates to the mechanics of running. The physical assessment is combined with a video tape analysis of your running to evaluate how your body moves when you run. These are analyzed, reviewed and a program is developed to optimize your running.
OSI physical therapists who provide Running Assessments have specific training in the area of running mechanics and injuries. They have undergone a series of specific course work to be able to evaluate the mechanics of running and its relationship to the body. They are equipped to treat injuries related to running as well as regulate a safe return to running.
Dancers are athletes who must be highly skilled, very flexible, and have extreme control, balance, and strength. They also put their bodies through tremendous stress and strain and can sustain many types of injuries to the feet, ankles, knees, hips, and back.
Maryann Johnson, PT, of OSI's Maplewood office, is a professional dancer. As a physical therapist, she is an expert in muscle and joint function, movement patterns, balance, and physical performance. Maryann combines her knowledge and experience as a dancer with her tremendous skills in manual therapy and exercise to treat the dancers injury, prevent re-injury, and proper return to dancing with an understanding and effectiveness. Over her 16 years of experience as a physical therapist, Maryann has treated hundreds of dancers from all over Minnesota.
Maryann Johnson, PT
What will Maryann do when you see her in our Maplewood office?
She will:
Perform a thorough evaluation of consistency of ROM, strength, balance, control, and dance technique.
Develop a treatment program specific for each dancer's needs including manual therapy, and an exercise program with stretching, strengthening, core stability, control, and correct alignment of dance technique to decrease stress and irritation of the injury.
Create a program for the dancer to do at home such as re-educating proper movement patterns to return to dance.
What can you expect form Maryann's treatment?
You can expect from Maryann's treatment to decrease pain, improve ROM, strength, control, and be educated in correct alignment, proper return to dance and prevention of re-injury. The number of visits varies for each person and condition, but on average takes about 4-7 visits.
In our effort to be a preferred sports medicine provider, OSI offers athletic training services to professional, high school and community sporting events. Our trainers are experienced in both on and off-field care and assist in injury prevention.
If you are interested in receiving more information about our services, please contact Kristen May, PT, ATC/R, our Sports Medicine Coordinator at 651-439-8540.
