Our mission is to help our clients create and maintain physically active lifestyles through proactive approaches and to achieve their optimum performance in their athletic endeavours.
Athletic Therapy
Athletic therapy is a unique medical profession dedicated to the health and well-being of physically active individuals, athletic therapists are educated and trained in the prevention, recognition, management and injury rehabilitation resulting from any form of physical activity from gardening, construction work, to desk job to the sports.
WHY SEE AN ATHLETIC THERAPIST?
Your Certified Athletic Therapist will perform an assessment to identify factors that may be contributing to your symptoms. Based upon the evaluation which examines medical history, posture, range of motion and special tests, a programme will be designed specifically to help alleviate the sources of the problem.
This programme may include: goal-setting techniques heat/cold, manual therapy, massage, flexibility and strengthening exercises, joint mobilization, postural correction, and relaxation techniques.
CERTIFIED ATHLETIC THERAPISTS
Registered with the Canadian Athletic Therapist Association (CATA), a Certified Athletic Therapist must have successfully completed a comprehensive theory exam and a subsequent oral/practical exam developed and administered by the certification board of the CATA.
AREAS OF EXPERTISE FOR AN ATHLETIC THERAPIST
- PREVENTION STRATEGIES:
Employs strategies to help active clients to avoid or minimize the possibility of injury. - EMERGENCY ON FIELD MANAGEMENT: Many musculoskeletal injuries require immediate expert care, including injury assessment, first aid transition in the health care system.
- ORTHOPEDIC ASSESSMENT & REHABILITATION: Post Injury, Athletic therapy focuses on preparing active individuals to re-establish their pre-injury lifestyle through physical reconditioning, hands-on therapy and other rehabilitative techniques.
WHO BENEFITS FROM ATHLETIC THERAPY CARE
People of all walks of life, all ages and all levels of activity benefit from an athletic therapist’s strategies for conditioning, injury prevention and management on and off the field as well as the on-going rehabilitation of injuries.
- Community members
- Dancers, Musicians
- Individuals with common injuries- house cleaning, gardening, painting
- Police Officers, Soldiers
- Industrial athletes - Construction workers
- Recreational athletes & Competitive athletes
- Professional athletes
SCOPE OF PRACTICE - ADAPTED FROM C.A.T.A
The scope of practice of a Certified Athletic Therapist includes the assessment, prevention, immediate care, and reconditioning of musculoskeletal injuries. Prevention includes musculoskeletal and posture evaluation, equipment selection, fitting and repair, warm-up, conditioning programs, prophylactic or supportive taping, and adapting to the activity environment and facilities.
The provision of on-field immediate care of athletic injuries by a Certified Athletic Therapist includes: injury assessment, basic emergency life support, recognition and management of acute traumatic neurological dysfunction, provision of first aid, preparation for entrance into appropriate health care delivery systems, or, where appropriate, utilization of techniques facilitating a safe return to participation.
A Certified Athletic Therapist assesses injuries and conditions, utilizes contemporary rehabilitative techniques, therapeutic modalities, soft tissue mobilization, physical reconditioning, and supportive strapping procedures to promote an environment conducive to optimal healing in preparing the individual for safe reintegration into an active lifestyle.
The Athletic Therapist, in co-operation with all performance enhancement personnel and members of the health care delivery team, is an integral part of a total service to maximize the performance and welfare of the individual. As part of this role, the Athletic Therapist nurtures an attitude of positive health.