“How critical is physical therapy for athletes?”
I am a marathon runner, and the other day I was told that it is important for me to receive physical therapy. Are warm ups and stretches enough? Do I really need physical therapy?
9 Answers
what hurts?
If you don't have complaints (pain, weakness, limping, sprain, or any other issues), you can stick with warm up and stretching as you mentioned.
No you don't need physical therapy, you may go to the gym if you wish .
If you have a good stretching and strengthening routine then you don’t need skilled physical therapy unless you have experienced an injury associated with your recreational activities.
It depends. If you have the proper knowledge of exercises, you should be fine. However, you should consult a physical therapist in order to prevent any further injuries.
PT will help heal minor injuries caused due to running.
No and Yes. NO warm ups and stretching may not be enough and YES Physical Therapy would help you perform better.
Seeing a Physical Therapist is not only important when you are injured, but is also important in order to avoid injury and to improve athletic ability. Unless you are a disciplined cross-trainer, you are likely developing muscle imbalances due to training the same muscles repeatedly. At some point, you may develop over-use injuries. Warm ups and stretches are important and will generally get you through for a while. But it is a good idea to schedule wellness visits with your Physical Therapist periodically in order to avoid any injuries.
If you're struggling with a low level injury, it's always important to address the issue. As a marathon runner myself, it's very important that warm ups and stretching is important, but performed in a functional plane motions. If you need help, then I definitely recommend at least an evaluation.
