In honour of Athletic Therapy Month, we wanted to highlight this valuable profession and how it helps you prevent or manage injuries at home, work, or during physical activities. 

Did you know that six of eight of our MoveSafe Consultants are certified Athletic Therapists? These team members have provided great insights into our training programs and our 1:1 client support and consultations. 

Here’s what you need to know and what you might not have known about Athletic Therapists.

What is an Athletic Therapist

An Athletic Therapist is expertly trained and certified in injury prevention, assessment, management, and rehabilitation of your musculoskeletal system including your muscles, bones, and joints). They treat a wide range of patients on-site at athletic events, and athletic or non-athletic injuries off-site in clinics and physical rehabilitation centres.

Here are a few examples of services they can provide:

• Concussion recovery
• Rehabilitation from hip replacement surgery
• Nutritional advice
• Sports equipment fitting 
• Body strength and conditioning
• Postural and ergonomic assessments
• Exercise rehabilitation
• Injury prevention

Athletic Therapists must follow strict certification and educational guidelines to practice these therapies.

How Athletic Therapists treat musculoskeletal injuries

Athletic Therapists use various techniques to support their patient’s overall health and rehabilitation from musculoskeletal injuries. This may include manual therapies, exercise routines, bracing, and taping.

2 Misconceptions about Athletic Therapists

Many people don’t know if an Athletic Therapist is right for them. Here are two misconceptions or myths about this profession and therapies:

1. It’s only for Athletes. FALSE: Based on its name, many believe Athletic Therapists only work with athletes or those with athletic-related injuries. In fact, they support any patient who wants to prevent or treat injuries to their musculoskeletal system. This includes children, young adults, and older people.
2. It’s only for rehabilitation. FALSE: While most patients who see Athletic Therapists seek healing or rehabilitation, you can also benefit from seeing them to prevent injury. They can provide nutritional, postural, and movement support to help you avoid injuries in your day-to-day life, while playing sports, or engaging in other physical activities. 

Our top tips for preventing musculoskeletal injuries

1. Lift with your legs. When lifting heavy objects, use your legs, not your back. Instead, hinge at the hips and lift with your legs and glutes. 
2. Warm up and stretch. Before doing any physical activity, warm up and perform dynamic stretches to loosen your muscles to avoid strain or injury. 
3. Get help: If the load is heavy or awkward to carry or move, get someone to help you. 
4. Identify risks: In your workplace, have a safety assessment to look for areas or situations that could cause musculoskeletal injuries and implement systems to prevent them. 
5. Train staff: Provide your team with ergonomics and workplace safety training so they understand safe and proper movements to avoid injury. 

At MoveSafe, we help you avoid musculoskeletal injuries at home, work, and physical activity. We provide various services, training, assessments, and support for individuals and businesses. Whether you’re looking for training on safe movement at work, setting up your office or workplace for ergonomics safety, or looking for advice and assistance in setting up workplace furniture and workstation design, we have a program for you. 

Check out more free resources on preventing musculoskeletal injuries at play and work in our Resource Centre.