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Athletic therapy month — **Did You Know:** Athletic therapy treatment is covered by Manitoba Public Insurance, Worker’s Compensation Board and most major insurance companies

You don’t need to be a professional athlete to take advantage of the unparalleled care an athletic therapist provides! Wear and tear on our bodies does not always have to be the result of sports; yard work, fitness classes, playtime with the kids, work (even office work!), sleeping position and summertime activities can all take their toll on us.

What Is an Athletic Therapist?

Athletic Therapists are professionals dedicated to the prevention and care of musculoskeletal injuries for active Canadians. Focusing on prevention, immediate care and ongoing rehabilitation of injuries, they provide specialized treatment plans that will allow their clients to get back to work or play. Through active rehabilitation, Athletic Therapists provide a hands-on approach to health, utilizing the most advanced forms of evidence-based rehabilitation. Exercises and stretches are provided to empower their clients to take charge of their own long term health. An Athletic Therapist aims to help maximize performance and encourages individuals to enjoy their active lifestyle.

Where do Athletic Therapists work?

Athletic therapists can work with high school, university, national and professional sports teams and individual athletes as well as in private clinics like ours. Balance Chiropractic & Wellness Centre is proud to have Alyssa Reagh and Colin Olbert as part of our team. They specialize in post-surgical treatments and back to work/play rehabilitation, while educating others about injury prevention, health and fitness. Their services include:

Athletic Therapy Assessment
Athletic Therapy Treatment
Post Injury Rehabilitation
Return to Performance Strengthening
Pre Surgical Strengthening
Post Surgical Rehabilitation

Athletic therapy uses a variety of different techniques like manual therapy and ultrasound to heal your injuries, but relying solely on your clinic appointments will delay and often impede any healing. Your athletic therapist will often prescribe stretches, exercises, hydration and icing to prolong the effects of treatment and encourage quicker, better healing.

Golf season is here again! Reserve your tee time here http://www.drivetheball.com/ ! Here we’ve comprised some tips and resources to help you have a full, satisfying golf season. You can also check out our older golf posts here and here. In these older posts we discuss the importance of warming up, cooling down and suggest some great exercises to punch up your golf game. In this post we’ll discuss some great drills and tips to improve technique.

Make Solid Contact You know that really satisfying “twack” that happens when your club hits the ball perfectly? Well you can have that every time by improving your ballstrike with this “centeredness of contact drill” from Golf Tips Magazine. Line up three golf balls perpendicular to your target, with the centre ball being the one you intend to hit. The other two balls act as guides to encourage you to make contact with your ball right at the centre of the face of your club. The outer two balls should not have moved once your shot has been completed. Having better club to ball contact makes your shots more accurate and predictable.

Avoid the Shame of a Mis-hit A steep back swing will result in an awkward ball strike that will cause the ball to pop up in front of you, embarrassing! By creating a shallower back swing you can discourage the ball from popping up rather than soaring away. Often, this problem is often caused by excessive forward weight shift (as discussed in the Stop the Pop article from Golf Tips Magazine) and can be combated simply by widening your stance. Golf Tips Magazine suggests this drill to familiarize yourself with the shallow back swing:

“Make abbreviated swings with your feet placed wider than shoulder width. Each swing should move from 2:00 to 8:00 (as if a large clock sits behind you). Concentrate on maintaining a higher position at the top of your swing (hands at 2:00) and a lower position at the finish (hands at 8:00). This will train your body to make a fuller backswing and shift your weight to your back foot on the backswing and to your forward foot on the downswing, instead of the other way around.”

Just starting to get into golf? Here is a quick article about these three common newbie mistakes (and how to improve them), be sure to check these options as well!

over-swinging
overusing the legs
losing leverage at the top of the swing

Check out these other website for more great tips! http://www.golfchannel.com http://www.pga.com/topic/golf-instruction http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-instruction/golf-beginners-tips#intro

Questions or comments? Let us know!

What is Athletic Therapy?

Keep Your Golf Game on Par!