How Physical Therapy Can Help You Get Ready for Fall Sports
How Physical Therapy
Can Help You Get Ready for Fall Sports
Before you know it, the cooler season will come, and so will fall sports! Are you wondering how to prepare yourself for your favorite autumn activities? Or have you been struggling with an old injury that just doesn’t seem to be going away? Either way, Achieve Physical Therapy can help. Everyone involved in athletics knows that one thing is for sure: competition comes with a risk of injury. Fortunately, physical therapy can help athletes recover from injuries and prepare them for their upcoming seasons. Whether you compete in cross-country running, football, or soccer, our team can help you resolve an injury and provide you with the tools you need to be at your peak physical condition for the start of the season.
How Physical Therapy Helps Athletes Prepare for Fall Sports
Playing the sport you love, whether competitively or just for fun, is an important part of staying healthy and enjoying your life. And making sure your body is strong, stable, and prepped for the game is vital for maintaining high performance. Conditioning is a significant part of staying healthy when you play sports. Fortunately, we offer customized conditioning programs that can lower your risk of sustaining an injury during the game and improve your performance.
These programs focus on keeping you healthy and strong. They incorporate sports-specific strengthening and training methods to ensure your body can tolerate the demands of your sport while improving your ability to compete at a high level. Techniques like targeted exercises, lifting weights, and proactive recovery practices further help prevent athletes from injuring themselves. In short, a physical therapy-focused conditioning program can prepare you for the ups and downs of the fall sports season.
Understanding Sports Injuries (And The Role Of Physical Therapy)
One significant aspect of physical therapy is that it can help you prevent an injury this fall. Injuries are a part of any sports season and are typically placed into two categories: acute or overuse.
Acute injuries are caused by a specific incident, such as:
- Sprains
- Fractures or dislocations
- Concussions
In contrast, overuse injuries are caused by repetitive movements or poor technique. Some examples of overuse injuries include:
- Tennis elbow
- Shin splints
- Jumper’s knee
- Stress fractures
- Tendinitis
More About Common Sports Injuries: Sprains and Strains
Sprains are extremely common in sports. Ligaments connect bones together and help support your joints. When a ligament is stretched beyond its limits, a sprain can occur. Once the ligament is stretched, it becomes looser and more susceptible to being sprained again in the future. Strains are similar to sprains but occur in muscles and tendons, not ligaments. Tendons connect muscles to bones. Once a tendon or muscle is injured, it needs to be resolved fully, or it can lead to persistent pain and limitations in function.
Injury Prevention with Physical Therapy
Receiving physical therapy before you begin playing this fall could make all the difference in how ready your body is to be out on the field or court. The process begins with an injury screening to identify any underlying conditions that can lead to future injuries. Once we identify limitations, restrictions, and weaknesses, we’ll provide you with a personalized program to resolve them. As you progress through rehabilitation, the intensity and complexity of your program will increase accordingly. We design your program to meet your specific needs, including incorporating sports-specific training to prepare your body for the demands of a competitive sports season.
Request an Appointment To Get Started
Encouraging healing and avoiding injury are top priorities at Achieve Physical Therapy. In addition to directly treating injuries, we can help you improve your range of motion, strength, and overall function to prevent additional harm from occurring and get you ready for your sport. Are you an athlete prepping for fall sports? Schedule an appointment today to learn more about how physical therapy can get you geared up to have your best season yet!
Jeff F, PT, DPT
Meet Jeff and his PT Power Moves
If you’ve been to Achieve Physical Therapy, there’s a good chance you’ve seen Jeff F in action. Whether he’s guiding a patient through a treatment plan or bringing positive energy to the clinic, Jeff plays a key role as our Clinic Director.
Jeff earned both his Doctorate in Physical Therapy and his Bachelor of Science in Exercise Physiology with a minor in Nutrition from the University of Massachusetts Lowell. While there, he was recognized with the Award for Clinical Excellence, a reflection of his early commitment to outstanding patient care.
His experience includes both inpatient and outpatient care, but he has a particular passion for working with young athletes and orthopedic patients. Jeff is known for his personalized, hands-on approach, combining education, manual therapy, and functional training to help each person reach their goals and return to what they love doing most.
Outside the clinic, Jeff holds a fourth-degree black belt in Kenpo Karate. His martial arts background has helped shape his focus, discipline, and understanding of how the body moves. It’s a unique skill set that benefits his patients in meaningful ways.
In his free time, Jeff enjoys camping, hiking, fishing, playing basketball, and cheering on all things Boston sports. He also loves spending time with his family and friends, recharging outside of work so he can give his best to every patient he sees.
If you haven’t met Jeff yet, be sure to say hello next time you visit. He’s always happy to chat and help you take the next step toward feeling your best.
Sports Performance: The Importance of Strengthening Core Muscles
As you start gearing up for fall sports, there’s one area you don’t want to miss: your core! Many people mistakenly believe that their core is synonymous with their abs. In reality, your core refers to all the muscles that wrap around and support your spine, including your lower back, obliques, hips, and pelvis. These muscles keep your body balanced and aligned when sprinting, changing direction, or absorbing impact. So what does this mean for you? Well, no matter what sport you play–whether soccer, field hockey, or football–core strength is a key factor in preventing injuries and enhancing your performance. In fact, a stable core supports nearly every movement you make, from more forceful throws to faster accelerations.
How to Train Your Core This Summer
- Quality matters more than quantity. Controlled movements help to activate deeper core muscles and improve overall core stability.
- Include exercises that train all planes of motion to build a well-rounded core:
- Forward/backward (planks, bird dogs, and stability‑ball rollouts)
- Side-to-side (side planks, suitcase carries )
- Rotationally (cable anti‑rotation press and half‑kneeling chops and lifts)
- Aim for at least 4-5 core training sessions a week alongside your regular training program.
- If you’re trying to build strength and power, aim for high-intensity exercises with longer rests between sets (a couple of minutes). If you’re trying to build endurance, keep rest brief (around 20-30 seconds).
Ironwoman in Motion: Jennifer’s Comeback Story
When Jennifer began experiencing sharp pain and tightness in her left hamstring just two months into training for Ironman Lake Placid, the fear of having to scale back on her goals set in. But with a big race on the horizon, giving up wasn’t an option.
Jennifer turned to Achieve Physical Therapy, where her therapist, Liz K, developed a comprehensive treatment plan to keep her on track. Her program focused on manual therapy, stretching, and strengthening the hip and knee to relieve strain and restore mobility. Thanks to Jennifer’s discipline and her already solid warm-up and recovery routine, she was able to stay consistent with training while healing.
“This past spring, just two months into training for Ironman Lake Placid (July 20), I started to experience terrible left hamstring pain and tightness during my runs,” Jennifer shared. “Fortunately, Liz K put me on a great plan, teaching me helpful strengthening exercises, stretches, and massage techniques, and reinforcing the importance of warmup and activation exercises prior to any run. With this plan, I was able to continue my run training, focusing less on speed and more on getting the volume in pain-free. My last long run was one of my best yet!”
With Liz’s support, Jennifer didn’t just maintain her training — she also competed in Ironman Western MA 70.3 in June and earned a coveted spot at the 70.3 World Championships in Marbella, Spain.
Jennifer’s resilience and dedication, paired with focused physical therapy, made all the difference in helping her stay strong and achieve her goals. We’re so proud to be a part of her journey and can’t wait to see her cross the finish line!
Stay tuned for more inspiring stories and helpful tips in our upcoming newsletters!
Need Some Extra Help?
A good core strengthening program is one of the simplest ways to improve performance no matter what sport you play. And if you aren’t sure how to get started, the Achieve team is here to help! We can pinpoint any weaknesses, help you design your program, and ensure you’re performing your exercises correctly. Contact us today to schedule your initial appointment.
