Spine and Sport Physical Therapy - South West Health Center
Our California sports and spine center team is dedicated to keeping athletes healthy and in the game. Whether you play professionally or on the weekends, our experts can help you prevent injuries and bounce back fast when they happen.
Our sport and spine physical therapy doctors are highly trained to diagnose sports-related pain quickly using technology like MRI, ultrasound, and x-rays. We use cutting-edge treatments like Kinesio taping, shockwave therapy, muscle activation techniques, and non-surgical spinal decompression to speed up healing. For major injuries needing surgery, our partner orthopedic surgeons perform minimally invasive procedures.
Preventing injuries is a big focus too. Functional movement screenings catch weaknesses that raise injury risk. We create customized plans that combine strength training, stretching, and nutrition advice. This helps your body handle the stresses of sports. Young athletes learn to warm up properly, stay hydrated, and avoid overuse problems.
To boost performance, our certified trainers design workout routines personalized for your sport. Things like conditioning drills, core exercises, and flexibility training using Pilates make you as strong as possible on the field. Extra therapies like acupuncture and techniques that improve blood flow push you even further.
New technologies aid the process. Digital x-rays and MSK ultrasound scans find issues quickly. Devices for assessing brain function aid in comebacks. Integrating manual care, massage, and mind-body practices also speeds recovery.
A team approach at our California spine center helps keep you playing sports injury-free and at your best. Our goal is to support health, fitness, and enjoyment through every stage of life in sports.
Sport & Spine Physical Therapy Near Me
We offer full spine & sport physical therapy services at our clinic in Costa Mesa, California. Our specialized team of licensed PTs has extensive experience rehabilitating injuries to allow athletes to return to play.
After an evaluation, we create individualized treatment plans that may include hands-on manual therapy techniques, therapeutic exercises customized for your needs, modalities like Shockwave Therapy, Muscle Activation Techniques and an individualized home exercise program. Our goal is to alleviate pain, improve mobility and function, restore muscle balance and stability, and get you back in the game at full strength with a long term plan for injury prevention.
Whether your needs are short term after an acute injury or more involved for a chronic condition, we'll get you back on the road to recovery.
Sports Injury Assessment & Treatment
Dr. Zappala uses the latest information from the world of sports medicine when he performs his assessments on athletes. The information comes in the from of new studies, position papers, and twenty five years of experience. The world of sports medicine is constantly evolving and this is nowhere more apparent than in the management of concussions. Each year athletes die from injuries associated with concussions right here in our backyard. These injuries are preventable with proper medical care and early intervention. If you suspect that your child has sustained a concussion, assume that he or she has one, pull them from their sport and seek immediate medical attention. There are very specific criteria that are used to return an athlete to sport following a concussion and the licensed athletic trainer as well as the team physician are well versed in this process. It is critical that the steps are followed properly or serious consequences cab occur including death. This is why parents need to insist that wherever their child is competing, including practice, that there is a properly licensed athletic trainer on site to watch for these types of injuries.
Treating sports injuries continues to evolve as well. Modalities such as cold laser have been shown to be very effective at treating injuries to soft tissue and bone. Recently, South West Health has added Whole Body Cryotherapy (WBC) to its treatment regimens as well. This amazing tool allows us to treat multiple areas simultaneously by creating a systemic anti-inflammatory response to assist in removing damaged and inflamed tissue from the injured areas. In addition, the ancient art of acupuncture is also used extensively to treat acute sports injuries like ankle sprains, infrapatellar tendinitis as well as more chronic sports injuries like tennis elbow and shin splints. We also use instrument assisted soft tissue techniques to treat these injuries. Injuries to ligaments and tendons require great blood supply to heal properly and these soft tissue techniques assist in getting blood to these frequently injured connective tissues.