The Lisfranc joint is a complex joint in the midfoot where the metatarsal bones connect to the rest of the foot, providing stability to the foot, supporting the arch of the foot, and allowing you to walk and run with ease. A Lisfranc injury involves a fracture or dislocation of the metatarsal and tarsal bones of the midfoot or a sprain of the ligaments of the midfoot, leading to significant pain, dysfunction, and difficulty walking or running. Physical therapy after a Lisfranc injury and surgery can help you manage pain and swelling, improve lower extremity mobility and strength, restore normal walking ability, and safely return to activity and sports competition.

Ankle sprains are one of the most common sports injuries that occur when the foot twists beyond its normal range of movement, causing the ankle's ligaments to overstretch or tear. If you do not receive timely and effective treatment after your first ankle sprain, the risk of recurrent ankle sprains and chronic ankle instability is high. It’s essential to work with a physical therapist to address an ankle sprain and restore ankle joint biomechanics, strength, and balance safely before returning to sport or activity.

A calf strain involves injury to or tearing of the muscles in the back of your leg below the knee, primarily the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles. Calf strains are common among athletes who perform stop-and-go movements with quick bursts of speed, such as sprinters, football players, and soccer and tennis players. Physical therapy can help reduce pain, restore muscle strength and flexibility, and increase the speed of recovery through a progressive rehabilitation program to prepare the athlete for a safe return to sport.

Boxing is a high-impact sport requiring full-body movement, coordination, agility, endurance, and power, combining upper-body power punching with lower-body footwork. Due to the high intensity of the sport, upper body injuries are common, including concussions, wrist and elbow strains, boxer’s fracture, or shoulder rotator cuff or labrum tears. Physical therapists can help boxers prevent injury through a customized strength and conditioning program and recover from and return to the boxing ring safely after injury.

Spondylolysis is a lumbar stress fracture in the pars interarticularis, the bony bridge that connects the upper and lower facet joints of the vertebrae. Spondylolysis is a common cause of low back pain in adolescent athletes, caused by repetitive loading, backward bending, and twisting of the lower back. Physical therapy can successfully manage spondylolysis in adolescent athletes, helping to reduce pain, improve strength and function in the low back, and safely return athletes to sports competition.

Snowboarding is an intense winter sport requiring excellent balance, coordination, and agility while descending packed snow-covered slopes at high speed. Due to the high speeds and momentum gained when snowboarding, injuries due to falling are common and most often involve injury to the upper body, such as wrist fractures, separated shoulders, ligament and tendon tears in the shoulder, and concussions. A physical therapist can help a snowboarder not only recover from injury and safely return to the slopes but also prepare for the snowboarding season through a targeted strength and conditioning program.

Meniscus tears are one of the most common sports injuries and most frequent knee injuries. The meniscus can tear during any movement that puts excessive pressure on the knee or pushes the meniscus past its normal rotational range of motion, such as when twisting, squatting, or making quick positional changes. Physical therapy can help those experiencing meniscus tears facilitate optimal healing, restore full functionality, and achieve complete recovery through targeted strengthening and extensive rehabilitation should surgery be necessary, for a safe return to sport and activity.

A lateral collateral ligament (LCL) injury occurs when the ligament on the outer side of the knee is overstretched and tears, causing pain, swelling, and knee instability. The LCL, which is a thick band of tissue connecting the thighbone and shinbone, can be injured if the knee is hit on the inside, pushing the knee outward or if the knee straightens too quickly or forcefully, hyperextending and straining the outside of the knee. Most LCL injuries heal with conservative non-operative physical therapy treatment. Physical therapy can reduce LCL injury pain, restore strength and range of motion in the knee, and safely return athletes to their sport through a progressive therapeutic exercise program.

Female athlete triad involves three interrelated conditions: energy availability, bone mineral density, and the menstrual cycle. Energy availability is the cornerstone of the triad as low energy and nutrient deficiencies can lead to the development of low bone density and changes in the menstrual cycle in female athletes. Physical therapy can help to prevent or resolve female athlete triad, screening for triad risk as they treat female athletes, identify signs, address triad-related injuries, and educate athletes on proper health and fitness for their overall health and athletic training.

Ankle impingement can occur when either soft or bony tissues are compressed within the ankle joint at the extreme end of a motion, such as pointing the foot sharply downward. This condition commonly affects gymnasts, dancers, runners, and football, soccer, and volleyball players as these activities require either a repetitive kicking motion or repeated extremes of ankle motion in dorsiflexion or plantarflexion. Physical therapy can reduce ankle impingement pain, heal and strengthen the ankle complex, improve overall balance, and help athletes and dancers return to sport and dance safely.

Check out our infographic on physical therapy for a shoulder separation. Shoulder separations occur when one or more of the ligaments that hold the clavicle and the scapula that form the AC joint become strained or torn. This is a common shoulder injury in football due to the high-contact and tackling nature of the sport. Physical therapy can effectively treat shoulder separations, helping athletes manage pain, restore shoulder mobility, and strength, and return to sport safely.

Tennis elbow is one of the most common elbow injuries that results from overuse of the muscles of your arm and forearm. It occurs in the tendons that attach your muscles to the rounded projection of bone on the outside of the elbow, causing radiating pain from the outside of the elbow to the forearm and wrist. Tennis elbow normally develops gradually over weeks and months due to repetitive use of the wrist, hand, arm, and elbow over time. Physical therapy is an effective treatment for tennis elbow, helping patients build muscle strength, regain function in the elbow and forearm, and manage pain.

Return to work and return to sport programs share the same goal: that the worker and athlete can safely return to work or athletic competition and can meet the demands of the job or sport with sufficient strength, power, and endurance. Physical therapists play a key role in helping injured workers and athletes recover from injury and prepare for a successful return to the job or sports field through a gradual, progressive RTW or RTS training program and objective testing. Rehabilitation for return to work (RTW) and return to sport (RTS) is customized to the patient’s specific needs, duties, and necessary skills to ensure the patient can succeed upon their return to work or sport.

Quadriceps strains are common in sports like soccer, football, and rugby that require sudden, forceful eccentric contractions of the quadriceps when performing a rapid or powerful knee extension, such as when kicking, jumping, or sprinting. The quadriceps are a group of four powerful muscles that are located at the front of the upper thigh that are responsible for knee extension. Through a structured rehabilitation program, physical therapy can help athletes recover from a quadriceps strain safely, helping them regain normal muscle length, strength, and control, reduce pain, and improve running and kicking technique to reduce the risk of future injury.

A shoulder separation, or AC joint injury, involves a strain or tear of the ligaments of the joint that result in some form of separation between the clavicle and acromion. Shoulder separations are common among young male athletes who participate in high-contact sports like football and rugby. Physical therapy is an effective treatment for AC joint shoulder separations, helping to manage pain, restore shoulder mobility and strength, and return to sport and work safely through a progressive four-phase rehabilitation program.

Medial patellofemoral ligament (MPFL) injury involves a strain or tearing of the MPFL, typically due to a traumatic kneecap dislocation. The MPFL is a ligament located on the inside of the knee joint, connecting the kneecap and thighbone and providing stability to the kneecap. Physical therapy helps those with MPFL injuries restore knee strength and function and provides post-surgery rehabilitation if surgery is necessary.

Shin splints are a common soccer injury that involves inflammation of the tibia and surrounding muscles, which strain where they connect to the tibia and develop micro-tears, causing pain through the lower leg. Shin splints often occur early in the season during intense conditioning due to a rapid increase in the frequency and duration of exercise that places too much stress on the shin bone and muscles. Physical therapy can help soccer players manage shin splint-related pain, restore function and strength in the lower leg, and help athletes return to sport safely.

To improve your golf swing, it is essential to improve your thoracic mobility. Thoracic mobility refers to the rotational capacity of your thoracic spine which is comprised of 12 vertebrae in the mid-back that are specifically designed for rotation, flexion, and extension of the torso. Adequate motion in the thoracic spine helps to minimize compensatory motion in the golf swing, create a longer back swing, and generate power in the golf swing and clubhead speed. On the blog, Mangiarelli Rehabilitation physical therapist Mike demonstrates exercises you can do to improve your thoracic mobility and golf swing.

Check out our infographic on physical therapy for a sports hernia. A sports hernia is a soft tissue injury that occurs in the groin, pelvis, or lower abdomen involving a strain or tear in a muscle, tendon, or ligament deep in the abdominal wall. Physical therapists play a critical role in helping an athlete recover from and return to sport safely after a sports hernia through an active rehabilitation program focused on strengthening the hip and abdominal muscles.

Before returning to sprinting after a sports injury, it is essential to progressively regain strength, agility, and speed under the guidance of a qualified sports physical therapist. To prepare for a return to sprinting, a physical therapist begins with isometric and eccentric strength training followed by plyometric and agility training before progressing to a sprint training program. Returning to sprinting is an objective in the later stages of rehabilitation for lower extremity injuries. It is critical that athletes achieve interval sprinting at top speed in the controlled, predictable environment of the physical therapy clinic before engaging in competition and returning to sport.