OT's Role In Athlete Injury Rehabilitation

Optimal Care for Athletes Returning to Play

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What is our Mission?

OT Belongs at the Table!

We are seeking to highlight the ways that Occupational Therapists are equipped to work alongside athletes to help optimize their recovery from injuries. There are interdisciplinary teams that are working with this demographic on a regular basis although those teams seldom involve an OT. This website is meant to highlight this skill-set and show current or future OTs that they can be a change-maker for this population.

Prominent Sports to Be Involved in!

Football
Soccer
Baseball
Hockey
Basketball
Lacrosse
Swimming
Tennis
Bowling

A common denominator for all of these sports involve the potential for head-to-head collision or injury to the upper extremity.

Valuable Shadowing
Opportunities to Consider

These professions provide an opportunity to witness various ways to interact with athletes and to understand clinical judgment for athlete injury intervention. Intersectionality with OT can be found within each discipline!

Athletic Trainer

Physical Therapists

Neurologists

Certified Hand Therapists

The Role of an Athletic Trainer

Injury Prevention: Designing and implementing programs to reduce the risk of injuries through conditioning, taping, and educating athletes on proper techniques and body mechanics.
Immediate Care: Providing on-site emergency care for injuries during practices and games.
Injury Evaluation and Diagnosis: Assessing injuries to determine their severity and deciding whether athletes need to see a physician or specialist.
Rehabilitation: Developing and overseeing personalized rehabilitation programs to help athletes recover and return to play safely.
Collaboration: Working closely with coaches, physicians, physical therapists, and other healthcare providers to coordinate care and ensure a safe return-to-play process.

The Role of a Physical Therapist

Designing and implementing individualized treatment plans to restore strength, mobility, and function after an injury or surgery.
Performance Optimization: Assessing biomechanics and movement patterns to enhance efficiency and reduce strain, helping athletes optimize performance.
Pain Management: Using evidence-based techniques to alleviate pain from overuse, acute injuries, or chronic conditions without relying on medication when at all possible.

The Role of a Neurologist

Concussion Diagnosis and Management: Evaluating and managing concussions (mTBIs) and other traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), including determining severity, recommending recovery protocols, and guiding return-to-play decisions.
Neurological Evaluations: Assessing symptoms like headaches, dizziness, numbness, weakness, or coordination problems that may stem from neurological conditions or injuries.
Baseline Testing and Monitoring: Participating in or overseeing baseline neurological testing

The Role of a Certified Hand Therapist (CHT)

Custom Orthosis Fabrication: CHT

Rehabilitation Plans:

Injury Assessment:

Injury Prevention/Education:

How Can OT Help with this Population?

Occupational therapists are uniquely qualified to assist with upper extremity injuries. Musculoskeletal injury and post-surgical rehabilitation are facets of the OT expertise .

Useful Certifications for OT's Working with this Demographic

Graston Technique Certification
- This coursework provides in depth knowledge and clinical skills for working with soft-tissue injuries and assisting with optimizing the healing process through the manipulation of metal instruments.
https://grastontechnique.com/university/essential-training/

Kinesio Taping Certification
- This coursework provides a robust understanding of how the body can be manipulated via use of kinesio tape. Movement, space, and cooling through controlling interstitial fluids is key in this coursework!
https://kinesiotaping.com/education/become-a-certified-kinesio-taping-practitioner-cktp/

Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) Certification
- This certification will provide the clinicoan with a robust tool to assist with identifying mTBI symptoms and to bring about the proper intervention accordingly.

Athlete Injuries that OTs Can Treat!

Concussion (mTBI)
Post-Concussion Syndrome
Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
Nerve Entrapments
Rotator Cuff Injury
Shoulder Subluxation/Dislocation
Fracture Rehabilitation
Trigger Finger
Repetitive Strain Injuries
Tendinitis
Scar Management
Nerve Repair
Ligament Repair (i.e. Tommy John Surgery)

Physical Agent Modalities to be Used

1. Heat Pack/Moist Heat

Use: Reduce muscle spasm, increase blood flow, improve tissue elasticity/range of motion, preparatory treatment for movement or stretching.

2. Cold Pack/Cryotherapy

Use: Decrease inflammation, reduce pain, limit swelling.

3. Paraffin Wax

Use: Provide warmth to the tissue/joints, particularly the hands as a preparatory treatment for movement/stretching and to relieve pain.

4. Ice Massage

Use: Cold therapy treatment for acute injuries to reduce pain and inflammation.

5. Fluidotherapy

Use: Desensitization and heat in the effort to reduce pain or discomfort in the hands/wrists.

6. TENS (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation)

Use: Blocking pain signals through sending electrical signals into the symptomatic region.

7. NMES (Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation)

Use: Muscle reeducation and strengthening, particularly post-surgery or post-stroke.

8. Therapeutic Ultrasound

Use: Reduce joint stiffness, heating deep tissue, and improvement of collagen extensibility.

Get in Touch

Roberts Wesleyan University

Rochester, NY 14624

585-857-1241

fricano_paul@roberts.edu

Useful References for Evidence Based Practice

Broglio, S. P., Collins, M. W., Williams, R. M., Mucha, A., & Kontos, A. P. (2015). Current and emerging rehabilitation for concussion: a review of the evidence. Clinics in sports medicine, 34, 213-231. Doi: 10.1016/j.csm.2014.12.005

Brown, L., & Camarinos, J. (2019). The role of physical therapy in concussion rehabilitation. In Seminars in Pediatric Neurology 30, 68-78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.spen.2019.03.011

Daneshvar, D. H., Yutsis, M., Baugh, C. M., Pea, R. D., Goldman, S., Grant, G. A., Ghajar, J., Sanders, L. M., Chen, C., Tenekedjieva, L.-T., Gurrapu, S., Zafonte, R. D., & Sorcar, P. (2021). Evaluating the effect of concussion education programs on intent to report concussion in high school football. Journal of Athletic Training 56, 1197-1208. DOI: 10.4085509-20

Finn, C. (2019). Occupational therapists’ perceived confidence in the management of concussion: Implications for occupational therapy education. Occupational Therapy International, 2019. DOI: 10.1155/2019/9245153

Harris, M. B., Rafeedie, S., McArthur, D., Babikian, T., Snyder, A., Polster, D., & Giza, C. C. (2019). Addition of occupational therapy to an interdisciplinary concussion clinic improves identification of functional impairments. The Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation, 34(6), 425-432. doi: 10.1097/HTR.0000000000000544.

Kerr, Z. Y., Thomas, L. C., Simon, J. E., McCrea, M., & Guskiewicz, K. M. (2018). Association Between History of Multiple Concussions and Health Outcomes Among Former College football Players: 15-Year follow-up from the NCAA concussion study (1999-2001). The American Journal of Sports Medicine 46(7), doi: 10.1177/0363546518765121

Kontos, A. P., Deitrick, J. M., Collins, M. W., & Mucha, A. (2017). Review of vestibular and oculomotor screening and concussion rehabilitation. Journal of athletic training, 52(3), 256-261. doi: 10.4085/1062-6050-51.11.05

Leddy, J. J., Sandhu, H., Sodhi, V., Baker, J. G., & Willer, B. (2012). Rehabilitation of concussion and post-concussion syndrome. Sports health, 4(2), 147-154. DOI: 10.1177/1941738111433673

Lenihan, M. W., & Jordan, B. D. (2015). The clinical presentation of chronic traumatic encephalopathy. Current Neurology and Neuroscience Reports, 15(5), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11910-015-0541-5

Lewis, N., & Bryan, V. (2021). Andragogy and teaching techniques to enhance adult learners’ experience. Journal of Nursing Education and Practice, 11(11), 31-40. http://jnep.sciedupress.com doi: https://doi.org/10.5430/jnep.v11n11p31

Marwaa, M. N., Egebæk, H. K., & Guldager, J. D. (2023). Occupational and physiotherapy modalities used to support interdisciplinary rehabilitation after concussion: A scoping review. Journal of rehabilitation medicine, 55. doi: 10.2340/jrm.v55.4512

Oak, S. R., Klein, B., Verma, N. N., Kerzner, B., Fortier, L. M., Chava, N. S.,& Bedi, A. (2022). Rehabilitation and return to play of the athlete after an upper extremity injury. Arthroscopy, Sports Medicine, and Rehabilitation, 4(1), 163-173. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.asmr.2021.09.033

Sang, R. C., Vawda, Y., Greenspoon, D., Reed, N., & Hunt, A. W. (2020). An innovative approach to measuring youth concussion recovery: Occupational performance. British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 83(4), 220-227. DOI:10.1016/j.apmr.2018.09.010

Sinnett, F., & Franzsen, D. (2020). Clinical practice in occupational therapy for treatment of concussion in schoolboys: An integrative review. South African Journal of Occupational Therapy, 50(2), 62-69. http://dx.doi.org/10.17159/2310-3833/2020/vol50no2a8

Postma, R., Rider, J. V., & Otty, R. (2022). Functional Cognition: An opportunity to highlight the role of occupational therapy in post-concussion care. The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy, 10(2), 1-6. https://doi.org/10.15453/2168-6408.1909

Thomas, R. E., Alves, J., Vaska Mlis, M. M., & Magalhaes, R. (2017). Therapy and rehabilitation of mild brain injury/concussion: Systematic review. Restorative neurology and neuroscience, 35(6), 643-666. doi: 10.3233/RNN-170761

Wong, B. M., Haider, M. N., Herget, L., Zafonte, R. D., Lamm, A. G., & Leddy, J. J. (2021). Rehabilitation of sport-related concussion. Clinics in sports medicine, 40(1), 93-109. doi: 10.1016/j.csm.2020.08.003.

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