Sports Physical Therapy Exercises
Athletes often think the only way to keep the muscles and joints healthy is by pulling their foot up behind them or pulling their arm across their chest. There are benefits to range of motion and overall flexibility when performing these static stretches. However, active sports physical therapy exercises and rehab drills will help the muscle move through an active range of motion while increasing stability and strength in important stabilizing muscles throughout the body.
The Ballistic Bands are a great tool to use for these active sports physical therapy exercises since the resistance is not constant and will change with the particular movement being performed. This increase in resistance will allow the athlete to progressively build up strength and challenge themselves throughout the sports rehab exercises. Different levels of tension and resistance will also allow the athlete to progressively increase the resistance on each sports physical therapy exercise. This will make it easier for athletes, trainers, or coaches to track the athletes’ progression through the rehab exercise.
Another great sports physical therapy tool that athletes can use is the Recovery Foam Roller. Using the Recovery Foam Roller with the Rejuvenating Stretching Sequence will compliment any sports physical therapy exercises by helping to break up tight muscles and increase blood flow to the targeted areas.
Kbands Live 118 | Physical Therapy Exercises
The Kbands Live 118 Sports Physical Therapy Exercises focus on increasing athletes’ mobility in key areas like the hamstrings, shoulders, and ankles. The hamstrings are a very explosive and are important muscle to an athletes jumping and running abilities. To avoid injuries to the knee or hamstring muscles themselves it is important to use the Ballistic Bands to stretch and strengthen the hamstring muscles.
To strengthen and stabilize the hamstring muscles athletes will attach a single, or combination of different levels of resistance, around a stable object. Next athletes will lie on their stomachs and attach the Ballistic Bands around one of their ankles or low calf area. For 20-30 seconds athletes will quickly, but in a controlled motion, bring the heel toward the butt, then lower the toe down to the floor. Athletes will work to keep their hips on the ground and not tilt their body until the set is completed. Athletes should focus on making their hamstrings work during the sports physical therapy exercise. After completing the first set athletes will switch legs and perform the sports physical therapy exercise on the opposite leg. Complete 4 alternating rounds of the sports physical therapy exercise before moving into the double leg hamstring curls.
For the double leg hamstring curls athletes will add additional resistance and focus on slower repetitions up and down for an additional 3 sets of 20-20 seconds. It is important athletes focus on adding a challenging amount of resistance to the drill to emphasize the strength portion of the pair of physical therapy exercises.
Sports Rehab And Physical Therapy Exercises
Athletes can continue the sports physical therapy exercises and rehab drills by moving into ankle mobility drills. Mobility of the ankles is key to any athletes’ agility, balance, and coordination. If athletes are overcompensating, or not properly utilizing certain muscles in the ankle then injuries to the ankles, hips, and knees can occur.
To perform this sport physical therapy mobility drills athletes will need a Ballistic Band wrapped around the ball, or top of the arch of the foot. Athletes will focus on getting a large range of motion as they lie on their back and extend the wrapped foot and leg in front of them. Athletes will begin by slowly going up and down with the wrapped toe, stabilizing against the resistance. After 10-15 up and down repetitions athletes will rest for a short period, re-extend the leg, and perform the same toe movement moving side to side for 10-15 repetitions. Athletes will then take the toe in a full clockwise motion, moving in a complete circle 10-20 times. Athletes will then perform 10-20 counter clockwise turns before finishing the ankle rehab drill by writing all of the letters of the alphabet with their resisted toe. Athletes should complete 1-2 complete sets of the ankle rehab routine, alternating legs.
As athletes move through these ankle rehab drills they need to remember that the focus should be on the ankle and moving the ankle effectively in a full range of motion. If this cannot be completed then athletes should practice balance exercises on stable and unstable surfaces.
Sports Physical Therapy Exercises With Ballistic Bands
The final sports physical therapy exercise in the Kbands Live 118 is the Kbands Shoulder Rehab Sequence. This shoulder rehab and strengthening series forces smaller muscles in the rotator cuff, back, and shoulders to move and gain more strength and mobility. Although these physical therapy exercises are most beneficial to baseball, softball, football, and volleyball players’, athletes in any sport that requires movement of the arms and use of the shoulders can benefit from the shoulder rehab series.
To begin the shoulder rehab physical therapy exercises athletes will need to mount a lower level resistance Ballistic Band to a stationery object at the same height as the athletes elbow when their arms are at their side. Athletes will move through three similar, but different, rotational movements.
Athletes will first stand to the side of their mount and holding the Ballistic Bands in their outside arm will bring their elbow to a 90 degree angle. Athletes will then rotate their hand away from the middle of their body, pivoting off the elbow and keeping it stationery. Athletes will want to maintain a high chest with a back and down squeeze with the shoulder blades. Any compensating by the body should result in a shortened range of motion until the athlete builds up the strength to properly rotate the arm. Complete 10 repetitions on each arm before moving into the internal rotations.
Athletes will perform the same motion but will hold the Ballistic Band with the inside hand and actively bring the hand into the center of the body, controlling the arm as it moves away from the body. Complete 10 repetitions on each arm before lowering the Ballistic Band mount to the floor and performing the vertical rotations.
For this final set of shoulder rehab rotations athletes will raise their elbow to their side until it is even with their shoulder, there is a 90 degree angle at the arm pit, and the knuckles are facing forward with a 90 degree angle at the elbow. In a controlled motion athletes will keep the elbow still as they rotate their hand back, until it is even with their shoulder, and controlling back to where the forearm is parallel to the ground. Complete 10 repetitions on each arm. Perform 1-2 rounds of the entire shoulder rehab sequence.