Sports physiotherapy and top sports counseling

Sport in Amstelveen

Amstelveen is a real sports city. Few cities in the Netherlands will play as much hockey as in Amstelveen. During the Kingsday Celebration 2014 in Amstelveen, King Willem-Alexander played hockey on the packed city square. This nicely indicated how important sport is for Amstelveen. Sports deliver a lot, it is especially healthy. A disadvantage are the sports injuries. This is the area in which the expertise of Fysio Quality lies. Helping athletes with a sports injury is the core business of Fysio Quality.

Rehabilitation is tailor-made: sports physiotherapy

Fysio Quality has gained a lot of experience in recent years with (top) sports coaching of both individual (top) athletes and guiding (top) sports teams in a club or via unions. Martial arts injuries are a special area of attention due to experience in martial arts. The impact of sports injuries can be large and have consequences for sports practice, work, school and future prospects. A good sports physiotherapist has an eye for this.

The physiotherapist for athletes

A sports physiotherapist is the specialist in sports care who should play an important role in the supervision and sports rehabilitation of (top) athletes. Cooperation and coordination with the sports doctor, sports masseur, orthopedist, strength trainer, coach and possibly parents can be of great importance when supervising the athlete. In sports rehabilitation, sometimes seemingly unattainable goals are requested, so a rehabilitation is always tailor-made and sometimes has to be carried out under high time pressure. This requires a specific mindset in which flexibility and craftsmanship are decisive. The most important cooperation during the recovery process is of course between the athlete and the sports physiotherapist.

High-quality diagnostics

Before a plan can be made, it is important to see why someone cannot move ‘pain free’ or optimally. Fysio Quality offers high-quality diagnostics by making an ultrasound in addition to the sports physiotherapy and manual examination if this has added value. Ultrasound can make a significant difference, especially in tendon injuries and ligament injuries. In some cases, additional diagnostics are required in the hospital, in which case we consult (with your permission) with the GP.

A schematic plan

Training is the common thread during sports rehabilitation. Sports physiotherapy is guided by the REHA tree as a guideline for training. This is a schematic plan for the build-up of the load. The goals are formulated on the basis of an extensive analysis of the athlete. Few devices are used in sports rehabilitation. Devices are one-dimensional, while a sports movement is particularly complex. Those movements need to be specifically trained.

The core is that the load and intensity are gradually built up. The reaction of the body must be taken into account, this is called reactivity. A safe return to the old level is usually the main goal. This is known in sports medicine as ‘return to play’.

Return to play

In general, the athlete would rather resume his sport today than tomorrow. However, there is a risk that the sport will resume too early and the injury will recur. A good example of an injury with a high recurrence rate is the hamstring tear. 14-63% of acute hamstring injuries recur within a year after sports resumption. Unfortunately, a recurrent injury is often more serious than the original injury. Ultimately, the recovery takes so much longer.

To enable a safe sports resumption, the athlete can often train in an adapted manner to pursue his rehabilitation goals. If it is not possible to train properly, the rehabilitation will initially take place in the practice of Fysio Quality, where a rehabilitation room is available. The athlete will be prepared as specifically as possible (‘Train the game’) to realize sports resumption. It is important to reduce the chance of a recurrence (renewed injury).

Specific expertise necessary for sports injuries

Fysio Quality offers sports rehabilitation after a:

• groin injury (strains and tears)
• calf injury (overload or tearing)
• ankle injury (sprain or bandage injury or luxation)
• knee injury (knee distortion, meniscal injury and ligament injury, such as anterior cruciate ligament ruptures)
• shoulder injury (such as irritated tendons or tendon ruptures, clavicle, or upper arm fractures)
• tennis elbow (pain on the outside of the elbow)
• hamstring injury (tear or strain)

The structure of the rehabilitation after cartilage injury or tendon injury requires a special approach. The routes require a lot of effort and the duration of the rehabilitation is generally longer. To increase the chance of a better outcome, the build-up is more gradual. Full recovery after cartilage injury or tendon injury is not self-evident.

Flywheel training

Fysio Quality has isoinertial training or flywheel training. This form of training differs from conventional strength training. It creates a more intensive load. In particular, the eccentric overload is not comparable to other forms of training. This allows for a faster increase in strength and muscle size of the muscle (Walker et al 2016).

Rehabilitation after an anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction

Rehabilitation after an ACL operation (anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction or posterior cruciate ligament reconstruction) with the aim of returning to sport and / or work is a special skill. This is partly due to the duration of the rehabilitation. The recovery process is divided post-operatively into 5 phases. Each phase has different goals and elements that must be trained in order to progress to the next phase.

Phase 1 : Recovery from the operation

Phase 2 : Power and neuromuscular control

Phase 3 : Running, agility and landing

Phase 4 : Return to sport

Phase 5 : Prevention of recurrent injury

The duration of the rehabilitation varies from 6 months to 1 year.

In a number of cases there is also support for the operation (pre-operative). The idea is: better in, better out.

Sports talent guidance

When young sports talents develop, the importance of prevention is extra important. The training intensity and training size often increase significantly. In addition, the body changes greatly because of the training and because you get older. The balance between school and sport can also come under pressure. The importance of performing is increasing. This ensures that the risk of sports injuries increases. In many cases, simple measures can help the athlete get to the top.

Road to Rio

Sports physiotherapist Diederick van Groenewoud is currently a member of the medical staff of Judo Bond Nederland. In preparation for the Olympic Games in Rio 2016, the judokas were intensively supervised. Anicka van Emden has a bronze medal. After the Olympics, the judo summit is centralized in Papendal.

Physio Quality has treated Olympic and paralympic athletes on their way to the Games in Rio. Amstelvener Daniel Abraham (cyclist) and Jetze Plat (hand biker and triathlete) participated in the Paralympic Games in Rio and both won gold!