The 4 Key Phases of Returning to Sports

At MVMNT Physiotherapy, typically we look at breaking down an athletes’ rehab into four phases. Now when we state 'athlete’, we mean anyone that considers either their gym training or their sport, as an integral part of their life.

Phase One (‘Traditional Physio’):

This initial phase is what most people will think traditional physio entails. This phase is what immediately follows the injury, or after you’ve first been assessed by your physio. In this phase we look to improve active range of motion, mitigate pain and swelling, and introduce loading strategies and exercises that don’t compromise healing and promote capacity of the supporting tissue. 

Phase Two (Strength):

Once the initial symptoms of pain and/or swelling have diminished, we will aim to increase the strength if the injured area. Depending on your injury and rehab goals, this stage may begin to introduce heavier weights, including dumbbells and barbells. We become a little more intense with our loading strategies in this phase, and you will begin to feel quite fatigued with this type of training, and will often have an increased appetite. It is in this phase that you will begin to see real changes in your ability to move weight.

Phase Three (Power):

In this phase we begin to add some more explosive training. Whether you are a runner or a rugby player, it is important that your body can both absorb forces and produce force at a high rate. Think ballistic training, plyometrics, and heavy barbell movements but with speed. 

Phase Four (Training Integration and Return to Sport):

Depending on the injury, there should be Return To Sport criteria that the athlete has to meet before integrating back into training. It is a good idea to build up to full training over several weeks, as jumping straight back into full training after only doing rehab work will result in a big spike in training load, placing the athlete at an elevated risk of injury. In the gym and on-field during this phase, our exercise prescription looks to include sport-specific drills, and prep athletes for the demands of their competition.

Physiotherapy clinics that operate out of a small room with small dumbbells and therabands can’t honestly say that they are equipped in getting their clients through the four phases of rehab. Many traditional physio clinics can get you through phase one, but then don’t have the facilities or sports speciality to get you back to your sport with the lowest risk of re-injury possible.

If you have any questions on whether physio is the best option for you, or you have any questions about MVMNT in general, feel free to contact via email.

- Jay Towolawi, Specialist Sports Physiotherapist and MVMNT Founder.