Should I see a chiropractor or a sports therapist for a sports injury?

For many sports injuries, either could help, and there is no single right answer that fits every case — so the honest response is that it depends on the injury, and it is not something you need to work out alone. Both our chiropractors and our sports therapist are well placed to assess and care for sports-related problems.As a rough guide, where a problem clearly involves the joints or spine, a chiropractor may be the natural choice, while a muscle or soft-tissue injury, or a focus on returning to training, may suit the sports therapist particularly well — but in practice there is a lot of overlap, and the two often work well together. The simplest approach is to get in touch, tell us what has happened, and let us guide you to the right person. Because we have both under one roof, we can make sure you see whoever is best suited to your particular injury.

Do I need to be a serious athlete to see the sports therapist?

Not at all. The name "sports therapy" can be a little misleading — you certainly do not need to be a competitive or serious athlete to benefit. Sports therapy is really about caring for the muscles, joints and soft tissues, managing injuries and helping you move well, and that applies just as much to everyday life as to sport.Our sports therapist helps all sorts of people: weekend exercisers, gym-goers and runners of every level, of course, but also people with everyday muscular aches and strains, those recovering from a niggling injury, and anyone who simply wants to move more comfortably. Whether you are training for an event or just want to garden without your back complaining afterwards, you are very welcome. If you are not sure whether sports therapy is the right fit for your particular problem, just ask, and we will happily point you to whichever of our practitioners is best placed to help.

What’s the difference between sports therapy and physiotherapy?

The two overlap a great deal, and both care for musculoskeletal problems and injuries, but they have different backgrounds and emphases. Physiotherapy is a broad, statutorily regulated profession: physiotherapists are registered with the Health and Care Professions Council and work across a very wide range of conditions, including rehabilitation after surgery and many areas beyond sport.Sports therapy, as the name suggests, focuses particularly on the prevention, assessment and management of injuries related to exercise and sport, and on getting active people back to what they enjoy doing. A qualified sports therapist is trained in soft-tissue techniques, rehabilitation and the demands of physical activity. For a typical sports or soft-tissue injury, either may be well suited to help. What matters most is matching you to the right person for your particular problem, and because we have both under one roof, we can do exactly that. If you are unsure, just ask and we will advise honestly.

Can sports therapy help my old running injury that keeps coming back?

Quite possibly, yes — a recurring running injury is exactly the kind of problem sports therapy is well suited to. The fact that it keeps coming back is the important clue: it usually means the underlying cause has never been fully addressed, so the injury settles for a while and then returns once you build your mileage back up.Rather than just easing the current flare-up, a good approach looks at why it keeps happening — things like your training load and how quickly you increase it, strength and flexibility, your running mechanics, footwear and recovery. Care typically combines hands-on treatment with a specific, progressive exercise programme and practical advice on managing your training, so you can return to running with less chance of the problem recurring. After assessing you, we will be honest about what is likely driving the pattern and what realistically can be done about it.

Sports Therapy – Back In Action

Sports therapy at Back in Action is for anyone whose activity has been interrupted by pain or injury — from weekend runners and gym-goers to people simply trying to stay active as the years go by. We assess what has gone wrong, help the injury settle, and rebuild the area so you can return to what you enjoy with confidence. It is care for minor sports injuries, delivered at a Penwortham clinic that has been treating patients since 2002.

What is sports therapy?

Sports therapy is a focused, rehabilitation-led approach to injuries of the muscles, joints and soft tissues that arise from sport and physical activity. It combines hands-on treatment to ease symptoms with a structured programme to restore strength, flexibility and control — the qualities that protect an area once it is on the mend.

Just as importantly, it looks at why an injury happened in the first place. A hamstring that keeps tightening, a knee that complains every time you run, an ankle that has never felt quite right since a sprain — these often have an underlying cause worth addressing, so we can help reduce the chance of the same problem returning.

Injuries we can help with

We care for a wide range of activity-related complaints, including:

Muscle strains such as hamstring and groin strains
Ligament sprains and ankle and foot injuries
Knee tendonitis and shin pain (shin splints)
Recurrent injuries that keep interrupting your training
General overload, stiffness and the niggles that come with stepping up activity too quickly

We always begin with an assessment and will be straightforward with you about the likely timescale for recovery. Some injuries need patience, and we would rather set honest expectations than promise a quick return that risks a setback.

Our approach at Back in Action

Recovery is rarely just about resting an injury — it is about returning to activity in a way that lasts. After examining how you move and where the problem lies, we build a plan that progresses with you, from settling the acute stage through to a graded return to your sport.

Depending on your needs, we draw on methods including exercise and rehabilitation, soft-tissue orthopaedics, PIR / PNF stretching and kinesiology taping to support recovery and help protect the area going forward. As with all our care, the plan is built around you rather than a fixed template.

What to expect from your first appointment

Your first visit centres on understanding the injury: how it happened, how it behaves, and what you need to get back to. We carry out a physical assessment, explain what we have found, and agree a realistic plan with clear goals and milestones. You can find out more on our new patients page, and current charges are on the fees page.

Who sports therapy is for

You do not need to be an elite athlete to benefit from sports therapy — far from it. Most of the people we help are recreational: the weekend footballer, the parkrunner chasing a personal best, the gym regular, the cyclist, the keen gardener whose body has objected to a heavy weekend. If activity matters to you and an injury or niggle is getting in the way, sports therapy is worth considering, whatever your level.

Getting back to your sport

Returning to activity is a process, not a moment. Going back too soon, or too hard, is one of the most common reasons injuries linger or recur. We guide a graded return that respects how the tissue is healing, rebuilds the capacity you need for your particular sport, and addresses any contributing factors along the way. The goal is not just to get you back, but to keep you there.

Reducing the risk of the next injury

Some of the most useful work in sports therapy happens once the immediate problem has settled. By looking at how you move, where you are tight or weak, and how you load your body during your chosen activity, we can identify the factors that made an injury more likely and help you address them. That might mean building strength in a specific area, improving flexibility or control, or adjusting how you warm up and progress your training. No one can promise to make you injury-proof, but tackling the underlying contributors is one of the best ways to reduce the risk of the same problem returning and to keep you doing what you enjoy for longer.

How sports therapy fits with our other services

Because we work as a team, your sports therapy can be coordinated with the rest of our care. Many patients combine it with chiropractic treatment or physiotherapy for rehabilitation, and massage can be a useful addition for managing muscular tension during a return to training.

Booking your appointment

If an injury is keeping you from the activities you love, the sooner we take a look the better. You can get in touch to book an appointment, or to ask any questions beforehand.

Sports Therapy