Athletic Therapist. The title doesn’t exactly bring to mind images of a small, studio gym in downtown Oakville where personal trainers use athletic therapy to help their everyday clients overcome pain or injury, does it?

More often than not, people assume that Athletic Therapy is only for high-level athletes competing at a professional level.

That common view is just not true and let us tell you why.

Hi everyone! My name is Carlo and I’m the new Athletic Therapist (Provisional) at Sandbox Fitness and Therapy. Let’s breakdown who athletic therapy is for and how it can change your life today.

When people hear the title “Athletic Therapist” it’s common to think that we only treat athletes. Bill Bowerman, the co-founder of Nike, famously stated “If you have a body, you are an athlete.” The ancient Greeks defined “athlete” as someone who competes for a prize. I love these two interpretations of the word “athlete” because I believe them. Every day we get up and rely on our bodies to live our lives, whatever that entails. Along with that, we are all competing for a prize, whether it is a championship, spot on a sports team, a job promotion, or a better grade in school. Our bodies need to be finely tuned, and if they aren’t it can affect how we live.

Athletic Therapists specialize in the assessment, treatment, and rehabilitation of musculoskeletal injuries, meaning any injuries to the muscles, tendons, ligaments, or bones/joints. Our education allows us to applies these principles to all ages and activity levels looking to return to their everyday, pain-free life.

Athletic Therapy in Action

Before starting here, I’ve been fortunate to have had many experiences that shape who I am as both a therapist and a person. At the moment I hold a degree in Kinesiology from the University of Waterloo, degree in Athletic Therapy from Sheridan College, a First Responder certification, and am currently enro
lled in a Massage Therapy program. Throughout my education I’ve been able to work with many varsity sports teams, covering sports like cross country, soccer, and volleyball. These opportunities have allowed me to travel as well, going out east to PEI and Nova Scotia for national tournaments and to British Columbia where I spent a month working on the therapy staff for the BC Lions of the CFL. The people I learned from in these opportunities have taught me an invaluable amount and have shaped how I address injuries, and I hope to pass that knowledge on to you.

My approach to therapy is simple. With me you can expect a detailed initial assessment and explanation regarding what may be going on with your body, followed by a mix of manual therapy to correct any imbalances that may be present, and corrective exercises to enforce these postures and positions. From there we finish with some “homework” exercises for you to do at home to further reinforce our work. The focus of what I do is on your return. Whether you’re returning to sport, work, school, or everyday life, my goal is to return you to how you were before your injury so you can continue to compete for your prize.

For more information on Carlo and his approach to training and athletic therapy, you can read more here or check him out on his Instagram page.