Is Athletic Therapy right for you?
Athletic Therapy isn’t just for professional athletes.
If you want to move again, we can help!
We treat regular people with aches and pains, recreational athletes to professionals, folks with workplace injuries, anyone who wants to move freely through life.
Athletic Therapists specialize in the prevention and treatment of orthopedic/musculoskeletal conditions and injuries associated with muscles, bones, joints and ligaments. We can help you by:
- Preventing injuries through education, strength and conditioning programs, ergonomic assessments
- Assessing the type and severity of injuries
- Rehabilitating an acute or chronic injury
You’ll find us on the field and in local clinics. As healthcare professionals and emergency responders we are where you need us to be.
By working with an Athletic Therapist, you can experience faster recovery, decrease your chances of further injury, and have fewer visits to a healthcare professional.
About Athletic Therapy
Regardless of age or physical fitness, we’re on your team. Together we’ll get you moving again.
Our special training in acute injury management and post injury recovery allows us to switch between the playing field and the clinic.
Did you know?
Athletic Therapists are highly educated and trained healthcare professionals. To work as an Athletic Therapist, Canadian practitioners must complete a bachelor’s degree and complete an Athletic Therapy program from an accredited institution. We are required to complete continuing education in rehabilitation, orthopedic assessment and emergency care. Our training includes both on-field and in-clinic practical experience.
Frequently Asked Questions.
Some major insurance policies cover Athletic Therapy. It is best to check with your provider to see if it is covered.
If your insurance does not cover athletic therapy, you will need to pay out of pocket or through your employer-funded healthcare spending account.
We recommend you talk to your HR Advisor or Benefits Coordinator and ask them to include athletic therapy in their benefits coverage.
- Request for addition of Athletic Therapy: Employee Letter to Employer
- Request for addition of Athletic Therapy: Employee Letter to Insurance Company
Insurance companies who currently cover Athletic Therapy in Alberta
- Alberta Blue Cross (via Health Spending Account)
- Allsport
- Canadian Life Assurance
- CHA Health
- Citadel Assurance
- Clarica
- Co-operators
- Desjardins
- The Economical Insurance Group
- Equitable Life of Canada
- Great West Life
- Green Shield Canada
- Industrial-Alliance Pacific
- Liberty Health
- Manulife Financial
- Premiere Life
- Standard Life
- Sunlife
- Wawanessa
Other Organizations/Companies
- Canadian Hockey Association
- National and provincial members of Hockey/Volleyball/Basketball/Rugby/Baseball/Soccer Canada
- Kodak
- Air Canada
- Pratt & Whitney
- Canada Post
- Purina
- IBM
Athletic Therapists clinically treat patients of all ages using the Sports Medicine Model. The Sports Medicine Model focuses on prevention, early intervention, accurate diagnosis, and research-based rehabilitation, with patients taking an active approach to recovery.
One of the benefits of this approach is that it offers accelerated rehabilitation of physical injuries incurred from sports, recreation, daily living, and occupational accidents.
Beyond sports related injuries, you can see an AT if you have experienced musculoskeletal pain due to surgery, falls, chronic or recurring conditions, concussions, fractures, spinal injuries, workplace accidents and motor vehicle accidents.
If you’re injured, we can help. But we can prevent injury too!
Post-injury assessment and recovery is at the heart of what we do, but that’s not all.
We also work with individuals to prevent injuries through education, conditioning programs, equipment selection and ergonomic assessments. Whether you’re immobilized or in motion now, we can help you move as freely as possible.
There are important differences between Athletic Therapists and Physiotherapists specialties. They are two distinct professional designations with different educational requirements, training approaches and scopes of practice.
Physiotherapists work within a broader scope focusing on musculoskeletal, cardiopulmonary rehab and neurological conditions, the latter two mostly seen in a hospital setting, whereas Athletic Therapists focus on musculoskeletal and on-site emergency response.
Given the shared musculoskeletal focus, patients may experience similar treatment outcomes and techniques between athletic therapy and physiotherapy in a clinical setting. Athletic Therapists and Physiotherapists often work together in sport and clinical settings.