Return to Sport

Calling All Athletes! If you are an athlete, of any kind, you have come to the right place! We get it, you want to return to your sport and you want to do this as quickly and effectively as possible. Our Return To Sport Program is designed to help you get back to game speed, with no pain, and no lack of confidence in your injured body part.

You may be thinking, “I need a physical therapy practice that gets me and my goals. I need a physical therapy office that understands how important it is for me to return to my sport and that I need to get back to 100% as quickly as possible.” Well, we get it, and we will help you achieve those very important goals and timelines to the best of our ability and clinical expertise.

This is why we have equipped our offices with NASA developed Anti-Gravity Treadmills, Indoor Turf, Agility Ladders, Plyometric Boxes, Resistance Sleds, Fully Equipped Gym Equipment, including leg press machines that accommodate over 750lbs of resistance. We are here to get you stronger, faster and more confident than before your injury.

At SportsMed we understand and we’ll help you achieve those very important goals and timelines to the best of our ability and clinical expertise.

Why is the AlterG so important to my Return to Sport Rehab?

For those athletes that have experienced a lower extremity injury, the AlterG is the return to sport angel you have been asking for. This amazing piece of equipment is developed by NASA and is used by many professional sports teams and nationally ranked hospitals across the United States. It’s an amazing tool in our Return to Sport arsenal.

The AlterG Anti-Gravity Treadmill is aquatic therapy, with air rather than water. Why is that so amazing? Aquatic therapy is great because it allows the injured patient to be partially weight bearing by 50% of their body weight. But that’s where aquatic therapy stops. Aquatic therapy is limited to: in the pool or out of the pool. There is no in between.

With the AlterG, making our patients partially weight bearing has the power of NASA behind it. Giving SportsMed’s physical therapists the ability to make our patients partially weight bearing in 1% increments. This takes away the limitations of aquatic therapy. The AlterG can remove up to 80% of our patient’s body weight (that is 30% greater than aquatic). But the real magic in the Anti-Gravity Treadmill is the gradual reintroduction of natural body weight to our patients. As you begin to get stronger and your Range of Motion has increased, we can strategically place more of your natural body weight on your injury to help push you past any plateaus you may hit while rehabbing. Our team of therapists, with the help of the AlterG, will have you running and cutting in game like speeds faster than any other form of rehab.

The best way to describe the AlterG is like rehabbing on the MOON!

Locations with AlterG as part of Return to Sport services:

• Wayne
• Ridgewood/Hohokus
• Glen Rock
• Fair Lawn
• Englewood
• Jersey City
• Montclair

Locations with Indoor Turf:

• Glen Rock

What Can You Expect?

On your first appointment, you will meet with a physical therapist that specializes in your sport related condition/injury and is experienced in our Return to Sport services. This will ensure you are receiving the best care we can provide. If you are a post-surgical patient or have a prescription from your referring doctor, your physical therapist will review your doctor’s requests. Your physical therapist will then ask you a series of questions as to how long you have been feeling discomfort, where the affected/injured area is, and when does this discomfort happen. Along with these questions, your therapist will do a series of physical tests to understand your current strength, range of motion, and pain levels.

Based on the above evaluation, your physical therapist will discuss your future treatment plan that will guide you to a triumphant return to your sport, how long you will have to come to therapy, and what you can expect over that time frame. You will have the opportunity to ask as many questions as you need, to feel comfortable about the road ahead and to understand your treatment plan.