What is Athletic Therapy?
Certified Athletic Therapists CAT(c) are best known for their quick-thinking on-field emergency care of professional and elite athletes. They are first to respond when an athlete gets hurt and experts at injury assessment and rehabilitation. It’s that same mix of on-site care and active rehabilitation skills that makes Athletic Therapists so effective in treating musculoskeletal (muscles, bones, and joints) injuries.
Athletic therapists adhere to the "Sports Medicine Model" of care. They treat a wide range of patients from kids with concussions to seniors recovering from hip replacement surgery using massage and manual therapy, exercise prescription, bracing and taping. The treatment varies but the objective doesn’t: an Athletic Therapist's goal is to help clients return to their usual activities, whether that means playing competitive sports or walking to the mailbox and back.
The Scope of Practice
The scope of practice of a Certified Athletic Therapist starts with the in-depth knowledge, education and training in the areas of the human musculoskeletal system, exercise physiology, biomechanics, and basic emergency care. Within this, the scope of practice is divided into five practice domains representing the core areas of competency that the CATA accredited institutions follow in educating Certification Candidates to become entry level, practicing Certified Athletic Therapists.
Athletic Therapy is covered under extended health benefit providers. Please check your plan!