What do ATs and Personal Trainers have in common? 

We all want our clients to be active, healthy, pain free, and to reach their fitness and activity goals! 

A personal trainer is an excellent professional to help individuals do these things, but sometimes help is needed when an injury is present. Personal Trainers already have a bunch of tools in their toolboxes to help — modification of exercises such as decreasing load, changing frequency of workouts, or targeted corrective exercise but sometimes more intervention is needed.

Sending a client to another professional is worrisome — are they just gonna tell them to stop going to the gym and quit training? Is the client gonna come back? 

As athletic therapists that’s not what we do! An AT will thoroughly assess an injury, provide hands-on treatment, educate a client about what exercises they should add into their program, and which ones they should leave out. With client permission, we can even discuss modifications with their personal trainer to make sure that the rest of the body stays active during injury recovery. 

Our goal is to get our clients back to their life work and play, quickly and safely!

Here are the top 5 reasons to refer to an AT 

1. Your client has pain that restricts their ability to complete their workouts — more than just DOMS 
2. Weaknesses that seem to get worse with exercise, not better 
3. Signs of acute injury (Swelling, Heat, Redness, Unwllingness to Move etc) 
4. Sprains and Strains that have lingered longer than a few days 
5. Early intervention in overuse related ache or pain to avoid something more serious
   

What happens after referral?

• Your client can call us or visit our website to book an appointment, or if they just want more information about what we do, they can book a free discovery visit to chat! 
  • our online booking site is www.guelphperformance.janeapp.com
• If your client gives permission, you can get in touch with our clinic to tell us about the reason for referral, and what you’ve already done to try to help the injury (knowing what has worked and what hasn’t worked can be very helpful). 
  • You can send this info to therapy@guelphperformance.com
• After assessment, we will give the client information about how they should be changing their workouts, and if they consent, we can send a report to you as well! 
• Co-care is very important, and we usually encourage clients to continue with their training sessions while undergoing treatment with us.

Do clients have to see a doctor before booking an Athletic Therapy assessment?

No! Anyone can self refer to an Athletic Therapist. During assessment the AT will discuss next steps which could include heading to the doctor. Anyone who is unsure about their health should see their doctor, but that could take several weeks. Our Athletic Therapists often have appointments available within a day or two!

Thanks for reading and please do not hesitate to reach out to us, or follow on social media (@guelphpft) if you have any questions!