Sports physiotherapy covers the assessment, treatment and prevention of injuries that come from training and competing. At Sportscare Caloundra it is the backbone of the clinic and has been since 1992. Our physiotherapists are not generalists who occasionally see an athlete. The clinic is led by Russell Smallwood, lead physiotherapist to the Australian swimming team at the Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Olympic Games, and the team includes a physio who specialises in golf injuries and golf physical screening and a former semi-professional rugby player who now races triathlon.
What a sports physio actually does
Good sports physiotherapy is more than rubbing the sore spot. A proper episode of care runs through four stages:
- Diagnosis. A thorough history and physical assessment to work out which structure is injured and why it was overloaded in the first place.
- Early management. Settling pain and protecting healing tissue while keeping you as active as the injury allows. Complete rest is rarely the answer.
- Progressive rehabilitation. Graded loading, strength work and sport-specific drills, progressed against objective markers rather than guesswork.
- Return to sport. Testing against the demands of your sport before you go back, which is where re-injuries are prevented.
Injuries we see most
Hamstring and calf strains, ankle sprains, ACL and other knee ligament injuries, rotator cuff problems in overhead athletes, tendinopathies of the Achilles, patellar tendon and elbow, and stress-related bone injuries in runners. We also run dedicated pages for surfers, swimmers and CrossFit athletes because those athletes keep our books busy.
Local sport, local load
Caloundra's sporting calendar shapes what comes through our door: surf lifesaving season brings shoulder and lower back overload, winter brings rugby league and union contact injuries from the local clubs, and the running and triathlon community around Currimundi and Kawana delivers a steady stream of Achilles and knee problems. Treating the same local sports every season matters, because we know the training loads, the surfaces and often the coaches.
What physio cannot do
Physiotherapy cannot shortcut tissue healing times, and some injuries need more than rehab. Suspected fractures need imaging, full-thickness tendon ruptures and unstable joint injuries often need a surgical opinion, and we refer on when that is the right call. If a clinician promises to get you back weeks faster than biology allows, be sceptical, including of us.
Injured mid-season?
Call the clinic and tell reception your sport. You will be booked with the physio who treats it.
Call (07) 5221 5254Can I keep training while injured?
Usually yes, in a modified form. Part of the first appointment is working out what you can safely keep doing, because maintaining fitness nearly always beats complete rest.
Do you do strapping and taping?
Yes, both rigid sports taping and kinesiology taping, along with teaching you or a parent to apply it for game days.
When is it safe to return to sport?
When you pass objective criteria for your sport: strength close to the other side, full training tolerated, and sport-specific tests passed. Time alone is a poor guide and is the most common reason athletes re-injure.