October 1 marks the beginning of National Physical Therapy Month, sponsored by the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA). At Alpine, all eight of our physical therapists are members and supporters of the APTA, which allows us to keep current with the latest advances in our profession.
To mark the beginning of National Physical Therapy Month, the APTA released a statement encouraging female athletes, in particular soccer players, to participate in a landmark injury prevention program. The Prevent Injury, Enhance Performance Program (PEP) was developed by physical therapists at the Santa Monica Orthopedic and Sports Medicine group.
A study published in the August 2008 edition of the American Journal of Sports Medicine showed that those who performed the PEP program as part of their regular warm-up had an overall ACL injury rate 41 percent lower than those female athletes who did their regular warm-up. The study evaluated 1,435 NCAA Division I female soccer players, one of the largest studies conducted in the NCAA.
The PEP program is offered at Alpine Physical Therapy by Leah Versteegen, Physical Therapist and former NCAA Division I soccer player. Leah has used the PEP program for the past 3 years, both in rehabilitating and training soccer players. She has also instructed coaches in Boise, Idaho, on how to implement PEP into their own training schedule. Leah is excited to begin offering this program in Missoula starting Fall 2008.
PEP offers sport-specific exercises for agility, strength and flexibility with a focus on proper mechanics to provide optimal stabilization to the knee joint during dynamic activities. The best part is that it can easily be incorporated into any practice session, taking only about 15-20 minutes to complete.
For more information on the PEP program, call Alpine Physical Therapy at the South location. at 251-2323. You can also visit the following link to the APTA’s website by clicking here.
Get more information on the PEP approach at Alpine on our website by clicking here.
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