June is National Athletic Therapy Month

Shoutout to the Heroes Who Tape Ankles, Save Backs, and Remind Us That Ice Isn’t Just for Cocktails

It’s June in Canada — the month when the sun finally shows up, patios reopen, and… we celebrate National Athletic Therapy Month! While everyone else is planning cottage weekends, we’re tipping our foam rollers to the incredible folks keeping our joints moving and our muscles happy: Certified Athletic Therapists.

You might think Athletic Therapists only hang out at sports fields, sprinting in with med kits every time someone pulls a hammy. But let us introduce you to their quieter, less dramatic cousin — the Clinical Athletic Therapist — the unsung hero of recovery rooms, clinics, and rehab spaces across Canada.

What Exactly Is an Athletic Therapist?

Think of them as the Swiss Army knives of the injury world. Certified by the Canadian Athletic Therapists Association (CATA), these professionals are trained to assess, treat, and rehab all things musculoskeletal — that’s fancy talk for bones, joints, muscles, and tissues that hate stairs after leg day.
They use a combination of:

• Hands-on manual therapy (a.k.a. the good pain)
• Personalized rehab exercises
• Bracing, taping, and bandaging that would make a mummy jealous
• Concussion care and return-to-play planning
• Injury prevention tips that you’ll probably ignore until your next injury

The Clinical Athletic Therapist: Not Just for Pro Athletes

Here’s the plot twist: you don’t need to be an Olympian or a professional hockey player to see an Athletic Therapist. In fact, most of their clients are regular humans — office workers with sore necks, parents with aching backs, gym-goers who went a little too hard on leg day, or weekend warriors who believe they can still “go full out” like they did in college. (Spoiler: they can’t.)

In a clinic setting, Athletic Therapists focus on getting you back to doing what you love — whether that’s chasing your kids, walking your dog, lifting at the gym, or just being able to sneeze without throwing your back out.

Why Their Work Matters (Even If You’re Not Made of Muscle)

Musculoskeletal injuries are one of the top reasons Canadians visit healthcare professionals. Clinical Athletic Therapists help people:

• Recover from sprains, strains, tears, and everything in between
• Avoid surgery when possible
• Rehab post-op with personalized plans
• Learn how to prevent future injuries (or at least avoid repeating the same ones)

Their goal? To get you moving better, faster — ideally with fewer “Oofs” and “Aarghs” every time you stand up.

At Physio Sport Med,  Carmen is a registered massage therapist,  but is also a certified Athletic Therapist.   Book now to make use of her many talents.