When Should You See a Sports Therapist?
Fighters often ask me: “When should I actually come and see you?”
Combat sports are hard on the body. You get bruises, sore muscles, stiff hips, tight calves and the occasional knock. If you booked an appointment every time something felt a little sore after training, you would probably be spending more time with your therapist than in the gym!
So how do you know when something is worth getting checked?
For me, it is usually about the pattern, not just the pain. Not every ache is an injury
If you have had a hard Muay Thai session, boxing session or sparring day, it is completely normal to feel tired and sore afterwards. Your muscles might ache the next day. You might feel stiff getting out of bed. Your legs might feel heavy after a lot of kicking or running. That doesn’t necessarily mean something is wrong.
The things to pay more attention to are symptoms that keep coming back, symptoms that are getting worse, or symptoms that start changing the way you train. For example, if your shoulder hurts every time you throw a particular punch, your knee starts hurting every time you kick, or your hip feels restricted every session, that is something I prefer to examine early.
Don’t wait until you cannot train
The most common error I see with fighters is:
They notice something.
They ignore it.
It gets a little worse.
They modify their technique without realising it.
They train around it.
Then eventually it becomes painful enough that they can’t train properly.
By the time they book an appointment with me, the problem may have been building for weeks or months.
I am not saying you need to panic over every small niggle, but if something has been bothering you consistently for a couple of weeks, particularly if it is affecting your training, it is worth getting some advice. Sometimes a small adjustment is all that is needed.
These are some signs I suggest you have checked out by a sports therapist:
1. The pain keeps returning
Maybe your shoulder hurts after every pad session.
Or your shin starts hurting every time you increase your running.
Or your lower back gets sore after every clinching session.
If the same problem keeps coming back, there is probably something worth investigating.
2. Your performance is changing
This one is easy to miss!
You might not even describe yourself as being injured, but suddenly your kicks don’t feel the same.
Your punch doesn’t have the same power.
You can’t rotate properly.
Your grip feels weaker.
You are avoiding certain movements.
These changes can be useful warning signs.
3. You are changing how you move
If you are unconsciously protecting one side because something hurts, that is important.
Maybe you are landing differently after kicking.
Maybe you are keeping one shoulder out of certain punches.
Maybe you are putting more weight through the other leg.
Your body is very good at finding ways around painbut, those compensations can sometimes create problems elsewhere.
4. The pain is getting worse instead of better
A niggle that settles down after training and gradually improves is very different from something that becomes more painful with each session. If you are noticing a clear upward trend in pain, don’t just keep adding more training and hope it disappears.
5. You have an injury and want to get back to training
Getting professional advice early can help you work out what you can safely continue doing while any injury settles. The aim isn’t always “stop everything.” Sometimes it is about modifying the right things while keeping you active.
What happens when you see a sports therapist?
Your journey to recovery doesn't have to be complicated. I will usually start with some questions, such as:
What specific exercises, sports, or lifting routines do you do in training.
How often you are training, and if you have recently increased your workload.
When the problem started, for example a sudden pop during an exercise or a gradual ache over a few weeks.
What movements make it better or worse (such as squatting, reaching overhead, or resting).
Then I will assess the injured area and, importantly, look at how you are moving. For combat athletes, I will not look at an injury in isolation. For example,
If your knee hurts when kicking, I want to understand what the rest of the movement in the leg looks like.
If your shoulder hurts when punching, I want to look beyond just the shoulder.
The goal is to understand the problem and work out what we can do about it. This might involve mobility work, strengthening, changing your training load, exercises, or a combination of these.
Sometimes, the outcome might be that you need to see another healthcare professional for further assessment. A good therapist should recognise when something is outside their scope.
You don’t need to be injured to see a sports therapist.
This is something I would like more fighters to understand. You don’t have to be injured to benefit from seeing a sports therapist.
If you are training hard, especially during a fight camp, getting some advice on areas that are consistently tight, overloaded or struggling can be useful. For me, it is about keeping your training effective for longer, rather than waiting until something breaks down.
My final thoughts
Listen to the small things
Combat athletes are often very good at tolerating discomfort. It is part of the sport. But there is a difference between being uncomfortable because you have had a hard session and repeatedly ignoring a problem that is getting worse.
REMEMBER: You know your body better than anyone
If something does not feel right, you do not necessarily need to stop training, but you also do not have to wait until you are forced to stop.
Sometimes the best time to see a sports therapist is before the problem becomes an injury.
