Athletic Therapy in Saanichton: Injury Rehabilitation, Concussion Care, and Peak Performance

Athletic therapy is one of the most comprehensive and athlete-focused rehabilitation disciplines available — and at Saanichton Chiropractic Group, we offer it through two Certified Athletic Therapists (CAT(C)) who bring not just clinical training but genuine elite sport experience to every patient they treat.

Whether you are recovering from a sports injury, managing chronic pain, navigating a return to activity after surgery, or looking for someone who truly understands how the body moves under physical demand, our athletic therapy team delivers individualized, evidence-informed care as part of an integrated clinic that includes chiropractic, registered massage therapy, osteopathic manual therapy, and acupuncture.

What Is Athletic Therapy?

Athletic therapy is a regulated health profession focused on the prevention, assessment, and rehabilitation of musculoskeletal injuries — particularly those related to sport and physical activity. In Canada, the title "Certified Athletic Therapist" (CAT(C)) is a protected designation granted by the Canadian Athletic Therapists Association (CATA) following completion of an accredited degree program (typically a Bachelor of Athletic and Exercise Therapy), extensive supervised clinical hours in sport settings, and successful national certification examinations.

Athletic therapists are trained to work in demanding, fast-paced sport environments — on the sidelines at games, in training rooms during practice, and in clinical settings between competitions. Their scope encompasses emergency on-field care, detailed injury assessment and diagnosis, individually prescribed rehabilitation programs, manual therapy, modalities, concussion management, and return-to-play decision-making. While the profession is called "athletic" therapy, its scope is not limited to competitive athletes — active adults, youth sport participants, seniors, and anyone dealing with a musculoskeletal condition benefits from the same evidence-based framework.

How Athletic Therapy Differs from Physiotherapy

Athletic therapy and physiotherapy share significant overlap in the clinical treatment of musculoskeletal conditions, but they differ in training background and emphasis. Athletic therapists complete their training embedded in sport environments — sideline coverage, team rooms, and competition settings are core to their clinical education. This means their assessment skills are highly sport-specific and their understanding of return-to-play considerations is deeply practical. Physiotherapists typically train in broader healthcare settings with a wider clinical scope. Both professions are valuable, and at Saanichton Chiropractic Group, athletic therapy is most commonly chosen by active patients who want a practitioner with hands-on sport expertise and a strong exercise rehabilitation focus.

Meet Our Athletic Therapists

Sydney Chapman, CAT(C)

CAT(C) BAET — Camosun College

Sydney graduated from Camosun College with a Bachelor of Athletic and Exercise Therapy, completing a double major in Athletic Therapy and Exercise Physiology. She continues to pursue further education through annual continuing education courses in concussion care, joint mobility, and manual massage techniques.

Before her clinical career, Sydney competed internationally as a show jumping athlete. Her career highlights included representing BC at the Canadian Equestrian Team Finals in Toronto, competing on the Canadian Young Rider Team at the NAYR Championships in Colorado, and winning a Grand Prix at Thunderbird Show Park in Langley. That competitive background gives her a genuine understanding of what athletes face and what it takes to return to high-level performance after injury.

Sydney has worked with high-level athletes including Equestrian Olympians, the Women's Rugby 7's national team, and the National Field Hockey team. Her approach centers on detailed biomechanical analysis and movement screening specific to each injury, with rehabilitation techniques drawn from manual therapy, modalities, and individually prescribed exercise programs. Her goal is optimal return to sport, recreational activity, or daily function — for every patient, regardless of level.

Rachel Schmidt, CAT(C)

CAT(C) BAET

Rachel's background spans a wide range of sports — basketball, soccer, volleyball, track and field, equestrian, and Aikido — which gives her a naturally versatile clinical lens. She has always been drawn to understanding how the human body moves and how all its parts work together, and that curiosity drives how she assesses and treats each patient.

Rachel has worked with a diverse clientele including wheelchair athletes, high-level hockey players, patients recovering from motor vehicle accidents, and individuals managing complex chronic conditions. She has extensive experience teaching movement — from HIIT and TRX to senior balance classes — which informs the precision and appropriateness of the exercise prescriptions she builds for each patient.

Her approach is holistic and collaborative: she creates personalized treatment plans emphasizing active rehabilitation and manual therapy, with patient education as a central component so that people feel genuinely confident in their recovery both during sessions and at home. Her goal is to help every patient move through space with confidence and the knowledge that their body can do what they need it to do.

The Key Benefits of Athletic Therapy

1. Thorough Injury Assessment and Diagnosis

Athletic therapists are trained to identify the root cause of an injury, not just the site of pain. Using clinical evaluation, movement analysis, and functional testing, they build a clear picture of what has gone wrong, what structures are involved, and what is driving the problem — before building a treatment plan. This depth of assessment reduces the risk of treating symptoms while the actual cause continues to cause damage.

2. Individualized Rehabilitation Programs

No two injuries are identical, and no two patients respond to the same program. Our athletic therapists design rehabilitation programs tailored to your specific injury, your movement patterns, your sport or activity demands, and your goals. These programs combine therapeutic exercise, stretching, strengthening, and manual therapy in the right proportions and progressions to restore full function efficiently.

3. Concussion Management

Athletic therapists have specialized training in the assessment and management of concussion — one of the most prevalent and frequently mismanaged injuries in sport. Our therapists are trained in current concussion protocols, including initial evaluation, symptom monitoring, cognitive and balance assessment, and structured return-to-learn and return-to-play progressions. For athletes and active individuals of all ages, having a CAT(C) guiding your concussion recovery significantly reduces the risk of complications from premature return to activity.

4. Return-to-Play and Return-to-Activity Protocols

Returning to sport or activity too soon after injury is one of the most common causes of re-injury and long-term chronic problems. Athletic therapists are trained to implement structured, evidence-based return-to-play progressions that account for the specific demands of your sport, your individual rate of recovery, and the need for graduated loading before full return. Whether you're a competitive athlete trying to get back to a team, or an active adult wanting to return to hiking, running, or the gym safely, this structured approach protects your long-term physical health.

5. Chronic Pain Management

Athletic therapy is not exclusively for acute sport injuries. Chronic pain conditions — including persistent muscle pain, recurring joint problems, and overuse syndromes — respond well to the combination of manual therapy, targeted exercise, and movement re-education that athletic therapists provide. By addressing both the symptoms and the movement patterns that perpetuate them, athletic therapy creates more durable relief than treatments focused on pain management alone.

6. Expert Exercise Prescription

Athletic therapists are movement specialists. Beyond injury treatment, they provide precise exercise programming that is appropriate for your current physical condition, progressive enough to produce results, and specific to the demands of your activity or sport. This proactive approach helps prevent future injuries, improves strength and conditioning, and supports long-term physical resilience.

7. Emergency and On-Field Care

CAT(C) athletic therapists are trained in emergency on-field and on-court care — the immediate assessment and management of acute injuries in sport settings. This includes managing suspected fractures, dislocations, spinal injuries, and concussions in the field. It is one of the distinguishing elements of the athletic therapy credential and explains why CAT(C)s are trusted by professional and high-performance sport organizations across Canada.

8. Injury Prevention and Education

Preventing injuries before they occur is always preferable to treating them after the fact. Athletic therapists provide biomechanical assessment, movement screening, and targeted conditioning programs that identify and correct the patterns most likely to lead to injury — whether from sport, occupational demands, or everyday physical activity. Patient education is embedded in every stage of care, giving patients the tools to maintain their own physical health beyond the treatment room.

Common Conditions Treated with Athletic Therapy

Sprains and Strains

Ligament sprains (ankles, knees, wrists, AC joint) and muscle or tendon strains are among the most common presentations in athletic therapy. Treatment focuses on accurately staging the severity of the injury, managing the acute phase appropriately (including determining when imaging is warranted), and building a rehabilitation program that fully restores strength, proprioception, and movement quality — not just pain reduction. Re-injury rates for ankle sprains and hamstring strains, for example, are dramatically lower when rehabilitation is completed properly under the guidance of a trained therapist.

Tendinopathies

Chronic tendon conditions — Achilles tendinopathy, patellar tendinopathy, rotator cuff tendinopathy, tennis elbow, and others — require a specific and progressive loading approach that many patients don't receive when treated with rest alone. Athletic therapists prescribe evidence-based tendon rehabilitation programs (including progressive eccentric and heavy slow resistance loading) that genuinely remodel tendon tissue and restore pain-free function. For tendinopathies that haven't fully responded, our shockwave therapy service provides an effective complement to the rehabilitation program.

Post-Surgical Rehabilitation

Athletes who undergo surgery for ACL tears, rotator cuff repairs, meniscal procedures, hip labral repairs, or other joint surgeries require structured, phased rehabilitation to restore full function. Athletic therapists work from the surgical protocol and build individualized programs that progress appropriately through each phase — from early range-of-motion restoration to sport-specific return-to-play preparation. Coordination with the surgeon and other members of the care team is standard practice.

Concussion and Head Injury

As noted above, concussion management is a clinical strength of the CAT(C) credential. Our therapists follow current evidence-based concussion protocols and are experienced in managing athletes from initial injury through the full return-to-sport progression. For patients with prolonged post-concussion symptoms — including persistent headaches, vestibular disturbance, and cervicogenic symptoms — coordination with our chiropractic team for cervical spine management is a natural and effective pairing.

Motor Vehicle Accident Injuries

The soft tissue injuries, movement pattern disruptions, and chronic pain conditions that follow motor vehicle accidents are well within the scope of athletic therapy. Rachel Schmidt has specific experience with MVA patients, and our team is experienced with ICBC-covered care. See our motor vehicle accident treatment page for details on ICBC coverage at our clinic.

Bursitis and Joint Inflammation

Bursitis in the shoulder, hip, and knee — common in runners, cyclists, and overhead sport athletes — involves inflammation of the bursae that cushion joint structures. Athletic therapy addresses bursitis through load management, targeted strengthening of the structures that are driving the abnormal compression, manual therapy, and modalities to reduce inflammation. Getting to the mechanical cause — rather than simply treating the inflamed bursa — is what produces lasting resolution.

Athletic Therapy as Part of Integrated Care

One of the most meaningful advantages of receiving athletic therapy at Saanichton Chiropractic Group is the ability to benefit from truly coordinated, multi-disciplinary care. When your athletic therapist, chiropractor, and registered massage therapist work in the same clinic and communicate about your case, treatment plans are more coherent, progressions are better coordinated, and outcomes are consistently better than any modality in isolation.

For example: a post-ACL reconstruction patient might work with the athletic therapist for phased exercise rehabilitation, receive chiropractic care to address the compensatory lumbar and hip patterns that developed during the injury period, and have regular massage therapy to manage the muscle tension and circulation that affects tissue quality during recovery. Each practitioner knows what the others are doing — and the patient benefits from a genuinely unified plan rather than three separate appointments with no communication between them.

Athletic therapy at Saanichton Chiropractic Group is covered by most extended health benefit plans — check your plan for coverage under "athletic therapy" or "athletic therapist." ICBC and WorkSafeBC may also cover athletic therapy for eligible injury claims. See our fees and policy page for current direct billing information.

Ready to Work with Victoria's Most Experienced Athletic Therapy Team?

Our Certified Athletic Therapists are accepting new patients at Saanichton Chiropractic Group. Whether you're dealing with an acute injury, managing a chronic condition, or looking to perform and move better, Sydney and Rachel are here to help.

Book Your Athletic Therapy Appointment →

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Frequently Asked Questions About Athletic Therapy

Do I need to be an athlete to see an athletic therapist?

Not at all. Despite the name, athletic therapy is appropriate for anyone dealing with a musculoskeletal injury or condition — competitive athletes, recreational sport participants, active adults, seniors, and people with no sport background at all. The "athletic" in the name refers to the profession's origins in sport medicine, not a requirement for the patient. If you have an injury, pain, or movement limitation you want to address with an exercise-focused, hands-on approach, athletic therapy is a strong fit.

What is a CAT(C) credential?

CAT(C) stands for Certified Athletic Therapist (Canada). It is the national certification granted by the Canadian Athletic Therapists Association (CATA) to practitioners who have completed an accredited degree program in athletic and exercise therapy, accumulated the required supervised clinical hours in sport settings, and passed the national certification examination. Both Sydney Chapman and Rachel Schmidt hold the CAT(C) designation.

How is athletic therapy different from physiotherapy?

Both professions treat musculoskeletal conditions, but athletic therapy has a stronger emphasis on sport-specific rehabilitation, exercise prescription, and return-to-sport protocols. Athletic therapists complete their clinical training embedded in sport environments — sidelines, team rooms, and competition settings — which means their approach to assessment and rehabilitation is highly functional and activity-focused. Physiotherapists typically have a broader clinical scope and train in more varied healthcare settings. In practice, both are valuable, and the right choice depends on your condition and goals. Our team is happy to help you determine which is the better fit for your specific situation.

Is athletic therapy covered by my benefits plan?

Many extended health benefit plans in Canada include coverage for athletic therapy performed by a CAT(C). Coverage amounts vary by plan — some list it under "athletic therapy" and others may group it under allied health or sports medicine. We recommend checking your plan documents directly. Our clinic offers direct billing for many providers. ICBC coverage is available for motor vehicle accident injuries, and WorkSafeBC may cover athletic therapy for eligible workplace injury claims. See our fees and policy page or call us at 250-223-0200 to confirm.

Can athletic therapy help with concussion recovery?

Yes — concussion management is a core clinical competency of the CAT(C) credential. Our athletic therapists are trained in current evidence-based concussion protocols, including the graduated return-to-learn and return-to-sport progressions recommended by Sport Canada and international concussion consensus guidelines. For patients with cervicogenic symptoms following concussion (headaches, neck pain, dizziness), coordination with our chiropractic team is often a valuable addition to the recovery plan.

Can I see an athletic therapist for post-surgical rehabilitation?

Yes. Post-surgical rehabilitation — including ACL reconstruction, rotator cuff repair, meniscal procedures, labral repairs, and joint replacement — is a common and appropriate indication for athletic therapy. Our therapists work from the surgical protocol provided by your surgeon and build a phased rehabilitation plan that progresses you safely through each stage of recovery. Coordination with your surgical team is standard practice. Contact us to discuss your surgical timeline and what to expect from rehabilitation.

Saanichton Chiropractic Group offers Certified Athletic Therapy (CAT(C)) with Sydney Chapman and Rachel Schmidt, supported by an integrated team including chiropractic care with Dr. Mike Hadbavny (DC, FRCCSS(C), ICSC), registered massage therapy, osteopathic manual therapy, and acupuncture — all in one clinic in Saanichton, BC. For appointments, visit our contact page or call 250-223-0200.