Tactical athlete clinic: Serving those who serve us

The Tactical Athlete Clinic at UW Health recognizes our men and women of fire, police and military forces as functional athletes who have a unique set of physical demands required of them to perform their duties at a high level. As such, they require specialized treatment as well as priority demand when injured in order to ensure efficient recovery and return to duty as quickly as possible.

Overview

About the program

Our goal in the Tactical Athlete Rehabilitation Clinic is to provide specialized, state-of-the-art care that is tailored to the unique needs of tactical professionals. This includes:

  • Efficient entry into the medical system for appropriate diagnosis of conditions/injuries and timely implementation of appropriate treatment

  • Thorough evaluation and duty-specific rehab programs designed by clinicians experienced and skilled in Tactical Athlete programming

  • Development and implementation of branch-specific return to duty protocols/functional testing

  • Enhanced recovery and injury reduction measures including:

    • Coordination with Sports Performance for development of Tactical Athlete group training for prevention of injury, maintenance and improvement of functional fitness levels.

    • Group nutrition/cooking classes to optimize dietary intake to full recovery and enhance performance

    • Group mindfulness classes to enhance sleep hygiene and stress reduction for optimal recovery and overall wellbeing

  • Collaboration with tactical-centered research institutions and organizations to deliver consistent, quality care across south central Wisconsin with regional and national expansion in mind.

UW Health Sports Rehabilitation Tactical Athlete Clinic - What is it, and who do they treat?

Evaluation and treatment

Assessing needs

Our team will initiate your care by performing a comprehensive evaluation of your injury or surgery and may involve assessing strength, flexibility and movement capabilities within the scope of your needs for duty.

Based on your evaluation, our team will work with you to construct an individualized treatment plan designed to deliver fast and effective results. We will coach you through every stage of the process to get you back to duty as swiftly and safely as possible. Treatments utilized may include:

  • Assessment and modification of patient-centered and duty-specific techniques to limit or reduce stress on injured joints and tissues, improve movement efficiency and enhance functional task capacity

  • Duty-specific strength and stability therapeutic exercise progressions

  • Mobility and flexibility exercises

  • Balance and proprioceptive training

  • Use of pneumatic resistance machines (Keiser) to assess functional push/pull/rotation abilities with emphasis on stability, mobility or power

  • Use of weighted dumbbells, kettlebells, sleds, weighted plates, to assess functional lifting, pushing, pulling and carrying

  • Duty-specific energy system development

  • Dynamic warm up and cool down strategies

  • Anti-Gravity treadmill use for weightbearing progressions

  • Aquatic therapy for reduced stress upper body progression or lower body weightbearing progressions

  • Bracing, orthotics and taping technologies and techniques

Cost

Referrals and insurance coverage

Services will be billed to each patient’s health insurance plan or, if applicable, Worker’s Compensation providers. Please note that certain insurance plans do not cover LAT services. Please contact your insurance provider(s) for verification and or authorization of coverage prior to your initial visit to the Tactical Athlete Rehabilitation Clinic.

Meet our team

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Locations

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