Dr. Parveen Lathwal

Dr. Parveen Lathwal holds a BPT and an MPT with a specialisation in Sports, and works within sports physiotherapy and sports injury rehabilitation at Physio Fit 360.

Sports physiotherapy is the area of practice concerned with people whose bodies are placed under repeated physical demand — through training, competition, recreational sport, or physically demanding work. It deals with what happens when tissue is loaded more than it can currently tolerate, and with the structured process of rebuilding that tolerance afterwards.

Injury rehabilitation in this field is characteristically staged. There is an early phase focused on calming an irritable region and maintaining what movement is available; a middle phase focused on restoring range, control and strength; and a later phase focused on reintroducing speed, direction change, impact and the specific patterns of a person's sport or activity. Each stage is entered based on what the individual can currently do rather than on elapsed time.

Movement rehabilitation and functional recovery run through all of it, and performance support extends the same reasoning beyond recovery — using conditioning and movement work to help a person meet the physical demands of their activity. Within the Physio Fit 360 team, Dr. Parveen's stated focus sits firmly in this sports-oriented rehabilitation pathway.

The physical demands of sport are specific, and rehabilitation has to respect that specificity. Running loads tendons and joints through repeated impact; field sports add acceleration, deceleration and rapid changes of direction; overhead sports place particular demand on the shoulder and trunk. Effective rehabilitation identifies which of these demands a person needs to return to and works backwards from them.

Assessment in sports physiotherapy therefore looks beyond the painful region. It typically examines available range, strength through relevant ranges, single-limb control, and the quality of movement during tasks such as squatting, hopping, landing or lunging. Comparing sides, where appropriate, gives a practical reference point for what a person is currently capable of.

Progressive rehabilitation is the core method. Load is increased gradually across sessions and weeks so that muscle and tendon can adapt, and complexity is layered on top — from controlled, predictable movement towards faster, less predictable, sport-like tasks. Attempting these later demands too early is a common reason recovery stalls; delaying them too long is equally limiting.

Return-to-activity decisions are guided by criteria: adequate range, sufficient strength, acceptable control during relevant tasks, and a settled response to progressive loading. Confidence is considered alongside physical readiness, since hesitancy during high-speed movement affects how a person performs and how they load their body.

Performance support continues after the immediate problem settles, focusing on maintaining strength, mobility and movement quality so that the demands of training remain within what the body can tolerate. Outcomes vary by individual, and rehabilitation is not a guarantee against recurrence.

Rehabilitation goals in sports physiotherapy are usually defined by the activity a person intends to return to. Early goals centre on restoring available movement and maintaining general conditioning where possible, so that the wider body does not deteriorate while one region recovers.

Mid-stage goals concentrate on strength and control. Rebuilding the capacity of the affected region to accept load — and to do so with good single-limb control — is what allows later, faster tasks to be tolerated. Mobility work supports this where restricted range is limiting a functional pattern.

Later goals address the specific demands of the sport or activity: running mechanics, acceleration and deceleration, jumping and landing, and changes of direction. Alongside these, confidence with movement is treated as a genuine objective, since hesitancy alters how a person moves under speed.

Longer-term goals typically include maintaining strength and mobility through continued conditioning and understanding how to manage training load sensibly. Recovery timelines vary between individuals, and no rehabilitation programme can guarantee a particular result or prevent future injury.

Sports rehabilitation is generally built around clear, activity-specific goals. Knowing what a person is training for — a sport, a return to running, a physical job — determines what the final stages of rehabilitation must include, and that endpoint shapes the plan from the first session.

Progression is criteria-based. Rather than advancing on a schedule, the next stage is introduced when the person demonstrates the range, strength and control it requires. This tends to reduce setbacks and gives both clinician and patient an objective way to discuss readiness.

Active participation is essential in this field. Much of the work is exercise the individual performs independently, so programmes are kept practical and the reasoning behind them explained. Understanding what an acceptable response to loading feels like helps people continue with confidence rather than stopping at the first sign of discomfort.

Consistency generally matters more than intensity. Regular, well-judged loading over weeks produces adaptation; sporadic heavy sessions rarely do. Plans are reviewed and adjusted as capacity changes, and outcomes are discussed honestly rather than promised.

Working inside a multidisciplinary physiotherapy clinic means a patient is never limited to a single perspective. At Physio Fit 360, physiotherapists with different areas of specialisation — manual therapy, sports rehabilitation, orthopaedic care, neurological rehabilitation and general physiotherapy — practise under one roof in Sector 22B, Chandigarh. That shared environment makes it easier to match a person with the clinician whose focus best fits their rehabilitation needs, and to discuss a case collaboratively when a recovery journey touches more than one area. It also supports continuity: assessment, progression and review happen in the same place, with the same standards of care and communication. For patients, the practical benefit is straightforward — specialised attention within a team that understands rehabilitation as a shared, structured process rather than a series of isolated appointments.