Weeks 1–2
Pain
Calm it down, fast.
Hands-on techniques and smart load management settle pain and swelling starting your very first visit.
What We Treat
Sports injury treatment in Cupertino.
Watching from the sideline while everyone else gets to play isn’t nothing. It’s the hardest part. Getting back in the game starts with a cause-first evaluation, not a guess.
Sound Familiar?
Does this sound like you?
- Standing on the sideline in your own cleats, watching your team play without you
- Icing after every practice just to make it through the next one
- Taping an ankle, a knee, a shoulder, whatever it takes to finish the season
- Getting cleared to “take it easy” when easy was never really an option
- Feeling that same knee buckle the moment you cut hard for the first time back
- Telling your coach you’re fine when you haven’t trusted your body in weeks
Two or more? Keep reading.
Why It Happens
The injury healed. The weak link that caused it didn’t.
Most sports injuries aren’t bad luck. They’re the result of an imbalance somewhere: a hip that doesn’t fire right, a landing pattern that overloads one side, mobility you lost months ago and never got back. You’re the athlete who plays through the little stuff, the ankle that’s “probably fine,” the shoulder that “just needs a warm-up.” That instinct is what makes you good. It’s also exactly why the real cause never got found.
A cause-first evaluation finds that weak link before it takes you out again, not just the spot that hurts right now. Ice and rest calm symptoms down. They don’t fix mechanics. Fix the mechanics, and you stop replaying this every season.
The Honest Truth
An untreated injury doesn’t sit still. It waits for your next game.
If you keep waiting
- You compensate around it, and the next injury shows up somewhere new
- Confidence in the joint erodes faster than the injury itself heals
- “Almost back” turns into missing the rest of the season on the sideline
If you start this week
- You know the real mechanical cause by the end of visit one
- Hands-on work and a return-to-sport plan start the same day
- You get a plan with an endpoint: cleared to play, not just cleared to walk
Nobody regrets starting too early. Every week, someone in our clinic says they regret waiting.
How We Fix It
The same four phases. Built for getting back in the game.
Every plan has an endpoint. Here’s what the four phases look like for an athlete.
Weeks 2–6
Prime
Rebuild the mechanics.
Targeted mobility and movement work retrains the pattern that put you at risk in the first place.
Weeks 6–10
Perform
Train like an athlete again.
Sport-specific strength and power work rebuilds what the injury and the time off took away.
Weeks 10+
Prevent
Return cleared, not just cleared to walk.
Cutting, landing, and sprint mechanics get tested under real game speed before you’re cleared to go all-in.
Getting athletes and weekend warriors back in the game means building a plan that doesn’t just treat the injury, it prepares your body to prevent the next one.
Dr. Stacy Alvares · Sports Injuries
Questions, Answered
What people ask before booking for a sports injury.
Not necessarily, and waiting on imaging often costs you playing time. A Doctor of Physical Therapy can evaluate most sports injuries and start treatment the same day, then loop in imaging or a specialist only if something doesn’t add up. You don’t have to sit out waiting on a referral to start recovering.
Not if the load is dosed correctly, which is exactly what a cause-first evaluation figures out. Sitting completely still doesn’t protect the joint, it just lets the surrounding muscles get weaker while you wait. We progress you through controlled movement first, then sport-specific work, so you’re actually tested before you’re cleared, not just told to be careful.
Most athletes move through all four phases, Pain, Prime, Perform, and Prevent, over roughly 8–12 weeks depending on the injury and the sport. You’ll always know which phase you’re in and what’s left before you’re cleared to play, not an open-ended string of appointments. That’s a plan with an endpoint, built around getting you back in the game.
Book Your Visit
Ready when you are.
Request a time and a real person calls you back, usually within two business hours. No phone tree. No ‘someone will reach out.’ Just a plan.
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Hours
Mon - Fri: 8:00am - 5:00pm
Sat - Sun: Closed - (408) 873-8188 Prefer to talk now? Call us.
- Same-week appointments available
4.8 · 115+ Google reviews
Typical response: under 2 business hours
Step 1 of 5
Request sent.
That’s the hard part done. We’ll call during business hours to lock in your time. Most people are on the schedule same week.
Visit Us
Care this good, this close.
Cupertino Physical Therapy
- 1054 S De Anza Blvd, #120, San Jose, CA 95129 (opens in a new tab)
- (408) 873-8188
- Fax: (408) 873-8138
- cpt95129@gmail.com
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Mon - Fri: 8:00am - 5:00pm
Sat - Sun: Closed