About the Program

Clinical Practicum 

The Houston Methodist The Woodlands Sports Physical Therapy Residency offers residents full-time direct clinical patient care that allows the resident to integrate and apply the knowledge from all lectures and lab sessions. This provides the resident the opportunity to expand upon their abilities as a sports specialist in training. Over the course of the program, residents will provide clinical care and receive site-specific mentoring both in the clinic and on the sideline at sporting events in order to develop advanced understanding and expertise in the management of athletes at all levels of injury.  

Clinical Mentoring 

The program thrives on the value of one-on-one mentoring. For the duration of the program, the resident will receive one-on-one mentoring on how to advance their skill of evaluation, examination, functional diagnosis, and treatment of both orthopedic and sports conditions. The resident will receive mentoring from Board-Certified Sports and Orthopedic Specialists.

Research and Investigation 

The resident will be directed on the current evidence as it relates to the evaluation and treatment of orthopedic conditions and sports injuries. The resident will be required to analyze the quality of research articles to facilitate their growth in evidence-based practice. Additionally, residents will be required to present 3 separate case studies on their own patients with supporting evidence of diagnosis and intervention.

Specialty Observation 

Throughout the duration of the program, residents will have the opportunity to interact with orthopedic surgeons in the clinical setting and the option to observe various operative procedures. This allows the resident to gain exposure to a variety of conditions and procedures that may implicate their practice as a physical therapist. In addition to shadowing orthopedic surgeons the resident(s) will shadow with the hospital’s Sports Primary Care Physicians to gain insight into their practice and develop relationships with the team of people managing local athletes. Additionally, this allows the resident an opportunity to develop professional working relationships with the physicians of Houston Methodist The Woodlands Orthopedics and Sports Medicine.

Sports-Specific Training

Resident will gain experience in the management of athletes in the clinic while also participating in sideline coverage for local athletic events, and high school sports. They will work along with athletic trainers during games for acute management, while also spending time in the athletic training room for subacute rehabilitation of high school athletes. Houston Methodist The Woodlands helps to serve many local high schools in The Woodlands and Conroe regions.

Didactic Lectures and Lab 

For the duration of the program, the resident is required to attend and participate in didactic lectures and lab. Lectures are led by faculty of the program that discuss sports specific topics, advanced anatomy, examination, differential diagnosis, clinical intervention, and return to activity or sport as it relates to specific orthopedic and sports conditions. Lab sessions incorporate the didactic knowledge into a guided practical application as it relates to manual testing and treatment of sports conditions and injuries.