Why do professional athletes recover faster from injuries?

We see it all the time. A professional athlete gets injured and we see him back on the field just weeks after the injury happened. Then we talk to our neighbor and he is struggling with a bad elbow for 6 or 8 months. Are professional athletes superhuman? What is the difference?
The first huge difference is the age. Top athletes are normally in their twenties, young and healthy. Young bodies recover faster, this is a fact. But this is not the main difference. We see nowadays that athletes are still competing at a very high level well into their forties. Good examples are Tom Brady, Roger Federer or Lebron James.
What is the main difference then? From my experience, after more than 20 years helping professional athletes the main difference is the combination of many different therapies. Let's put an example. A professional athlete with a bad runner's knee can do all these therapies in a day:
- Thermotherapy: yakuzzi (whirlpool baths), heating pads, ultrasound...

Roger Federer receiving treatment.

- Criotherapy: ice, cold baths, ocean swims...
- Manual therapy: osteopathy, chiropractic adjustments, joint mobility, stretching...
- Massage therapy: deep tissue massage, ART, cross friction massage...
- Exercises therapy: prehab exercises, stretching exercises, balancing exercises...
- Strength and conditioning sessions: band work, dumbbell work, core work, functional work...
- Other therapies: laser, acupuncture, shock wave therapy...
In general, any pro athlete can spend 3 to 4 hours taking care of the body and injury. They are proactive, they are not waiting till the injury gets better, they fight for it, they train for it.
I am a big believer in small therapies many times a day. Lets say you have a bad shoulder. My idea is that you should be doing neurodynamic exercises (10 minutes), band work (10 minutes), mobility exercises (10 minutes), small strengthening exercises (10 minutes), stretching (10 minutes), self massage (10 minutes)... you can do all these exercises at home, you don't need to go and see a trainer or therapist. If you can afford to visit a therapist once or twice a week even better. But the responsibility to get better is yours, you have to find the way to get better (with the guidance and knowledge of a professional).