Ethlyn, MO

Ethlyn, MO

Don't let a mental block over reinjury keep you from the activities you love.

Injury Prevention in Ethlyn, MO. Whether you play a sport and are trying to get a shot at the next level, or a recent retiree who wants to spend more time camping, don’t let the fear of reinjury keep you from the happy, healthy lifestyle you desire. While our licensed Ethlyn, MO physical therapists spend much of their time helping athletes and others heal after an injury, we are complete movement health specialists who can evaluate your movement, muscle and joint strength, and flexibility to guide you through methods that are proven to reduce the risk of injury by preparing your body for the stressors of your desired activity. Schedule an appointment at Axes Physical Therapy today or call the location most convenient for you.

Physical activity is an essential part of many Ethlyn, MO people’s lives. Many of us participate in activities like playing sports, kayaking, and more. Additionally, committing to an active lifestyle reduces the risk of chronic conditions such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, degenerative brain diseases, mental health issues, and many types of cancers. Not only can physical therapy with one of Axes’ licensed Ethlyn, MO physical therapists allow you to come back and perform even better than before, but our injury prevention experts can help you reduce the risk of further injury by improving your overall strength, flexibility, and posture. All of our methods, for both recovery and injury prevention, are based on evidence-backed techniques and are personalized to each client and the lifestyle they desire.

If you’ve recently suffered an injury, or have a lingering injury that won’t heal on its own, contact the Axes Physical Therapy location nearest you in Ethlyn, MO for a complimentary injury screening. To take preventative measures and protect your sport or hobby, keep reading or inquire about an appointment at your earliest convenience.

Types of Injuries We Prevent Prevent in Ethlyn, MO

Most injuries happen for one of two reasons:

  1. Wear-and-tear injuries are injuries that occur when a part of the body repeats the same motion time and time again. They are common in overhead athletes athletes who are required to repeat throwing or striking motions and typically are accompanied by joint pain.
  2. Acute injuries are sudden and spontaneous. Examples include falling or a sudden impact by an object or another person. These can result in bruises, twisting joints, fractures, and dislocations.

Some common injuries, for example rotator cuff tears, can either develop over time or occur suddenly. Other injuries, for example ACL tears, are almost always the result of trauma, with a sudden impact to the knee.

Injury Prevention Ethlyn, MO | Sports Therapy | Physical Therapy Near Ethlyn

Why Do Injuries Happen? | Injury Prevention in Ethlyn, MO

While anyone can suffer an injury almost at any time and for numerous different reasons, they generally happen because your soft tissue, bones, and joints cannot handle the force, torque, or stretching that are required or are possible in a given activity. There are three main causes of why your body cannot adjust to an activity:

Muscle Imbalance

Muscle balance is essential to supporting joints and preventing injury. Imbalance can cause an overreliance on one muscle group, causing it to perform actions it cannot do safely. It can also lead to poor posture, and the weaker set of muscles will be pushed past its limit, resulting in failure and a higher probability of injury. Injuries can be caused by poor muscle balance between muscle groups, such as having a strong bicep and weak tricep, or in the same muscle group, such as the four muscles in the rotator cuff having different levels of strength. Muscle imbalance can result in:

Personalized injury prevention with our licensed physical therapists in Ethlyn, MO will bring balance to your muscles.

Movement Dysfunction

Movement dysfunction can result in poor balance and impede your body’s ability to naturally perform functional movements, causing injury. It can be caused by a range of musculoskeletal issues. It can lead to:

  • Joint mobility limitations
  • Muscle imbalance
  • Coordination deficiency
  • Decreased balance

At our first injury prevention appointment in Ethlyn, MO, we’ll evaluate your medical history and analyze your current movement health, strength, and flexibility. Then, together with your physician or any additional medical professionals treating you, we’ll develop a tailored game plan based on empirically-backed research and studies to get your movement health to the level you need it to to do what you love.

Posture Dysfunction

Bad posture doesn’t just affect people with desk jobs. People who play sports and other physically active people can be affected by postural dysfunction when resting, using the computer, or in specific positions they need to be in for a given activity. Healthy posture refers to proper alignments of the neck, torso, pelvis, and extremities in a way that does not remove the spine from its natural curves. Poor posture can bring the vertebrae closer together, which disrupts communication between your brain and body and makes it harder to attain the strength and range of motion you need to achieve. It causes injuries through:

  • Muscle weakness
  • Muscle imbalance
  • Poor positioning
  • Joint mobility limitations
  • Poor muscle recruitment

By helping you understand the best practices for posture, we’ll aid in your injury prevention by ensuring muscle balance, flexibility, and that your spine is in its natural position.



Keys to Injury Prevention in Ethlyn, MO

You can still suffer an injury even if you did everything possible to prevent one. No one precaution is guaranteed to be effective in injury prevention. However, there are several steps you can take to greatly reduce the risk of injury:

  • Take breaks — Your body needs time to rest and recover after any moderate to intense activity. If you have a very high activity level, one or two rest days a week will allow your body to naturally heal any mild pain or soreness. If you have a more modest activity level, take a break after activity so your muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints become too fatigued.
  • Use the right equipment — Helmets, mouth guards, protective eyewear, and other recommended equipment in many sports helps you avoid injuries such as contusions or concussions. If you’re returning to activity after an injury, your Ethlyn, MO physician or injury prevention specialist may suggest braces or Kinesio Taping® to stabilize a joint. Other techniques like making sure all the equipment is snug offers further protection.
  • Increase muscle strength — Strengthening soft tissue helps it stand up to the rigors necessary for in sports and other activities. Our Ethlyn, MO injury prevention experts will work to achieve optimal muscle balance and strengthen the smaller muscles needed to be able to stay healthy in the activities you want to participate in.
  • Boost flexibility — Increasing your flexibility contributes to injury prevention in three way:
    1. It enhances your range of motion, which allows for your tendons and ligaments to adjust to more dramatic movements.
    2. It enhances circulation, which carries protein-rich blood to your soft tissue, removing waste byproduct and encouraging the muscles to recover.
    3. It encourages good posture, which, as you read earlier, is an essential part of injury prevention.

    According to research, sports like basketball that include bouncing and jumping require soft tissue flexible enough to perform those movements. Also, remember to stretch and warm up before any physical activity to further reduce the risk of injury.

  • Use proper technique — Through the years, each sport and physical activity develops a consensus of the best ways to position and move your body. These techniques not only improve performance but help prevent injuries. Football players learn to tackle with the shoulder in order to avoid a head injury, and rotational athletes like golfers and baseball players learn how to best apply torque to your body. We use DorsaVi video motion analysis to slow down your movement and evaluate how to improve it.
  • Don’t ignore what your body is telling you — If a part of your body is sore, your body is trying to send you a message. If you feel a sudden pop or grinding sensation, stop immediately and get the appropriate medical treatment. If your body isn’t holing up well in an intense workout, don’t force it.
  • Don’t play through an injury — Even though gutting it out through pain is often seen as a heroic act among competitors, playing with an injury to a muscle, joint, tendon, or ligament could make that injury worse and leave you off the field or court for much longer than you would have been sitting out. Depending on what caused your injury and how severe it is, recommended actions may be using R.I.C.E. method, seeing your doctor, and rehab with a physical therapist to make sure your body heals properly and can withstand the activity you want to return to.
  • Play by the rules — Depending on the sport or activity and age level of the participants, it likely has special rules in the interest of safety. Penalties for targeting in football, rules against head-first sliding in baseball, and even the existence of bike lanes are examples of rules that were adopted to prevent injuries to ourselves and others. Those were enacted for a reason, and there’s a reason that there are penalties for them.
  • Speak a professional physical therapist — It’s always advisable to get a physical before a new season or starting up a new physical activity. While there, inquire with your doctor if injury prevention with a experienced physical therapist in Ethlyn, MO is a good idea for you. Every treatment plan we employ has been demonstrated to help athletes remain healthy, and you plan will be completely unique to you and catered to your age, any previous injuries, and which activities you want to participate in.

Injury Prevention Ethlyn, MO | Sports Therapy | Physical Therapy Near Ethlyn

Injury Prevention for Senior Citizens in Ethlyn, MO

Falls in adults over 65 were responsible for over 3 million emergency room admissions and over 34,000 fatalities. Research demonstrates that being physical active is a great method for reducing the risk of falls. Other conditions like arthritis that develop over the course of several years can be more bearable and take longer to progress with physical therapy exercises that keep your muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints healthy. While the physical demands for seniors may not be as high as an athlete, appropriate strength, balance, flexibility, and proper posture are great agents in injury prevention.

Other services we offer in Ethlyn, MO include:

Ethlyn, MO Injury Prevention | Axes Physical Therapy

Being injured in in an activity you prepare and train for and love causes a mental block that won’t allow us to experience the same euphoria. The licensed Ethlyn, MO physical therapists at Axes are here to guide you through your own personalized injury prevention program that will keep your body strong and flexible, and your mind at ease that you can safely return to the activities you love. We will aid you in feeling the physical and mental health benefits of doing what you do best. Schedule an appointment online or reach out to the location nearest you to start your program with one of our injury prevention experts in Ethlyn, MO.

Services Offered

Services Offered
  • Physical Therapy
    • Pre/Post Surgical Rehabilitation
    • Acute Injury Management
    • Chronic Injury Management
  • Work Conditioning/Hardening
  • Functional Capacity Evaluations
  • Certified Hand Therapy
  • Sports Physical Therapy
  • Pediatric Orthopedic Physical Therapy
  • Geriatric Physical Therapy
  • Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization
  • DorsaVi Video Motion Analysis
  • Spine Specialty – Certified Manual Therapy, McKenzie
  • Free Injury Screenings
  • Kinesio Taping®
  • Blood Flow Restriction Therapy

Our Team

Sara Crain
PT, CEAS, Astym Cert.
Julie Freiner
OTR/L, CHT
Samantha Bixby
PT, DPT, Astym Cert.
Farren Holman
PT, DPT, Astym Cert.
Matt Williams
MS, OTR/L, ATC/L, CHT
Jeff Hunter
Clinic Director, PT, Cert. MDT, MBA
Bailey Zimmermann
Front Office Supervisor
Amanda Reynolds
Front Office

Locations

Begin Your Recovery Today

Injuries and pain shouldn’t keep you from moving and doing the things you love.