Imperial, MO

Imperial, MO

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

Injury Prevention in Imperial, MO. Whether you’re an athlete and want to improve your performance, or are entering your golden years and want to spend more time camping, don’t let the fear of reinjury keep you from the happy, healthy lifestyle you deserve. While our licensed Imperial, MO physical therapists work extensively with athletes and others to heal after an injury, we are complete movement health specialists who can evaluate your body’s current condition and how you move to teach out measures 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 reach out to the location nearest you.

Physical activity is an essential part of many Imperial, MO people’s lives. We love active endeavors like playing sports, swimming, and more. Additionally, pursuing an active lifestyle helps stave off significant health problems like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, eurodegenerative disease, anxiety, and certain cancers. Not only can physical therapy with one of Axes’ licensed Imperial, MO physical therapists allow you to return to action even stronger after an injury, but our injury prevention professionals can help keep you active by optimizing your overall movement health. All of our methods, both when helping restore motion health and when looking to improve it, are based on evidence-backed techniques and are customized for each client and the level of activity they want to reach.

If you’ve recently sustained an injury, or have a persistent injury that just won’t go away, contact the Axes Physical Therapy location most convenient for you in Imperial, MO for a no-risk, no-obligation injury screening. To take preventative measures and protect your sport or hobby, read on below or call to speak to a physical therapist today.

Types of Injuries We Prevent Prevent in Imperial, MO

Injuries typically happen for one of two reasons:

  1. Repetitive motion injuries are injuries happen gradually as a body part degrades because of repetitive movements. In sports, we see them the most in in overhead athletes such as baseball or lacrosse players, with joint pain usually being the first warning sign.
  2. Acute injuries are injuries that happen suddenly. Examples include landing on uneven ground or a sudden impact by an object or another person. These can result in bruises, sprains and strains, fractures, and dislocations.

Some of the injuries we see most frequently, for example rotator cuff tears, can either develop over time or occur suddenly. Other injuries, like ACL tears, are almost always the result of trauma, with an immediate impact to or twisting of the knee.

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

What Causes Injuries? | Injury Prevention in Imperial, MO

While injuries can happen in a variety of circumstances, and are sometimes inescapable, they generally occur because your muscles, ligaments, tendons, bones, and joints cannot handle the force, torque, or stretching that they are subjected to in a given movement or collision. There are three chief causes of why your body cannot adjust to an activity:

Muscle Imbalance

Muscle balance is key to supporting joints and reducing injury. Imbalance can cause overemphasis for 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 inadequate muscle balance between muscle groups, such as having a strong hamstring and weak quadriceps, or within muscle groups, such as the four muscles in the rotator cuff not having proportionate strength. Muscle imbalance can result in:

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

Movement Dysfunction

Movement dysfunction can result in poor balance and lead to your body bending in unnatural ways, causing injury. It can be caused by a range of musculoskeletal issues. Symptoms include:

  • Joint mobility restrictions
  • Muscle imbalance
  • Coordination deficiency
  • Lessened balance

At our initial injury prevention appointment in Imperial, MO, we’ll discuss your medical records and analyze your current movement health, strength, and flexibility. Then, in concert with with your physician or any other providers involved in your care, we’ll create a tailored plan of attack based on empirically-backed research and studies to get your movement back on track.

Posture Dysfunction

Bad posture is not just an issue for people who spend a lot of time in the same position. People who play sports and other physically active people can be affected by postural dysfunction when at lest, sitting, or in specific positions necessary for a given activity. Good posture means correct alignments of the neck, torso, pelvis, and extremities in a way that encourages our spine to stay in its natural curves. Poor posture can compact the joints in the spine, which disrupts communication between your brain and body and makes it challenging to attain the strength and range of motion you need to achieve. It can also lead to:

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

Good posture is a necessary part of injury prevention because it ensures you are using the right muscles for the right movements, your flexibility can be improved and maintained, and your nervous system can communicate as its intended to.



Injury Prevention Techniques in Imperial, MO

All sports and physical activities carry an inherent risk of injury. No one technique is 100% foolproof in injury prevention. However, there are things you can do to greatly reduce the risk of injury:

  • Take a rest — Injuries are more common in overworked bodies. If you have a very high activity level, one or two rest days a week will signal to your body to engage in its natural healing processes. If you have a more modest activity level, relax for the rest of the day after an activity so you don’t overwork your muscles and joints.
  • Use the appropriate equipment — Helmets, chest guards, safety pads and guards, and other required equipment in sports and other activities helps you avoid injuries such as rashes or concussions. If you’ve had a previous injury, your Imperial, MO doctor or injury prevention specialist may fit you for braces or Kinesio Taping® to stabilize the injured area. Other techniques like making sure all the equipment is snug can further help injury prevention by stabilizing your joints.
  • Strengthen muscles — Strengthening your muscles, tendons, and ligaments helps them stand up to the rigors of heavy activity. In your tailored injury prevention program with our professional Imperial, MO physical therapists, we’ll work to build up your body to safely participate in the activities you love.
  • Boost flexibility — Stretching contributes to injury prevention in three way:
    1. It enhances your range of motion, which lets for the tendons and ligaments connecting your muscles to your bones to adjust to more drastic positions.
    2. It enhances blood flow, which allows for nutrient-rich blood to flow to your soft tissue, removing waste byproduct and encouraging the muscles to recover.
    3. It boosts your posture, which we already know is an an essential part of injury prevention.

    According to a peer-reviewed sports medicine paper, sports like football that include dynamic activities require soft tissue with sufficient flexibility to incorporate and release the high amount of energy required. Also, remember to stretch and warm up before games or training to further reduce the risk of injury.

  • Use accepted technique — In every sport, there is an accepted way to position and move your body. These techniques not only improve performance but help prevent injuries by not forcing your body into unnatural positions and movements. Football players are taught to tackle with the shoulder in order to avoid a head injury, and rotational athletes like golfers and baseball players learn how to best rotate their body. We use DorsaVi video motion analysis to break down your movement and analyze how to both improve your performance and reduce your risk of injury.
  • Listen to your body — If you feel pain in a muscle or joint, that means that body part is telling your brain that something is wrong. If you feel a sudden crack or grinding sensation, stop immediately and seek proportional medical care. If your body does not feel well enough for a particularly rigorous training session, save it for another day.
  • Don’t play through an injury — While gritting through pain is often seen as a courageous act among competitors, playing with an injury to a muscle, joint, tendon, or ligament could aggravate a current injury and leave you off the field or court for much longer than if you had sat out at the time of the injury. Depending on what caused your injury and how severe it is, you may use methods like the R.I.C.E. method, seeing your doctor, and scheduling appointments with a physical therapist to ensure your body heals properly and can handle the activity you want to return to.
  • Follow the rules — Many sports have special rules at different levels to reduce the risk of injury. Penalties for leading with the helmet in football, rules against coming from behind in soccer, and even the presence of special lanes on the street and sidewalk for bikers are examples of rules that were adopted to prevent injuries to ourselves and others. There’s a reason those rules exist, and a reason that violations of those rules are punished.
  • Consult a licensed physical therapist — It’s a good idea to have a medical evaluation before a new season or starting up a new activity or training regimen. During your visit, ask your doctor if injury prevention with a licensed physical therapist in Imperial, MO is right for you. Every treatment plan we employ has been proven to reduce the risk of injury, and we’ll personalize your program to your age, your injury history, and which activities you want to participate in.

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

Injury Prevention for The Elderly in Imperial, MO

Falls in the elderly accounted for over 3 million emergency room visits and over 34,000 fatalities. Research demonstrates that being physical active is a great method for preventing falls. Other conditions that limit mobility like arthritis that are wear and tear injuries can be effectively managed with physical therapy exercises that keep your muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints active. While the physical demands for older adults may not be as high as an athlete, the same principles of strength, stability, flexibility, and correct posture can greatly aid in injury prevention.

Other services we offer in Imperial, MO include:

Imperial, MO Injury Prevention | Axes Physical Therapy

Suffering in injury in in an activity you prepare and train for and love can create a mental block that won’t allow us to experience the same exultation. The experienced Imperial, MO physical therapists at Axes are here to develop your personalized injury prevention program that will keep your body prepared for the rigors of physical activity, 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 that you do not want to lose. Schedule an appointment online or call the location nearest you to get started with one of our injury prevention specialists in Imperial, MO.

Services Offered

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

Our Team

Stephen Brunjes
OTR/L, CEAS
Greg Nicholas
Clinic Director, MPT, CMPT
Jamie Davis
Front Office
Grace Gualtieri
Physical Therapist

Locations

Begin Your Recovery Today

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