Leslie, MO

Leslie, MO

Don't let the fear of reinjury prevent you from participating in the activities you love.

Injury Prevention in Leslie, MO. Whether you’re an athlete and want to improve your performance, or you just retired and want to dedicate your time to taking ski vacations, don’t let the fear of reinjury keep you from the happy, healthy lifestyle you desire. While our professional Leslie, MO physical therapists work extensively with athletes and others to recover from injury, we are experts in the entire musculoskeletal system who can evaluate your movement, muscle and joint strength, and flexibility to show you methods that are proven to reduce the risk of injury. Schedule an appointment at Axes Physical Therapy today or call the location nearest you.

Physical activity is vitally important to many Leslie, MO residents. We love active endeavors like playing sports, playing golf, and more. Additionally, pursuing an active lifestyle reduces the risk of future health problems including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, degenerative brain diseases, depression, and certain cancers. Not only can physical therapy with one of Axes’ licensed Leslie, MO physical therapists help you return to action and perform even better than before, but our injury prevention specialists can help keep you active by improving your overall strength, flexibility, and posture. All of our treatment plans, for both recovery and injury prevention, are based on evidence-backed techniques and are developed uniquely for each client and the level of activity they want to reach.

If you’ve recently sustained an injury, or have a nagging injury that is not getting better with time, contact the Axes Physical Therapy location nearest you in Leslie, MO for a no-risk, no-obligation injury screening. To take preventative measures and protect your active lifestyle, keep reading or inquire about an appointment at your earliest convenience.

Injuries Axes PT Can Help Prevent in Leslie, MO

Injuries typically fall into two categories:

  1. Wear-and-tear injuries are injuries that are caused by repetitive movements over time. In sports, we see them the most in in overhead athletes athletes who are required to repeat throwing or striking motions and typically manifest themselves as joint pain.
  2. Acute injuries are injuries that happen because of a specific and sudden trauma. Examples include falling or a sudden impact by an object or another person. These can result in bruises, sprains and strains, broken bones, 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 an immediate impact to or twisting of the knee.

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

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

While anyone can suffer an injury almost at any time and for numerous different reasons, they generally occur because of dysfunction or instability and your body and between body parts. There are three common dysfunctions that lead to injury:

Muscle Imbalance

Muscle balance is key to maintaining healthy joints and preventing injury. Imbalance can lead to dependency on one muscle group, which may cause your body to force it to participate in an activity it shouldn’t. It also causes posture dysfunction, and the weaker muscles will become fatigued faster, increasing the risk of injury. Muscle imbalance applies to inadequate muscle balance between muscle groups, such as having a strong hamstring and weak quadriceps, or in the same muscle group, such as the four muscles in the rotator cuff not having proportionate strength. Muscle imbalance can lead to:

Personalized injury prevention with our experienced physical therapists in Leslie, MO will ensure that different muscles and muscle groups are equally strong.

Movement Dysfunction

Movement dysfunction can result in poor balance and lead to your body moving in unnatural ways, increasing your risk of injury. Neurological issues, inflammation, previous injuries, and muscle imbalance call all contribute to movement dysfunction. It can lead to:

  • Joint mobility limitations
  • Muscle imbalance
  • Poor coordination
  • Lessened balance

At our first injury prevention appointment in Leslie, MO, we’ll discuss your medical records and analyze your current movement health, strength, and flexibility. Then, in concert with with your doctor or any other providers involved in your care, we’ll devise a personalized treatment plan been proven to work by research and studies to get your body moving as it should.

Posture Dysfunction

Bad posture is not just an issue for people who sit a lot. People who play sports and other physically active people can suffer from postural dysfunction when lying down, sitting, or in specific positions related to their sport. Healthy posture refers to proper positioning when both static and moving in a way that does not remove the spine from its natural curves. Poor posture can compact the bones of the spine, which disrupts your nervous system and makes it challenging to reach the strength and range of motion you need to achieve. Symptoms include:

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

By guiding you to correct posture, we’ll aid in your injury prevention by ensuring you are using your muscles equally, your flexibility can be improved and maintained, and your vertebrae remain in place.



Injury Prevention Techniques in Leslie, MO

All sports and physical activities can potentially lead to an injury. We cannot promise that our injury prevention program completely negates the risk of injury. However, there are several steps you can take to make sure your body is strong and flexible enough for your desired activity level:

  • Take breaks — Your body needs time to rest and recover after any moderate to intense activity. If you’re heavily active, make sure to take one or two days off per week to signal to your body to engage in its natural healing processes. If you’re moderately active, rest for the rest of the day after an activity so your muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints become too fatigued.
  • Wear protective equipment — Helmets, chest guards, elbow pads, and other equipment necessary in many sports helps you avoid injuries like lacerations or head injuries. If you’re returning to activity after an injury, your Leslie, MO physician or injury prevention specialist may recommend braces or Kinesio Taping® to stabilize the affected area. Other techniques like tying your cleats tightly offers further stabilization.
  • Strengthen muscles — Strengthening soft tissue helps it withstand the force and torque your body is put through in sports and other activities. In your customized injury prevention program with our experienced Leslie, MO physical therapists, we’ll work to achieve optimal muscle balance and strengthen the often forgotten muscles needed to be able to avoid injury in the activities you want to participate in.
  • Improve flexibility — Increasing your flexibility contributes to injury prevention in three way:
    1. It boosts your range of motion, which allows for your tendons and ligaments to adjust to more dramatic movements.
    2. It increases circulation, which allows for nutrient-rich blood to flow to your soft tissue, removing waste byproduct and encouraging the muscles to heal.
    3. It encourages good posture, which we already know is an is one of the most important factors of injury prevention.

    According to a peer-reviewed sports medicine paper, sports like soccer that require bouncing and jumping require muscles and tendons compliant enough to perform those movements. Also, don’t forget to stretch and warm up before any physical activity to further reduce the risk of injury.

  • Use accepted technique — In every physical activity, there are accepted techniques to use. These techniques not only help you perform better but help reduce the risk of injury. Football players learn to tackle a certain way to reduce the risk of brain damage, and swimmers learn the proper strokes to use the appropriate muscles. We utilize DorsaVi video motion analysis to capture how you move and analyze how to both improve your performance and prevent 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 isn’t right. If you feel something suddenly that doesn’t feel right, immediately stop all physical activity and seek proportional medical care. If your body does not feel well enough for an intense workout, don’t force it.
  • Don’t play through an injury — While gritting through pain is often viewed as a valiant act among competitors, playing with soft tissue or structural damage could exacerbate a current injury and put you out of commission for longer than it originally would have. Depending on the severity of your injury, you may use methods like the R.I.C.E. method, seeing urgent care, and a series of physical therapy sessions to ensure your body heals naturally and can withstand a return to physical activity.
  • Follow the rules — Most sports have special rules at different levels to help prevent injury. Penalties for helmet to helmet hits in football, rules against head-first sliding in baseball, and even the presence of special lanes on the street and sidewalk for bikers are all rules put in place to prevent injuries to ourselves and others. Those are in place for a reason, and there’s a reason that there are penalties for them.
  • Consult a professional physical therapist — It’s always advisable to have a medical evaluation before starting another season or starting up a new physical activity. While there, inquire with your doctor if injury prevention with a experienced physical therapist in Leslie, MO is something you should consider. All of our techniques have been proven to reduce the risk of injury, and you plan will be completely unique to you and catered to your age, any previous injuries, and how physically active you wish to be.

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

Injury Prevention for The Elderly in Leslie, MO

Falls in adults over 65 accounted for more than 3 million urgent care admissions and more than 34,000 fatalities. Research demonstrates that being physical active is invaluable in reducing the risk of falls. Other conditions that cause pain like arthritis that accumulate over time can be effectively managed with physical therapy exercises that keep your soft tissue and joints healthy. While seniors typically do not exert themselves as much as an athlete does, appropriate strength, stability, flexibility, and ideal posture can greatly aid in injury prevention.

Other services we offer in Leslie, MO include:

Leslie, MO Injury Prevention | Axes Physical Therapy

Suffering in injury in one of your favorite activities causes a mental block that keeps us from experiencing the same exhilaration. The licensed Leslie, MO physical therapists at Axes are here to guide you through your own personalized injury prevention program that will keep your body prepared for the rigors of physical activity, and your mind at ease that you do not have to fear going back to what you love doing most. We will aid you in feeling the physical and mental health benefits of doing what you do best. Make an appointment online or reach out to the location nearest you to find out more about what our Leslie, MO injury prevention specialists can do for you.

Services Offered

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

Our Team

Stephen Brunjes
OTR/L, CEAS
Danielle O’Rando
Front Office
Sharon Titter
Clinic Director, MPT

Locations

Begin Your Recovery Today

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