Winchester, MO

Winchester, MO

Don't let the fear of reinjury keep you from the activities you love.

Injury Prevention in Winchester, MO. Whether you’re an athlete and want to improve your performance, or a recent retiree who wants to spend more time camping, don’t let the fear of reinjury keep you from the activities you love. While our certified Winchester, 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 body’s current condition and how you move to show you techniques that are proven to prevent injury. Request an appointment at Axes Physical Therapy today or call the location most convenient for you.

Physical activity is vitally important to many Winchester, MO residents. We love activities such as playing sports, playing golf, or other physical activities. Additionally, keeping an active lifestyle reduces the risk of chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, eurodegenerative disease, mental health issues, and certain cancers. Not only can physical therapy with one of Axes’ licensed Winchester, MO physical therapists help you 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 treatment plans, for both healing from and preventing injury, are based on evidence-backed techniques and are personalized to each client and the lifestyle they desire.

If you’ve recently sustained an injury, or have a persistent injury that won’t heal on its own, contact the Axes Physical Therapy location most convenient for you in Winchester, MO for a complimentary injury screening. To reduce your chance of an injury and protect your active lifestyle, keep reading or inquire about an appointment today.

Types of Injuries We Prevent Prevent in Winchester, MO

Most injuries happen for one of two reasons:

  1. Repetitive demand injuries are injuries happen gradually as a body part degrades because of repetitive movements. They are common in overhead athletes athletes who are required to repeat throwing or striking motions, with joint pain usually being the first warning sign.
  2. Acute injuries are sudden and spontaneous. Examples include falling or receiving a blow. These can result in bruises, sprains and strains, fractures, and dislocations.

Some common injuries, like rotator cuff tears, can result from either overuse or acute trauma. Other injuries, such as ACL tears, almost always occur spontaneously, with a sudden impact to the knee.

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

Why Do Injuries Happen? | Injury Prevention in Winchester, 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 hold up under the force, torque, or stretching that they are subjected to in a given movement or collision. There are three common dysfunctions that lead to injury:

Muscle Imbalance

Muscle balance is crucial 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 set of muscles will be pushed past its limit, resulting in failure and a higher likelihood of injury. Injuries can be caused by poor muscle balance between muscle groups, such as having a strong chest and weak back, or within muscle groups, such as the four muscles in the rotator cuff not having proportionate strength. Muscle imbalance can cause injury through:

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

Movement Dysfunction

Movement dysfunction can impact your stability and impede your body’s ability to naturally perform functional movements, causing injury. It can be caused by a variety of musculoskeletal issues. It can cause injury through:

  • Joint mobility restrictions
  • Muscle imbalance
  • Poor coordination
  • Reduced balance

When you initially see our injury prevention professionals in Winchester, MO, we’ll discuss your medical records and analyze your current movement health, strength, and flexibility. Then, together with your doctor or any additional providers treating you, we’ll devise a tailored plan of attack based on empirically-backed research and studies to get your body moving as it should.

Posture Dysfunction

Bad posture is not just an issue for people with desk jobs. People who play sports and other physically active people can suffer from postural dysfunction when at lest, using the computer, or in specific stances related to their sport. Optimal posture means proper positioning of the different joints and muscles of your body in a way that does not remove the spine from its natural curves. Poor posture can compress the vertebrae, which disrupts our body’s internal communications and makes it challenging to achieve ideal movement health. It causes injuries through:

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

Good posture is an important part of injury prevention because it ensures you are using your muscles equally, your flexibility is not jeopardized, and your vertebrae remain in place.



How to Prevent Injury in Winchester, MO

You can still suffer an injury even if you did everything possible to prevent one. We cannot promise that our injury prevention program completely negates the risk of injury. However, there are precautions to make sure your body is strong and flexible enough for your desired activity level:

  • Take breaks — Injuries are more common in overworked bodies. If you’re heavily active, one or two rest days a week will signal to your body to engage in its natural healing processes. If you have a more moderate activity level, take it easy for the few hours after an activity so you don’t overwork your muscles and joints.
  • Use protective equipment — Helmets, chest guards, safety pads and guards, and other required equipment in sports and other activities can help prevent injuries such as lacerations or brain injuries. If you’ve already suffered an injury to a joint or soft tissue, your Winchester, MO doctor or injury prevention professional may fit you for braces or Kinesio Taping® to stabilize the injured area. Other methods like making sure all the equipment is snug can further help injury prevention by stabilizing your joints.
  • Strengthen muscles — Strengthening soft tissue helps it stand up to the force and torque of heavy activity. In your personalized injury prevention program with our expert Winchester, MO physical therapists, we’ll work to build up your body to safely participate in the activities you want to participate in.
  • Increase flexibility — Stretching contributes to injury prevention in three way:
    1. It improves which movements you can make and how far you can extend them, which lets for the tendons and ligaments connecting your muscles to your bones to adapt to more drastic positions.
    2. It enhances circulation, which carries nutrient-rich blood to your soft tissue, eliminating waste byproduct and rebuilding the muscles.
    3. It improves your posture, which we already know is an an essential part of injury prevention.

    According to studies, sports like football that necessitate bouncing and jumping require soft tissue with sufficient flexibility to incorporate and exert the high amount of energy required. Stretching and warm up exercises before games or training further helps prevent injuries.

  • Use proper technique — In every sport, there are accepted techniques to use. These techniques not only improve performance but help prevent injuries. Football players are taught to tackle with the shoulder in order to avoid a concussion, and swimmers learn the proper strokes to use the appropriate muscles. We utilize DorsaVi video motion analysis to slow down your movement and educate you on how to both be a better athlete and reduce your risk of injury.
  • Don’t ignore what your body is telling you — If a part of your body is sore, that’s your body’s way of telling you something isn’t right. If you feel sudden pain, immediately withdraw from the activity and seek proportional medical care. If your body isn’t feeling up to an intense workout, save it for another day.
  • Don’t play through an injury — While teammates, competitors, and fans appreciate an athlete that plays through pain, playing with soft tissue or structural damage could make that injury worse and leave you off the field or court for longer than it originally would have. Depending on the nature of your injury, recommended actions may be using R.I.C.E. method, seeing urgent care, and scheduling appointments with a physical therapist to make sure your recovery and return to action go as well as possible.
  • Follow 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 slide-tackling in soccer, and even the existence of bike lanes 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.
  • Speak a licensed physical therapist — It’s a good idea to see a doctor before another season begins or starting up a new physical activity. While there, ask your doctor if injury prevention with a licensed physical therapist in Winchester, MO is something you should consider. All of our techniques have been proven to help athletes remain healthy, and you plan will be completely unique to you and catered to how old you are, any previous injuries, and how physically active you wish to be.

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

Injury Prevention for The Elderly in Winchester, MO

Falls in senior citizens were responsible for over 3 million emergency room visits and over 34,000 deaths. Research demonstrates that being physical active is a great method for preventing falls. Other conditions such as arthritis that are wear and tear injuries can be slowed down by physical therapy exercises that keep your muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints healthy. While the physical demands for older adults may not be as high as an athlete, the same principles of strength, stability, flexibility, and optimal posture can greatly aid in injury prevention.

Other services we offer in Winchester, MO include:

Winchester, 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 keeps us from experiencing the same happiness. The knowledgeable Winchester, 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 confident that you can safely return to the activities you love doing most. You deserve to feel the physical and mental health benefits that you once valued so much. Request an appointment online or call the location nearest you to start your program with one of our injury prevention professionals in Winchester, MO.

Services Offered

Services Offered
  • Physical Therapy
    • Pre/Post Surgical Rehabilitation
    • Acute Injury Management
    • Chronic Injury Management
  • Occupational Therapy
    • Certified Hand Therapy
  • Work Conditioning/Hardening
  • Functional Capacity Evaluations
  • Sports Physical Therapy
  • DorsaVi Video Motion Analysis
  • Trigger Point Dry Needling
  • Pediatric Orthopedic Physical Therapy
  • Geriatric Orthopedic Physical Therapy
  • Women's Health Therapy - Pelvic Floor
  • Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization (IASTYM)
  • Spine Specialty – Manual Therapy Certified
  • Free Injury Screenings
  • Kinesio Taping®
  • Blood Flow Restriction Therapy

Our Team

Sara Crain
PT, CEAS, Astym Cert.
Lauren Cavanaugh
Front Office Supervisor
Amanda Long
DPT, CMPT, ATC
Stephen Brunjes
OTR/L, CEAS
Brian Wahlig
Front Office Supervisor
Sarah Schroeder
MOTR/L, CHT, Astym Cert
Bill Franzen
Partner, PT, MHSPT
Kinsey Jackson
Front Office
Cassandra Wadlow
Front Office
Mary McKinney
Front Office
Brian Little
Front Office Supervisor
Zac Schniers
PT, DPT, CMPT
Danielle O’Rando
Front Office
Natasha Burtchett
Front Office Supervisor
Antoinette Ghoston
Front Office
Ashley Kraus
Front Office
Helen Ziegler
Front Office
Addie Kersting
Front Office Supervisor
Dena Rose
PT, CMPT, CHT
Katee Strunk
Front Office Team Lead
Mark Smith
PT, DPT, CMPT
Kaila Mikesch
Clinic Director, PT, DPT, CMPT
Ali Bauer
PT, CMPT
Brandi Arndt
MPT, CMPT
Julie Freiner
OTR/L, CHT
Samantha Bixby
PT, DPT, Astym Cert.
Eric Meyer
Assistant Clinic Director, PT, DPT, CMPT
Anthony Meyer
PT, DPT, CMPT
Brittany Stapp
Front Office Supervisor
Mitchell Hammack
Clinic Director, PT, DPT, CMPT
Farren Holman
PT, DPT, Astym Cert.
Jodi Bielicke
Clinic Director, PT, DPT, ASTYM Cert.
Sara Dowil
OTR/L, CHT
Mike Faris
Clinic Director, PT, CMPT
Emily Helton
Clinic Director, PT, DPT, CMPT
Mandy Carter
MSPT, CMPT, ATC, CWC
Matt Williams
MS, OTR/L, ATC/L, CHT
Ray Bauer
Clinic Director, MSPT, CMPT
Brett Shelton
PT, DPT, OCS, COMT, CSMT
Candace Cunningham
Clinic Director, PT, DPT
Jeff Hunter
Clinic Director, PT, Cert. MDT, MBA
Scott Gallant
PT, FAAOMPT, BDN
Derrick Wolk
Partner, Clinic Director, MPT, CMPT
Greg Nicholas
Clinic Director, MPT, CMPT
John Teepe
Partner, MPT
Ernie Goddard
Partner, PT
John Ruesler
Clinic Director, DPT, CMPT, Astym Cert.
Jennifer Szydlowski
Clinic Director, PT, CMPT
Stacey Collins
Clinic Director, PT, DPT, CMPT
Brian Freund
Partner, DPT, CMPT, TPS, MBA
Joe Schmersahl
Clinic Director, PT, MTC, CMTPT
Bailey Zimmermann
Front Office Supervisor
Bradley Webb
Clinic Director, PT
Kelly Basler
Front Office
Daniel Scribner
PT, DPT, ATC
Jayne Scanlan
DPT, COMT, CMTPT, FAAOMPT
Sharon Titter
Clinic Director, MPT
Natalie Carter
PT, DPT, Astym. Cert.
Michelle Schrage
Front Office
Megan Phillips
Front Office
TJ Jung
PT, DPT
Kaysie Cope
Front Office
Christine Lucke
MPT, COMT.
Lauren Huckstep
Clinic Director, PT, DPT, CSCS, Astym Cert.
Mary Headrick
Front Office Associate
Megan Mason
OTD, OTR/L
Lauren Vaughn
PT, DPT, CMPT, Astym Cert.
Emma Witte
PTA, ASTYM Cert.
Stephanie Heubi
Front Office
Hannah Drake
DPT, CMPT, ATC, LAT
Kimberly Helm
Front Office Supervisor
JP Thompson
PT, DPT, Astym Cert.
Marion Shaw
Front Office Supervisor
Kelly Barnes
Physical Therapist
Abigail Alsmeyer
Front Office
Lisa Bell
Front Office
Shelby Ellis
Front Office
Kayla Kowal
PT, DPT, CSCS
Amanda Reynolds
Front Office
Erin Bauer
PT, DPT
Annmarie Koenen
Front Office
Kelly Thornton
Clinic Director, PT, DPT
Jamie Davis
Front Office
Grace Gualtieri
Physical Therapist
Jennifer Zweigart
Front Office
Heather Guffey
Front Office
Candy Willcox
Front Office
Justin Bridwell
Front Office
Jeff Cowdry
OTR/L, CHT
Shannon Blum
PTA, ATC
Chris Casner
PT, Clinic Director
Christine Rufkahr
PT, COMT, CSMT

Locations

Begin Your Recovery Today

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