Winfield, MO

Winfield, MO

Don't let the fear of reinjury prevent you from participating in the things what you do best.

Injury Prevention in Winfield, MO. Whether you’re an athlete and want to improve your performance, or a recent retiree who wants to spend more time being physical fit, don’t let the fear of reinjury keep you from the activities you love. While our licensed Winfield, MO physical therapists spend much of their time helping athletes and others recover from 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 reach out to the location most convenient for you.

Being physically active is vitally important to many Winfield, MO residents. Many of us participate in activities such as playing sports, kayaking, or other physical activities. Additionally, pursuing an active lifestyle helps prevent chronic conditions including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, dementia, depression, and many types of cancers. Not only can physical therapy with one of Axes’ licensed Winfield, MO physical therapists allow you to come back even stronger after an injury, but our injury prevention professionals can help you reduce the risk of further injury by optimizing your overall movement health. All of our treatment plans, both when helping restore motion health and when looking to improve it, are proven to be effective and are personalized to each client and the lifestyle they desire.

If you’ve recently sustained an injury, or have a lingering injury that won’t heal on its own, contact the Axes Physical Therapy location nearest you in Winfield, MO for a free injury screening. To take preventative measures and protect your active lifestyle, read on below or call to speak to a physical therapist at your earliest convenience.

Types of Injuries We Prevent Prevent in Winfield, MO

Most injuries fall into two categories:

  1. Repetitive motion 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 use throwing or striking motions, with joint pain usually being the first symptom.
  2. Acute injuries are sudden and spontaneous. Examples include falling or receiving a blow. 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, like ACL tears, almost always occur spontaneously, with a sudden impact to the knee.

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

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

While anyone can suffer an injury almost at any time and for numerous different reasons, they generally happen 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 supporting joints and staving off injury. Imbalance can cause dependency on one muscle group, causing it to perform actions it cannot do safely. 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. Muscle imbalance applies to poor muscle balance between muscle groups, such as having a strong chest and weak back, or in the same muscle group, such as an imbalance between the four muscles of the rotator cuff. Muscle imbalance can cause injury through:

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

Movement Dysfunction

Movement dysfunction can impact your stability and lead to your body bending in unnatural ways, increasing your risk of injury. It can be caused by a variety of musculoskeletal issues. It can lead to:

  • Joint mobility restrictions
  • Muscle imbalance
  • Coordination deficits
  • Decreased balance

When you first visit our injury prevention experts in Winfield, MO, we’ll evaluate your medical records and perform a base evaluation to identify the root causes of your movement dysfunction. Then, in concert with with your physician or any other providers involved in your treatment, we’ll design a customized treatment plan based on empirically-backed research and studies to get your movement back on track.

Posture Dysfunction

Bad posture doesn’t just affect people with desk jobs. People who play sports and other physically active people can suffer from postural dysfunction when lying down, using the computer, or in specific positions they need to be in for their sport. Good posture means correct alignments of the neck, torso, pelvis, and extremities in a way that does not remove the spine from its natural curves. Poor posture can compact the vertebrae, which disrupts communication between your brain and body and makes it harder to achieve 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 good posture, we’ll aid in your injury prevention by ensuring muscle balance, range of motion, and that your vertebrae remain in place.



Keys to Injury Prevention in Winfield, MO

All sports and physical activities can potentially lead to an injury. No one technique is guaranteed to be effective in injury prevention. However, there are several steps you can take 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, make sure to take one or two days off per week to signal to your body to naturally heal any mild pain or soreness. If you’re moderately active, rest for the rest of the day after an activity so your body doesn’t become too fatigued.
  • Wear the appropriate equipment — Helmets, chin straps, safety pads and guards, and other equipment necessary in many sports helps you avoid injuries such as bruises or brain injuries. If you’re returning to activity after an injury, your Winfield, MO physician or physical therapist may fit you for braces or Kinesio Taping® to stabilize the injured area. Other measures like tying your shoes tightly can further help injury prevention by stabilizing your joints.
  • Improve muscle strength — Strengthening soft tissue helps it withstand the rigors necessary for in sports and other activities. Our Winfield, MO injury prevention specialists will work to achieve ideal muscle balance and strengthen the often forgotten muscles needed to be able to stay healthy in the activities you want to participate in.
  • Improve flexibility — Stretching achieves three critical things for injury prevention:
    1. It enhances your range of motion, which lets for your soft tissue to adapt to more extreme movements.
    2. It enhances circulation, which carries nutrient-rich blood to your muscles, eliminating waste byproduct and re-energizing the muscles.
    3. It enhances your posture, which we already know is an is one of the most important factors of injury prevention.

    According to studies, sports like basketball that necessitate dynamic movements require soft tissue with sufficient flexibility to perform those movements. Stretching and warm up exercises before games or training further helps prevent injuries.

  • Use accepted 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 are taught to tackle with the shoulder in order to reduce the risk of brain damage, and swimmers learn the proper strokes to make sure their muscles are moving unnaturally. We utilize 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, your body is trying to send you a message. If you feel a sudden pop or grinding sensation, immediately withdraw from the activity and get the appropriate medical treatment. 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 a player that plays through pain, forcing your body to perform with an injury to a muscle, joint, tendon, or ligament could aggravate an existing injury and leave you on the sidelines 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 urgent care, and a series of physical therapy sessions to ensure your body heals properly and can handle a return to physical activity.
  • Follow the rules — Depending on the sport or activity and age level of the participants, it likely has special rules to reduce the risk of injury. Penalties for helmet to helmet hits in football, rules against coming from behind in soccer, and even the existence 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.
  • Speak a licensed physical therapist — It’s always advisable to have a medical evaluation before another season begins or committing yourself to any strenuous activity or training regimen. While there, inquire with your doctor if injury prevention with a professional physical therapist in Winfield, MO is right for you. Every treatment plan we employ has been demonstrated to help athletes remain healthy, and we’ll personalize your program to your age, your injury history, and which activities you want to participate in.

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

Injury Prevention for The Elderly in Winfield, MO

Falls in adults over 65 were responsible for over 3 million urgent care visits and over 34,000 fatalities. Studies show that physical activity is a great method for preventing falls. Other conditions like 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 seniors typically do not exert themselves as much as an athlete does, healthy strength, balance, flexibility, and proper posture can greatly aid in injury prevention.

Other services we offer in Winfield, MO include:

Winfield, MO Injury Prevention | Axes Physical Therapy

Suffering in injury in something you love doing can lead to a mental block that won’t allow us to experience the same exhilaration. The experienced Winfield, MO physical therapists at Axes are here to design for you a personalized injury prevention program that will keep your body strong and flexible, 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. Schedule an appointment online or contact the location nearest you to start your program with one of our injury prevention experts in Winfield, 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
  • DorsaVi Video Motion Analysis
  • Vestibular Therapy and Post-Concussion Rehabilitation
  • Trigger Point Dry Needling
  • Free Injury Screenings
  • Kinesio Taping®
  • Blood Flow Restriction Therapy

Locations

Begin Your Recovery Today

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