Develop safer sports practices through physical therapy in Rancho Cucamonga CA and reduce your risk of injury.
Some people believe that injury is an inevitable part of playing sports. While it is true that contact injuries caused by another player are beyond our control, the vast majority of sports injuries are not caused by contact and are actually entirely preventable. At Form & Function Physical therapy, we provide elite level physical therapy in Rancho Cucamonga CA designed to not only support recovery from injuries, but actually prevent injuries from occurring in the first place.
6 Steps to Improved Injury Prevention
Many different factors influence the risk of injury, including the type of sport being played, the conditions on the field, and the athlete’s age, gender, and genetics. While many of these factors cannot be controlled, the biomechanics of play can be controlled through proper technique, so that you don’t injure yourself by using improper form or by attempting motions your body is not prepared to complete on a repeated basis. At Form & Function Physical Therapy, this is where our focus lies. We emphasize training and preparation in our injury prevention programs. Here are 6 steps that can help you prevent future sports injuries.
1. Visit Form & Function Physical Therapy for an evaluation of your current condition using the latest tools and techniques. We will help identify any areas of weakness that could become targets for injury in your sports play or exercise routine.
2. Strengthen your muscles. Based on the results of your evaluation, we will provide a personalized physical therapy routine designed to improve strength and coordination and reduce the risk of injury. Whenever possible this will include exercises that mimic combinations of movements that are vital to your sport to improve neuromuscular coordination as well as strength.
3. Improve flexibility. We will also show you specific stretching exercises that can be used to help improve flexibility. This will include stretches for warming up and cooling down after exercise.
4. Get the right gear. In addition to any required protective gear like pads and helmets, you should be wearing the right footwear to help prevent injury. At Form & Function Physical Therapy we can help evaluate your current footwear and see if it is helping or hindering your efforts to prevent injury.
5. Rest. The body needs time to recover from the exertions of sports or training. Be sure you get enough sleep, and also take breaks as needed during physical activity. Varying your routine and doing different activities or exercises can also help give different muscles a break.
6. Don’t play through pain. Often, when one part of the body becomes injured or painful, athletes change their form to minimize the pain. This puts stress on other muscles that are not trained to handle it, and injury after injury can result in a sort of chain reaction. The best way to prevent injuries is not to make your own decision to play through pain but instead to make an appointment for physical therapy in Rancho Cucamonga CA as soon as possible to address the issue professionally.
ACL Injury Prevention
Reduce your risk of sustaining a knee injury with Form and Function PT’s ‘Injury Free Knee’ program.
Whether it be something as simple as tendonitis, or as serious as an ACL tear, we can help. But what if all you had to do was take 15 minutes to prevent the injury in the first place?
All it takes is 15 minutes to see if you are at risk for a knee injury, and what you should do about it.
The first step is a screen that assesses:
- Physical make-up (anatomical factors that may lead to injury).
- How well you recruit your muscles during dynamic movements.
- Strength of critical core and hip muscles that control the entire lower body.
A score for each of the tests is given and a total score is given to determine if you have a LOW, MODERATE, or HIGH RISK for knee injury.
The screen tells us which of your factors are most serious, and where we should be spending our time and attention correcting.
After identifying your risk factors, we will personalize a program with you based on your sport or activity. No matter if you are in-season, or the off-season, no matter your goals or availability, we can develop a program to ensure you have done all you can to eliminate as much risk as you can of sustaining a knee injury.
To learn more about ACL injury prevention, check out our blog posts
Questions about our Injury Free Knee Program (Contact us)
Contact us for special pricing for group, team, league, or organization-wide screening.
Ready to Bid Sports Injuries Goodbye?
Call 888-619-2885 or contact Form & Function Physical Therapy today. We’ll get you started on a new routine that will drastically improve your chances of preventing injury during sports and exercise.
