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The Importance of Stretching in PT for Injury Recovery

Looking to make the most of your physical therapy journey? Stretching often gets relegated to a quick warm-up or cool-down, but when it comes to injury recovery, it’s a powerhouse player. Stretching with physical therapy improves your mobility, eases pain, and even prevents future injuries.

Stretching and PT Is a Winning Combination

Stretching isn’t just a warm-up or a cooldown after your physical therapy session. It’s an integral part of the healing process itself. When paired with expert guidance from a physical therapist, stretching can unlock a cascade of benefits that are essential for living life to the fullest.

• Pain Reduction. Tight muscles can pull on joints and create painful imbalances. Stretching lengthens those muscles, easing tension and reducing discomfort. It’s like giving your body a soothing massage from the inside out.
• Improved Range of Motion.Injuries can leave you feeling stiff and limited. Stretching helps you regain the full range of motion in your joints, allowing you to move freely and confidently.
• Enhanced Circulation.Stretching increases blood flow to your muscles, delivering vital nutrients and oxygen that accelerate healing. It’s like opening the floodgates to recovery.
• Scar Tissue Prevention.After an injury, scar tissue can form, restricting movement and causing pain. Stretching helps break down scar tissue and promote healthy tissue growth.
• Injury Prevention.Flexible muscles and joints are less prone to injury. Regular stretching helps you build resilience and protect your body from future setbacks.
• Stress Reduction.Stretching isn’t just physical; it’s mental, too. It can help calm your mind, reduce stress, and improve your overall sense of well-being.

Stretching Your Way to Recovery: A Personalized Approach

At Impact Medical Group of Sarasota, we believe in personalized care. Our physical therapists will assess your unique needs and create a customized stretching program that targets the areas affected by your injury. We’ll guide you through proper techniques, ensuring you get the most out of each stretch without risking further injury.

• Dynamic Stretching.We’ll incorporate dynamic stretches that involve controlled movements to warm up your muscles and prepare them for activity.
• Static Stretching.We’ll teach you static stretches that involve holding a position for a set time to improve flexibility and range of motion.
• Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation (PNF).We may also use PNF techniques that involve contracting and relaxing muscles to achieve a deeper stretch.

Your Journey to a Stronger You Starts Here

Stretching is an essential tool in your recovery toolbox. It’s not just about bouncing back from an injury; it’s about building a stronger, more resilient you. So, if you’re ready to reach your full potential, contact Impact Medical Group of Sarasota today at (941) 222-1157 to schedule a consultation with one of our experienced physical therapists. Let us help you stretch your way to a healthier, happier, and more active life.

5 Reasons to Include Trauma Therapy in Your Personal Injury Claim

Accidents can leave deep scars, both visible and invisible. While the physical injuries you sustain in an accident may be readily apparent, the emotional and psychological impact can often be more profound and long-lasting. Trauma therapy, also known as Injury Trauma Counseling, can play a crucial role in your recovery, helping you navigate the complex emotional terrain and rebuild your life after a traumatic event. If you’re pursuing a personal injury claim, here are five compelling reasons to include trauma therapy as part of your recovery plan:

1. Addressing the Unseen Wounds

Physical injuries often take center stage in personal injury claims, but trauma therapy acknowledges the invisible wounds that can be just as debilitating. Anxiety, depression, flashbacks, and nightmares are common after a traumatic accident. Trauma therapy provides a safe and supportive space to process these emotions, develop coping mechanisms, and regain a sense of control.

2. Enhancing Your Overall Well-Being

Trauma can disrupt your sleep, relationships, and overall quality of life. Therapy can help you address these challenges, improve your mental and emotional health, and ultimately enhance your overall well-being. It’s about more than just recovering from the accident—it’s time to reclaim your life.

3. Strengthening Your Case

Including trauma therapy in your personal injury claim demonstrates the full extent of your suffering and the impact the accident has had on your life. This can strengthen your case and potentially lead to a more favorable settlement. By seeking help, you’re taking proactive steps to address the emotional and psychological consequences of the accident.

4. Facilitating a Faster Recovery

Trauma can hinder your physical healing process. By addressing the emotional and psychological aspects of your injury, trauma therapy can help you overcome mental blocks and facilitate a faster, more complete recovery. It allows you to focus on your physical rehabilitation without the added burden of unresolved trauma.

5. Empowering You to Move Forward

Trauma therapy equips you with the tools and strategies to cope with the aftermath of an accident. It helps you process your emotions, develop resilience, and rebuild your life with confidence. It’s about empowering you to move forward, not just surviving but thriving.

Impact Medical Group of St. Petersburg: Your Partner in Healing

At Impact Medical Group of St. Petersburg, we understand that healing from an accident goes beyond treating physical injuries. Our compassionate team of therapists specializes in injury trauma counseling, providing a safe and supportive environment to help you navigate the emotional challenges and reclaim your well-being.

Don’t let the unseen wounds of trauma control your life! Contact Impact Medical Group of St. Petersburg today at (727) 722-8103 to schedule your free consultation and embark on your journey to a healthier, happier you. We’re here to support you every step of the way.

Are Injections For Auto Accident Neck Injuries A Smart Idea?

Life can feel very different after an auto accident. Let’s start with the most obvious reason this can happen, injury. Relearning how to do simple things like walking or even lifting a glass of water can be frustrating. If you don’t have any major injuries, it’s important to consider the psychological effects of your accident. Many people ignore signs like elevated heart rate, trouble sleeping, and flashbacks when the reality is these can all be signs of Post Traumatic Stress disorder. PTSD can be very disruptive to daily life, and counseling should be considered. So, if you’re not severely injured, and you don’t have any signs of PTSD, you should be in the clear, right?

Do I Need Injections From My Auto Accident?

You might think that being sore or having residual pain is normal and is something that will resolve on its own. Some light stretching and drinking plenty of water will do the trick, right? While there are many different kinds of neck pain, getting evaluated by a medical professional to assess which one you have is crucial in understanding what you need to do to heal.

Here are a few different kinds of neck injuries that can be sustained from an auto accident:

1. Whiplash: Whiplash is caused by a violent jerking of the body due to the impact of the collision. It can feel as mild as a sore neck, or as severe as limited mobility and shooting pains down the spine. If whiplash goes untreated, it can cause overcompensation in other areas of the body that can lead to nerve damage or swelling. Needless to say, leaving whiplash untreated can cause even worse complications down the line.
2. Cervical Fracture: This occurs when one of the bones in the neck fracture due to impact or sustained weight on the neck area. This can be mild, or severe, even leading to nerve damage or paralysis.
3. Neck sprain: While this one might not sound as severe, a neck sprain can hinder daily life due to the pain. When the muscles in the neck are pulled and overstretched, it can cause immobility which can affect many things, including your ability to drive or sleep comfortably.

Related > Why Is Back Pain Often Delayed After An Accident?

So what Can Impact Medical Do To Help?

At Impact Medical Sun City, we offer a variety of safe and effective injections to help you manage pain, or reduce swelling caused by your neck injury.

Here are a few types of injections that we offer:

1. Our Epidural injections deliver anti-inflammatory steroids into the area around spinal nerve roots in order to help relieve pain in the body that is caused by irritated spinal nerves.
2. A facet joint injection is a small amount of local anesthetic used to numb the area, and help block pain. This can help with overcompensation from other parts of your body!
3. Selective nerve root block injections (SNRB) are cortisone injections that create long-lasting relief in the body from inflammation and compression.

If you are suffering from a neck injury, whether that looks like some stiffness or trouble turning your head, or complete immobility of the neck, please stop and see us at Impact Medical Sun City! We can assess your injury and plan the best course of action with you. Our goal is to get you back to living your everyday life as effectively as possible! Give us a call at 813-938-5195 to get started on your healing journey today.

What Are The Most Common Psychological Effects Of Auto Accidents?

We often get so caught up in the sudden impact of a car crash that we tend to forget the fact that our mental health is also a crucial factor in these traumatic events. Even if you don’t notice any changes in your attitude right away, they can sneak up on you later in a way that’s not outright apparent.

Your trusted team at Impact Medical Tarpon Springs is here to show you the most common psychological effects of auto accidents so you can know when to seek help!

Read more > 3 Most Impactful Auto Injuries to Be Aware of and How to Heal From Them

Why Mental Health Is Affected After An Accident

What does a physical impact have to do with your mental state? Being in an auto accident involves more than just being hit with brunt force. There’s the initial shock of the unexpected occurrence, the confusion of not knowing what to do at the moment, and the possible fear of seeing an accident coming with no way to stop it. An accident may happen fast, but our brains work overtime in survival mode to process everything and react accordingly.

Given everything that your mind goes through before, during, and after an accident, it makes sense that our emotions would get the better of us. This overthinking can easily lead to stress, anxiety, and depression, each of which has its own set of symptoms but all do their part in bogging us down with mental disorders.

Going Over the Big 3

Let’s take a moment to take apart the biggest and most common types of psychological effects that can occur from an auto accident:

Anxiety

When we go through a traumatic event, our brain tries to compensate by reviewing the event over and over to find solutions. The mind may go through the processes of fear and anger in having a loss of control over the situation. There’s anger in believing that the incident could have gone differently, and fear of ending up in a similar situation in the future but with a worse outcome.

Accepting that your anxiety is something worth treating is the first step in overcoming this mental hurdle.

Depression

There may be times when the outcome of an accident is too much to bear, resulting in irreversible damage or extreme loss. Facts that remain permanent often trigger depression so debilitating that it can get in the way of eating, sleeping, or any regular activity that used to be simple and easy before the accident occurred.

Depression after an accident is especially prevalent in those who may feel at fault, believing they are responsible for any loss or damages that were sustained.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

Drivers who have encountered their first car crash or have experienced immense trauma may develop PTSD. This disorder can result in excessive and uncontrollable flashbacks of the most traumatic moments of the incident. When left untreated, these symptoms can last for months and even years.

What Other Psychological Symptoms Can Appear?

Anxiety, depression, and PTSD may be some of the most common (and most concerning) psychological effects resulting from an accident, but other factors that can affect your mental health include:

• An inability to concentrate
• Panic attacks
• Disputes within a relationship
• A tendency for substance abuse
• Survivor’s remorse

Older drivers are especially sensitive to emotional trauma. If you had an elderly parent survive a car crash, there are ways to help support them in their time of need.

How Impact Medical Watches Out For Your Mental Health

Impact Medical is proud to have licensed mental health counselors on staff to assist those who are struggling with the psychological effects of traumatic car crashes. We use evidence-based treatments to help you cope and recover from distress as part of our injury trauma counseling services.

Need help with your post-accident mental health? We’re here for you! Contact Impact Medical Tarpon Springs today at 727-756-9585 to get started with a consultation appointment.