American Fork Physical Therapy's goal is to empower each individual with the tools to reclaim their health. We are dedicated to teaching correct care principles to patients to improve and maintain health and wellbeing. At American Fork Physical Therapy and Sports Medicine Clinic our mission is to establish a relationship with each individual and empower them with tools to reclaim their health. We specialize in treatment of: - Sports Injury - Back Injury - Work Related Injury - Post op - Neck Pain - Auto Accident Treatment : Our treatments consist mainly of three elements: modalities, stretching and strengthening. Modalities are tools that we use to help relax, strengthen, and promote healing in muscles. Here are some of the modalities you may see us use: Hot Packs - helps relax tight muscles, which in turn decreases pain caused by muscle tension or spasms. - increases circulation to the area. Ice Packs: - decreases the inflammation in the area. - pain and swelling are decreased. Interferential Current (e-stim): - help reduce pain and decrease edema and inflammation. - Promotes the secrete endorphins, the body's natural pain-killers. Ultrasound: - warm superficial tissues, helping decrease muscle tightness and spasm in affected areas. - increasing blood flow to the affected area. Massage: - encourage muscle relaxation and - increase blood flow in affected areas. - We also use it to help break down adhesions which may form Strengthening Exercises: For our purposes, muscle tissue serves three main purposes: movement, maintenance of posture, and joint stabilization. Movement: Most muscles attach to bones. When the muscle contracts and shortens, it pulls on the bony attachment, creating movement around the joint axis. Maintenance of posture: When standing or even sitting, muscles are constantly firing to keep us in a stable position. Joint stabilization: Muscle tone (which is a continuous and low-level contraction of a muscle) keeps tension on the muscle tendons that cross over joints, helping to further stabilize joints. All of these components come together to reduce the risk of injury by helping us move properly and safely. Stretching: Stretching is an important part of the recovery process. Range of motion gains are essential in your recovery. Without sufficient range of motion you will be limited in the functional tasks you can do. Adhesions can form after a surgery or an injury (acute trauma, chronic, or overuse). Adhesions are fibrous tissues that the body throws down as part of the healing process. These fibrotic bands are thrown down in a haphazard way as the body attempts to heal as quickly as possible, rather than being laid down in an orderly fashion. This can cause some problems, such as limited range of motion. This causes the body to compensate for that lack of movement. Additional stresses are placed on structures that may not be designed or able to handle those stresses, and may lead to additional injury. Manual Stretching