Injury Prevention in Barnhart, MO. Whether you’re an athlete trying to get a shot at the next level, or you just retired and want to dedicate your time to being physical fit, don’t let the fear of reinjury keep you from the activities you love. While our licensed Barnhart, 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 movement, muscle and joint strength, and flexibility to teach out exercises that are proven to reduce the risk of injury. Request an appointment at Axes Physical Therapy today or call the location most convenient for you.

Physical activity is vitally important to many Barnhart, MO residents. Many of us participate in active endeavors like playing sports, kayaking, or other physical activities. Additionally, pursuing an active lifestyle reduces the risk of serious health problems such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, dementia, depression, and many types of cancers. Not only can physical therapy with one of Axes’ licensed Barnhart, MO physical therapists allow you to return to action and perform even better than before, but our injury prevention specialists can help you reduce the risk of further injury by improving your overall strength, flexibility, and posture. All of our treatment plans, for both recovery and injury prevention, have been prove to work and are developed uniquely for each client and the level of activity they want to reach.

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 nearest you in Barnhart, MO for a free injury screening. To reduce your chance of an injury and ensure that you can keep up with your active lifestyle, keep reading or call to speak to a physical therapist today.

Injuries Axes PT Can Help Prevent in Barnhart, MO

Most injuries happen for one of two reasons:

1. Chronic injuries are injuries happen gradually as a body part degrades because of repetitive movements. In sports, we see them the most in in overhead athletes such as tennis or shotput and pole-vaulters and commonly manifest themselves as joint pain.
2. Acute injuries are sudden and spontaneous. Examples include landing on uneven ground or receiving a blow. These can result in bruises, sprains and strains, fractures, and dislocations.

Some common injuries, for example rotator cuff tears, can either develop over time or occur suddenly. Other injuries, like ACL tears, are almost always the result of trauma, with a sudden impact to the knee.

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

While anyone can suffer an injury almost at any time and for numerous different reasons, they generally occur because of dysfunction or instability and your body and between body parts. There are three chief causes of why your body cannot adjust to an activity:

Muscle Imbalance

Muscle balance is key to supporting joints and reducing injury. Imbalance can result in an overreliance on one muscle group, which may cause your body to use it in a way it shouldn’t. It can also lead to poor posture, 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 insufficient muscle balance in relation to other muscle groups, such as having a strong hamstring and weak quadriceps, or in the same muscle group, such as an imbalance between the four muscles of the rotator cuff. Muscle imbalance can lead to:

• Muscle weakness
• Muscle inflexibility
• Poor muscle recruitment
• Poor coordination

Tailored injury prevention with our certified physical therapists in Barnhart, MO will ensure that different muscles and muscle groups are equally strong.

Movement Dysfunction

Movement dysfunction can result in poor balance and lead to your body moving in unnatural ways, increasing your risk of injury. It can be caused by a range of musculoskeletal issues. Symptoms include:

• Joint mobility limitations
• Muscle imbalance
• Coordination deficits
• Lessened balance

When you initially see our injury prevention experts in Barnhart, MO, we’ll evaluate your medical records and analyze your current movement health, strength, and flexibility. Then, in concert with with your doctor or any other providers treating you, we’ll devise a customized game plan been proven to work through research and studies to get your movement health to the level you need it to to do what you love.

Posture Dysfunction

Bad posture is not just an issue for people with desk jobs. Athletes and other physically active people can suffer from postural dysfunction when at lest, sitting, or in specific poses related to a given activity. Healthy posture means correct alignments of the different joints and muscles of your body in a way that encourages our spine to stay in its natural curves. Poor posture can bring the joints in the spine closer together, which interferes with our body’s ability to communicate with itself and attain the strength and range of motion you need to achieve. It can also lead to:

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

Good posture is a necessary part of injury prevention because it ensures you are using the right muscles for the right movements, your flexibility can be improved and maintained, and your nervous system can communicate as its intended to.

How to Prevent Injury in Barnhart, MO

All sports and physical activities carry an inherent risk of injury. No one technique is 100% foolproof in injury prevention. However, there are things you can do to make sure your body is prepared for your desired activity level:

• Take a rest — Your body needs time to rest and recover after any moderate to intense activity. If you have a very high activity level, one or two rest days a week will encourage your body to naturally heal any mild pain or soreness. If you have a more modest activity level, take a break for the few hours after an activity so your muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints become too fatigued.
• Wear the appropriate equipment — Helmets, chest guards, protective eyewear, and other equipment necessary in many sports can help prevent injuries such as rashes or head injuries. If you’re returning to activity after an injury, your Barnhart, MO physician or injury prevention professional may advise braces or Kinesio Taping® to stabilize a joint. Other methods like making sure all the equipment is snug can further help injury prevention by stabilizing your joints.
• Strengthen muscles — Strengthening your muscles, tendons, and ligaments helps them stand up to the rigors of heavy activity. In your customized injury prevention program with our knowledgeable Barnhart, MO physical therapists, we’ll work to build up your body to be able to avoid injury in the activities you want to participate in.
• Increase flexibility — Stretching contributes to injury prevention in three way:
  1. It boosts your range of motion, which allows for your tendons and ligaments to adapt to more pronounced positions.
  2. It boosts circulation, which allows for nourishing blood to flow to your soft tissue, removing waste byproduct and reinvigorating the muscles.
  3. It boosts your posture, which we already know is an is one of the most important factors of injury prevention.

  According to research, sports like basketball that include dynamic movements require soft tissue with sufficient flexibility to perform those movements. Also, remember to stretch and warm up before any physical activity to further reduce the risk of injury.

• Use proper technique — Through the years, each sport and physical activity develops a consensus of the best techniques to use. These techniques not only help you get be the best athlete you can be but help prevent injuries. Football players learn to tackle with the shoulder in order to reduce the risk of a concussion, and swimmers learn the proper strokes to make sure their muscles are moving unnaturally. We utilize DorsaVi video motion analysis to slow down your movement and analyze how to both be a better athlete and prevent injury.
• Listen to your body — If a part of your body is bothering you, your body is trying to send you a message. If you feel something suddenly that doesn’t feel right, immediately withdraw from the activity and get the appropriate medical treatment. If your body isn’t holing up well in an intense training session, don’t force it.
• Don’t play through an injury — While teammates, competitors, and fans appreciate an athlete that guts it out through pain, forcing your body to perform with an injury to a muscle, joint, tendon, or ligament could aggravate a current injury and leave you off the field or court for longer than it originally would have. Depending on what caused your injury and how severe it is, you may use methods like the R.I.C.E. method, visiting urgent care, and a series of physical therapy sessions to ensure 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 leading with the helmet in football, rules against head-first sliding in baseball, and even the presence of bike lanes are examples of rules that were adopted to prevent injuries to ourselves and others. Those were enacted for a reason, and there’s a reason that violations of those rules are punished.
• Speak a licensed physical therapist — It’s a good idea to get a physical before starting another season or committing yourself to any strenuous physical activity. While there, inquire with your doctor if injury prevention with a experienced physical therapist in Barnhart, MO is right for you. Every treatment plan we employ has been demonstrated to prevent injury, and we’ll personalize your program to how old you are, your injury history, and how physically active you wish to be.

Injury Prevention for Senior Citizens in Barnhart, MO

Falls in senior citizens accounted for more than 3 million urgent care visits and over 34,000 fatalities. Research demonstrates that physical activity is a great method for reducing the risk of falls. Other conditions that limit mobility like arthritis that are wear and tear injuries can be effectively managed with 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, healthy strength, stability, flexibility, and good posture are great agents in injury prevention.

Other services we offer in Barnhart, MO include:

• Physical Therapy Clinic
• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Treatment
• Sciatica Treatment
• Sports Medicine
• Hand Pain Physical Therapy
• Foot & Ankle Pain Treatment
• Hip Pain Treatment
• Plantar Fasciitis Treatment
• Stroke Rehabilitation
• Hip Replacement Physical Therapy

Barnhart, MO Injury Prevention | Axes Physical Therapy

Being injured in something you love doing causes a mental block that won’t allow us to experience the same happiness. The licensed Barnhart, MO physical therapists at Axes are here to guide you through your own personalized injury prevention program that will keep your body as safe and healthy as can be, and your mind confident that you can safely return to the activities you love. We will aid you in feeling the physical and mental health benefits of doing what you do best. Request an appointment online or contact the location nearest you to get started with one of our injury prevention professionals in Barnhart, MO.