Injury Prevention in Black Jack, MO. Whether you’re an athlete hoping for an opportunity at the next stage, or are entering your golden years and want to spend more time being physical fit, don’t let the fear of reinjury keep you from the happy, healthy lifestyle you deserve. While our certified Black Jack, MO physical therapists spend much of their time helping athletes and others recover from injury, we are experts in the entire musculoskeletal system who can evaluate your movement, muscle and joint strength, and flexibility to show you exercises that are proven to reduce the risk of injury. Schedule an appointment at Axes Physical Therapy today or contact the location nearest you.

Being physically active is an essential part of many Black Jack, MO people’s lives. Many of us participate in activities like playing sports, swimming, and more. Additionally, keeping an active lifestyle helps stave off chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, eurodegenerative disease, anxiety, and many types of cancers. Not only can physical therapy with one of Axes’ licensed Black Jack, MO physical therapists allow you to return to action even stronger after an injury, but our injury prevention experts can help you reduce the risk of further injury by improving your overall strength, flexibility, and posture. All of our methods, for both healing from and preventing injury, have been prove to work and are developed uniquely for each client and the lifestyle they desire.

If you’ve recently suffered an injury, or have a lingering injury that won’t heal on its own, contact the Axes Physical Therapy location most convenient for you in Black Jack, MO for a no-risk, no-obligation injury screening. To reduce your chance of an injury and protect your active lifestyle, keep reading or call to speak to a physical therapist today.

Types of Injuries We Prevent Prevent in Black Jack, MO

Injuries typically happen for one of two reasons:

1. Overuse injuries are injuries that are caused by repetitive movements over time. They are common in overhead athletes athletes who are required to repeat throwing or striking motions, with joint pain usually being the first warning sign.
2. Acute injuries are sudden and spontaneous. Examples include falling or a sudden impact by an object or another person. These can result in bruises, twisting joints, fractures, and dislocations.

Some common injuries, like 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.

What Causes Injuries? | Injury Prevention in Black Jack, MO

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

Muscle Imbalance

Muscle balance is crucial to maintaining healthy joints and reducing injury. Imbalance can lead to an overreliance on one muscle group, which may cause your body to force it to participate in an activity it shouldn’t. 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 insufficient muscle balance between muscle groups, such as having a strong hamstring and weak quadriceps, or within muscle groups, such as the four muscles in the rotator cuff not having proportionate strength. Symptoms include:

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

Customized injury prevention with our professional physical therapists in Black Jack, MO will ensure that your muscles are at optimal proportional strength.

Movement Dysfunction

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

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

At our initial injury prevention appointment in Black Jack, MO, we’ll go over your medical history and analyze your current movement health, strength, and flexibility. Then, in tandem with with your doctor or any additional providers involved in your care, we’ll come up with a personalized game plan based on empirically-backed research and studies to get your movement back on track.

Posture Dysfunction

Bad posture is not just an issue for people with desk jobs. Athletes and others with active lifestyles can be affected by postural dysfunction when resting, driving, or in specific poses related to a given activity. Optimal posture means correct positioning of the different joints and muscles of your body in a way that does not remove the spine from its natural curves. Poor posture can bring the vertebrae closer together, which interferes with our body’s ability to communicate with itself and attain ideal motion health. It can also lead to:

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

Good posture is a necessary part of injury prevention because it ensures muscle balance, range of motion, and that your nervous system can communicate as its intended to.

Injury Prevention Methods in Black Jack, MO

All sports and physical activities can potentially lead to an injury. No one precaution is 100% foolproof 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 when you do not give your body time to restore itself. If you’re heavily active, one or two rest days a week will signal to your body to engage in its natural healing processes. If you’re moderately active, rest for the rest of the day after an activity so your muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints become too fatigued.
• Use the appropriate equipment — Helmets, chest guards, protective eyewear, and other equipment necessary in sports and other activities helps you avoid injuries such as lacerations or concussions. If you’re returning to activity after an injury, your Black Jack, MO doctor or injury prevention expert may fit you for braces or Kinesio Taping® to stabilize a joint. Other methods like tying your athletic footwear tightly can further help injury prevention by stabilizing your joints.
• Boost muscle strength — Strengthening your muscles, tendons, and ligaments helps them withstand the rigors of heavy activity. In your tailored injury prevention program with our professional Black Jack, MO physical therapists, we’ll work to achieve optimal muscle balance and strengthen the often forgotten muscles needed to safely participate in the activities you want to participate in.
• Boost flexibility — Increasing your flexibility contributes to injury prevention in three way:
  1. It increases your range of motion, which lets for your soft tissue to adapt to more pronounced movements.
  2. It boosts circulation, which allows for nourishing blood to flow to your soft tissue, eliminating waste byproduct and encouraging the muscles to heal.
  3. It encourages good posture, which we already know is an is one of the most important factors of injury prevention.

  According to research, sports like football that necessitate dynamic motions require muscles and tendons with sufficient flexibility to perform those movements. Also, it’s important to stretch and warm up before any physical activity to further reduce the risk of injury.

• Use correct technique — In every physical activity, there is an accepted way 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 a concussion, and rotational athletes like golfers and baseball players learn how to best apply torque to your body. We use DorsaVi video motion analysis to capture how you move and educate you on how to improve it.
• Listen to your body — If a part of your body is sore, 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 seek proportional medical care. If your body isn’t feeling up to a particularly rigorous training session, save it for another day.
• Don’t play through an injury — While gritting through pain is often viewed as a heroic act among competitors, playing with an injury to a muscle, joint, tendon, or ligament could make that injury worse and put you out of commission for much longer than if you had sat out at the time of the injury. Depending on the severity of your injury, recommended actions may be using R.I.C.E. method, seeing an emergency room, and rehab with a physical therapist to ensure your recovery and return to action go as well as possible.
• Follow the rules — Most sports have special rules at different levels to help prevent injury. Penalties for targeting in football, rules against coming from behind in soccer, and even the existence of bike lanes are all rules that were adopted to prevent injuries to ourselves and others. Those are in place for a reason, and there’s a reason that violations of those rules are punished.
• Consult a licensed physical therapist — It’s a good idea to see a doctor before a new season or starting up a new activity or training regimen. During your visit, inquire with your doctor if injury prevention with a professional physical therapist in Black Jack, MO is a good idea for you. All of our techniques have been proven to prevent injury, and you plan will be completely unique to you and catered to your age, your injury history, and how physically active you wish to be.

Injury Prevention for Senior Citizens in Black Jack, MO

Falls in senior citizens were responsible for more than 3 million urgent care admissions and more than 34,000 deaths. Studies show that being physical active can go a long way in preventing falls. Other conditions such as arthritis that are wear and tear injuries can be slowed down by physical therapy exercises that keep your soft tissue and joints active. While the physical demands for older adults may not be as high as an athlete, appropriate strength, balance, flexibility, and optimal posture are great agents in injury prevention.

Other services we offer in Black Jack, 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

Black Jack, MO Injury Prevention | Axes Physical Therapy

Suffering in injury in in an activity you prepare and train for and love causes a mental block that keeps us from experiencing the same exhilaration. The licensed Black Jack, 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. You deserve to feel the physical and mental health benefits of doing what you do best. Request an appointment online or reach out to the location nearest you to start your program with one of our injury prevention experts in Black Jack, MO.