Injury Prevention in Bloomsdale, MO. Whether you play a sport and are trying to get an opportunity at the next stage, or a recent retiree who wants to spend more time taking ski vacations, don’t let the fear of reinjury keep you from the activities you love. While our professional Bloomsdale, 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 body’s current condition and how you move to show you techniques that are proven to prevent injury. Schedule an appointment at Axes Physical Therapy today or call the location most convenient for you.

Physical activity is an essential part of many Bloomsdale, MO people’s lives. Many of us participate in activities like playing sports, biking, or other physical activities. Furthermore, pursuing an active lifestyle reduces the risk of chronic diseases including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, eurodegenerative disease, mental health issues, and many types of cancers. Not only can physical therapy with one of Axes’ licensed Bloomsdale, MO physical therapists help you return to action as fierce as ever, but our injury prevention professionals can help you reduce the risk of further injury by improving your overall strength, flexibility, and posture. All of our treatment plans, both when helping restore motion health and when looking to improve it, are based on evidence-backed techniques and are personalized to 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 nearest you in Bloomsdale, MO for a no-risk, no-obligation injury screening. To reduce your chance of an injury and ensure that you can continue with your sport or hobby, keep reading or call to speak to a physical therapist at your earliest convenience.

Types of Injuries We Prevent Prevent in Bloomsdale, MO

Most injuries fall into two categories:

1. Repetitive motion injuries are injuries that are caused by repetitive movements over time. In sports, we see them the most in in overhead athletes such as water polo or shotput and pole-vaulters, with joint pain usually being the first indicator.
2. Acute injuries are injuries that happen because of a specific and sudden trauma. Examples include falling or a sudden impact by an object or another person. These can result in bruises, twisting joints, fractures, and dislocations.

Some of the injuries we see most frequently, like rotator cuff tears, can either develop over time or occur suddenly. Other injuries, such as ACL tears, are almost always the result of trauma, with a sudden impact to the knee.

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

While injuries occur for many different reasons, and some are unpreventable, 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 staving off injury. Imbalance can cause dependency on one set of muscles, causing it to perform actions it cannot do safely. It also prevents you from having ideal posture, and the weaker muscles will become tired sooner, increasing the risk of injury. Injuries can be caused by inadequate muscle balance in relation to other muscle groups, such as having a strong chest and weak back, 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
• Coordination deficiency

Personalized injury prevention with our certified physical therapists in Bloomsdale, MO will bring balance to your muscles.

Movement Dysfunction

Movement dysfunction can result in poor balance and impede your body’s ability to naturally perform functional movements, causing injury. It can be caused by a variety of musculoskeletal issues. It can lead to:

• Joint mobility limitations
• Muscle imbalance
• Poor coordination
• Lessened balance

At our first injury prevention appointment in Bloomsdale, MO, we’ll go through 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 create a personalized treatment plan based on empirically-backed research and studies to get your body moving as it should.

Posture Dysfunction

Bad posture is not just an issue for people who spend a lot of time in the same position. Athletes and other physically active people can have postural dysfunction when resting, using the computer, or in certain positions they need to be in for their sport. Correct posture means correct alignments when both static and moving in a way that keeps the spine within its natural curves. Poor posture can compress the bones of the spine, which interferes with our body’s ability to communicate with itself and achieve the strength and range of motion you need to achieve. 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 spine is in its natural position.

Keys to Injury Prevention in Bloomsdale, MO

All sports and physical activities carry an inherent risk of injury. We cannot promise that our injury prevention program completely negates the risk of injury. However, there are things you can do to make sure your body is prepared for your desired activity level:

• Take breaks — Injuries are more common when you do not give your body time to restore itself. If you have a very high activity level, one or two rest days a week will encourage your body to engage in its natural healing processes. If you have a more moderate activity level, take a break for the few hours after an activity so you don’t overwork your muscles and joints.
• Wear protective equipment — Helmets, shin guards, protective eyewear, and other equipment necessary in many sports helps you avoid injuries like lacerations or concussions. If you’ve had a previous injury, your Bloomsdale, MO doctor or injury prevention professional may suggest braces or Kinesio Taping® to stabilize a joint. Other measures like tying your shoes tightly can further help injury prevention by stabilizing your joints.
• Strengthen muscles — Strengthening soft tissue helps it withstand the rigors your body is put through in sports and other activities. In your customized injury prevention program with our certified Bloomsdale, MO physical therapists, we’ll work to build up your body to be able to avoid injury in the activities you love.
• Increase flexibility — Stretching achieves three critical things for injury prevention:
  1. It boosts your range of motion, which lets for the tendons and ligaments connecting your muscles to your bones to adjust to more drastic movements.
  2. It increases circulation, which allows for nourishing blood to flow to your soft tissue, eliminating waste byproduct and revitalizing the muscles.
  3. It encourages good posture, which, as we’ve discussed, is an essential part of injury prevention.

  According to research, sports like basketball that require dynamic activities 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 correct technique — In every sport, there is an accepted way to position and move your body. These techniques not only help you perform better but help prevent injuries. Football players are taught to tackle a certain way to reduce the risk of a head injury, and rotational athletes like golfers and baseball players learn how to best apply torque to your body. We utilize DorsaVi video motion analysis to break down your movement and analyze how to improve it.
• Don’t ignore what your body is telling you — If you feel pain in a muscle or joint, that’s your body’s way of telling you something is wrong. If you feel a sudden pop or grinding sensation, immediately stop all physical activity and seek proportional medical care. If your body isn’t holing up well in a particularly rigorous workout, don’t force it.
• Don’t play through an injury — Even though teammates, competitors, and fans appreciate an athlete that plays through pain, playing with an injury to a muscle, joint, tendon, or ligament could make that injury worse and leave you off the field or court for much longer than if you had sat out at the time of the injury. Depending on what caused your injury and how severe it is, recommended actions may be using R.I.C.E. method, visiting urgent care, and rehab with a physical therapist to make sure your recovery and return to action go as well as possible.
• Play by the rules — Depending on the sport or activity and age level of the participants, it likely has special rules to help prevent injury. Penalties for targeting in football, rules against head-first sliding in baseball, and even the presence of special lanes on the street and sidewalk for bikers are examples of rules that were adopted to keep participants safe. Those are in place for a reason, and there’s a reason that there are penalties for them.
• Speak a professional physical therapist — It’s always advisable to get a physical before a new season or starting up a new physical activity. While there, inquire with your doctor if injury prevention with a knowledgeable physical therapist in Bloomsdale, MO is a good idea for you. All of our techniques have been proven to reduce the risk of injury, and you plan will be completely unique to you and catered to your age, your injury history, and which activities you want to participate in.

Injury Prevention for The Elderly in Bloomsdale, MO

Falls in the elderly were responsible for over 3 million emergency room visits and over 34,000 deaths. Research demonstrates that being physical active can go a long way in preventing falls. Other conditions such as arthritis that develop over the course of several years can be more bearable and take longer to progress with physical therapy exercises that keep your muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints strong. While older adults typically do not exert themselves as much as an athlete does, appropriate strength, stability, flexibility, and good posture can greatly aid in injury prevention.

Other services we offer in Bloomsdale, 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

Bloomsdale, MO Injury Prevention | Axes Physical Therapy

Being injured in one of your favorite activities causes a mental block that won’t allow us to experience the same exultation. The knowledgeable Bloomsdale, 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 at ease that you can safely return to the activities you love. You deserve to feel the physical and mental health benefits that you do not want to lose. Request an appointment online or contact the location nearest you to start your program with one of our injury prevention professionals in Bloomsdale, MO.