Injury Prevention in Chain of Rocks, MO. Whether you play a sport and are hoping for a shot at the next level, or you just retired and want to dedicate your time to camping, don’t let the fear of reinjury keep you from the activities you love. While our professional Chain of Rocks, MO physical therapists spend much of their time helping athletes and others heal after an injury, we are experts in the entire musculoskeletal system who can evaluate your movement, muscle and joint strength, and flexibility to teach out measures that are proven to reduce the risk of injury. Request an appointment at Axes Physical Therapy today or reach out to the location nearest you.

Being physically active is vitally important to many Chain of Rocks, MO residents. Many of us participate in active endeavors such as playing sports, hiking, or other physical activities. Additionally, keeping an active lifestyle reduces the risk of chronic conditions such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, eurodegenerative disease, anxiety, and many types of cancers. Not only can physical therapy with one of Axes’ licensed Chain of Rocks, MO physical therapists allow you to come back even stronger after an injury, 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 personalized to each client and the activities they want to return to.

If you’ve recently suffered an injury, or have a nagging injury that is not getting better with time, contact the Axes Physical Therapy location nearest you in Chain of Rocks, MO for a free injury screening. To take preventative measures and protect your active lifestyle, read on below or inquire about an appointment today.

Injuries Axes PT Can Help Prevent in Chain of Rocks, MO

Injuries generally fall into two categories:

1. Repetitive demand injuries are injuries that occur when a part of the body repeats the same motion time and time again. In sports, we see them the most in in overhead athletes athletes who use throwing or striking motions and typically are accompanied by joint pain.
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, broken bones, and dislocations.

Some common injuries, for example rotator cuff tears, can result from either overuse or acute trauma. Other injuries, such as ACL tears, almost always occur spontaneously, such as receiving a direct blow to the knee.

Why Do Injuries Happen? | Injury Prevention in Chain of Rocks, MO

While injuries can happen in a variety of circumstances, and some are inescapable, they generally happen because of dysfunction or instability and your body and between body parts. There are three common dysfunctions that lead to injury:

Muscle Imbalance

Muscle balance is essential to supporting joints and preventing injury. Imbalance can cause dependency on one muscle group, causing it to perform actions it cannot do safely. 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. Injuries can be caused by inadequate 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. Symptoms include:

• Muscle weakness
• Muscle inflexibility
• Poor muscle recruitment
• Coordination deficiency

Tailored injury prevention with our certified physical therapists in Chain of Rocks, MO will ensure that your muscles are at optimal proportional strength.

Movement Dysfunction

Movement dysfunction can impact your stability 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 restrictions
• Muscle imbalance
• Coordination deficits
• Lessened balance

When you first visit our injury prevention specialists in Chain of Rocks, 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 other providers treating you, we’ll come up with a customized 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 sit a lot. People who play sports and others with active lifestyles can have postural dysfunction when lying down, driving, or in specific body positions related to a given activity. Optimal posture refers to correct positioning of your body from your head to your toes in a way that does not remove the spine from its natural curves. Poor posture can compress the joints in the spine, which interferes with our body’s ability to communicate with itself and reach 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 vital part of injury prevention because it ensures muscle balance, flexibility, and that your nervous system can communicate as its intended to.

Keys to Injury Prevention in Chain of Rocks, MO

You can still suffer an injury even if you did everything possible to prevent one. No one safety tip is 100% foolproof in injury prevention. However, there are precautions to make sure your body is prepared for your intended activity:

• Take a rest — 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 naturally heal any mild pain or soreness. If you’re moderately active, relax for the rest of the day after an activity so you don’t overwork your muscles and joints.
• Use protective equipment — Helmets, shin guards, protective eyewear, and other equipment necessary in many sports can help prevent injuries like contusions or head injuries. If you’ve had a previous injury, your Chain of Rocks, MO doctor or injury prevention expert may fit you for stabilizing braces or Kinesio Taping®. Other measures like tying your shoes tightly can further help injury prevention by stabilizing your joints.
• Improve muscle strength — Strengthening soft tissue helps it stand up to the force and torque your body is put through in sports and other activities. In your tailored injury prevention program with our expert Chain of Rocks, MO physical therapists, we’ll work to achieve optimal muscle balance and strengthen the smaller muscles needed to be able to avoid injury in the activities you love.
• Increase flexibility — Stretching accomplishes three critical things for injury prevention:
  1. It increases your range of motion, which lets for the tendons and ligaments connecting your muscles to your bones to adjust to more drastic positions.
  2. It improves circulation, which allows for protein-rich blood to flow to your soft tissue, removing waste byproduct and encouraging the muscles to heal.
  3. It encourages good posture, which, as you read earlier, is is one of the most important aspects of injury prevention.

  According to research, sports like soccer that include sudden twists and movements require muscles and tendons compliant enough to perform those movements. Stretching and warm up exercises before games or training further helps prevent injuries.

• Use accepted technique — In every sport, there are accepted techniques to use. These techniques not only help you perform better but help reduce the risk of injury. Football players learn to tackle a certain way to avoid 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 slow down your movement and educate you on how to both be a better athlete and reduce your risk of injury.
• Don’t ignore what your body is telling you — 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, stop immediately and get the appropriate medical treatment. If your body isn’t holing up well in an intense workout, save it for another day.
• Don’t play through an injury — Even though 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 make that injury worse and put you out of commission for longer than it originally would have. 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 scheduling appointments with a physical therapist to make sure your recovery and return to action go as well as possible.
• Follow the rules — Most sports have special rules at different levels in the interest of safety. Penalties for leading with the helmet in football, rules against coming from behind in soccer, and even the existence of special lanes on the street and sidewalk for bikers are examples of rules that leagues enacted to prevent injuries to ourselves and others. There’s a reason those rules exist, and a reason that violations of those rules are punished.
• Consult a professional physical therapist — It’s a good idea to have a medical evaluation before a new season or committing yourself to any strenuous physical activity. During your physical, inquire with your doctor if injury prevention with a experienced physical therapist in Chain of Rocks, MO is a good idea for you. All of our techniques have been proven to help athletes remain healthy, and we’ll personalize your program to your age, your injury history, and which activities you want to participate in.

Injury Prevention for Older Chain of Rocks, MO Adults

Falls in the elderly were responsible for over 3 million emergency room visits and more than 34,000 fatalities. Studies show that being physical active can go a long way in reducing the risk of falls. Other conditions such as arthritis that accumulate over time can be more bearable and take longer to progress with physical therapy exercises that keep your muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints active. While the physical demands for older adults may not be as high as an athlete, the same principles of strength, balance, flexibility, and optimal posture can greatly aid in injury prevention.

Other services we offer in Chain of Rocks, MO include:

• Neck Pain Treatment
• 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

Chain of Rocks, MO Injury Prevention | Axes Physical Therapy

Being injured in in an activity you prepare and train for and love causes a mental block that won’t allow us to experience the same freedom. The knowledgeable Chain of Rocks, MO physical therapists at Axes are here to design for you a 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 doing most. You deserve to feel the physical and mental health benefits that you once valued so much. Schedule an appointment online or reach out to the location nearest you to find out more about what our Chain of Rocks, MO injury prevention specialists can do for you.