Injury Prevention in Dutzow, MO. Whether you play a sport and are trying to get an opportunity at the next level, or a recent retiree who wants to dedicate your time to camping, don’t let the fear of reinjury keep you from the activities you love. While our licensed Dutzow, MO physical therapists work extensively with athletes and others to recover from injury, we are complete movement health specialists who can evaluate your movement, muscle and joint strength, and flexibility to teach out measures that are proven to reduce the risk of injury by preparing your body for the stressors of your desired activity. Request an appointment at Axes Physical Therapy today or reach out to the location nearest you.

Physical activity is an essential part of many Dutzow, MO people’s lives. Many of us participate in activities like playing sports, biking, or other physical activities. Furthermore, committing to an active lifestyle reduces the risk of chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, dementia, mental health issues, and many types of cancers. Not only can physical therapy with one of Axes’ licensed Dutzow, MO physical therapists allow you to come back even stronger after an injury, but our injury prevention professionals can help you reduce the risk of further injury by optimizing your overall movement health. All of our methods, both when helping restore motion health and when looking to improve it, are based on evidence-backed techniques and are developed uniquely for each client and the activities they want to return to.

If you’ve recently suffered an injury, or have a lingering injury that is not getting better with time, contact the Axes Physical Therapy location nearest you in Dutzow, MO for a no-risk, no-obligation injury screening. To reduce your chance of an injury and ensure that you can continue with your active lifestyle, read on below or call to speak to a physical therapist today.

Injuries Axes PT Can Help Prevent in Dutzow, MO

Injuries typically fall into two categories:

1. Repetitive motion injuries are injuries that occur when a part of the body repeats the same motion time and time again. They are common in overhead athletes such as water polo or basketball players, with joint pain usually being the first warning sign.
2. Acute injuries are sudden and spontaneous. Examples include falling or receiving a blow. These can result in bruises, sprains and strains, 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, with a sudden impact to the knee.

What Causes Injuries? | Injury Prevention in Dutzow, MO

While anyone can suffer an injury almost at any time and for numerous different reasons, they generally happen because your soft tissue, bones, and joints cannot hold up under the force, torque, or stretching that are required or are possible in a given activity. There are three common dysfunctions that lead to injury:

Muscle Imbalance

Muscle balance is crucial to supporting joints and preventing injury. Imbalance can lead to overemphasis for one set of muscles, 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 probability of injury. Muscle imbalance can refer to poor 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

Customized injury prevention with our experienced physical therapists in Dutzow, 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. Neurological issues, swelling, previous injuries, and muscle imbalance call all contribute to movement dysfunction. It can lead to:

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

When you first see our injury prevention experts in Dutzow, MO, we’ll go through your medical history and perform a base evaluation to identify the root causes of your movement dysfunction. Then, alongside with your doctor or any additional medical professionals involved in your treatment, we’ll design a personalized plan of attack based on empirically-backed 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 slouched shoulders. Athletes and others with active lifestyles can be affected by postural dysfunction when lying down, using the computer, or in certain body positions related to their sport. Correct posture refers to correct positioning when both static and moving in a way that encourages our spine to stay in its natural curves. Poor posture can compact the joints in the spine, which interferes with our body’s ability to communicate with itself and attain the strength and range of motion you need to achieve. It causes injuries through:

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

Good posture is a vital part of injury prevention because it ensures you are using your muscles equally, your flexibility can be improved and maintained, and your spine is in its natural position.

How to Prevent Injury in Dutzow, MO

All sports and physical activities can potentially lead to an injury. No one precaution is guaranteed to be effective in injury prevention. However, there are things you can do to greatly reduce the risk of injury:

• 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, make sure to take one or two days off per week to allow 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 your muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints become too fatigued.
• Use protective equipment — Helmets, mouth guards, elbow pads, and other recommended equipment in sports and other activities helps you avoid injuries such as lacerations or head injuries. If you’re returning to activity after an injury, your Dutzow, MO physician or physical therapist may suggest braces or Kinesio Taping® to stabilize a joint. Other techniques like making sure all the equipment is snug offers further stabilization.
• Strengthen muscles — Strengthening soft tissue helps it withstand the rigors of heavy activity. In your personalized injury prevention program with our professional Dutzow, 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.
• Enhance flexibility — Stretching contributes to injury prevention in three way:
  1. It improves your range of motion, which lets for your tendons and ligaments to handle more dramatic positions.
  2. It increases blood flow, which carries nourishing blood to your soft tissue, eliminating waste byproduct and re-energizing the muscles.
  3. It encourages good posture, which we already know is an is one of the most important factors of injury prevention.

  According to a peer-reviewed sports medicine paper, sports like football that require bouncing and jumping require soft tissue flexible enough to store and expel the high amount of energy required. Also, don’t forget to stretch and warm up before any physical activity to further reduce the risk of injury.

• Use correct technique — In every physical activity, there are accepted techniques to use. These techniques not only improve performance but help reduce the risk of injury. Football players are taught to tackle with the shoulder in order to avoid a concussion, and swimmers learn the proper strokes to use the appropriate muscles. We utilize DorsaVi video motion analysis to break down your movement and analyze how to both improve your performance and reduce your risk of injury.
• Don’t ignore what your body is telling you — If a part of your body is bothering you, that means that body part is telling your brain that something is wrong. If you feel a sudden crack or grinding sensation, immediately withdraw from the activity and get the appropriate medical treatment. If your body isn’t holing up well in an intense workout, don’t force it.
• Don’t play through an injury — Even though teammates, competitors, and fans appreciate an athlete that plays through pain, forcing your body to perform with an injury to a muscle, joint, tendon, or ligament could exacerbate an existing injury and leave you off the field or court for much longer than you would have been sitting out. Depending on the severity of your injury, you may use methods like the R.I.C.E. method, seeing your doctor, and a series of physical therapy sessions to ensure your recovery and return to action go as well as possible.
• Play by the rules — Many sports have special rules at different levels to help prevent injury. Penalties for leading with the helmet in football, rules against coming from behind in soccer, and even the presence of special lanes on the street and sidewalk for bikers are all rules put in place to prevent injuries to ourselves and others. There’s a reason those rules exist, and a reason that there are penalties for them.
• Speak a professional physical therapist — It’s a good idea to have a medical evaluation before a new season or starting up a new physical activity. While there, inquire with your doctor if injury prevention with a professional physical therapist in Dutzow, MO is something you should consider. Every treatment plan we employ has been proven to prevent injury, and we’ll personalize your program to how old you are, any previous injuries, and which activities you want to participate in.

Injury Prevention for Older Dutzow, MO Adults

Falls in the elderly accounted for more than 3 million emergency room admissions and more than 34,000 deaths. Studies show that being physical active can go a long way in preventing falls. Other conditions like arthritis that accumulate over time can be more bearable and take longer to progress with 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, stability, flexibility, and correct posture are great agents in injury prevention.

Other services we offer in Dutzow, MO include:

• Stroke Rehabilitation
• Hip Replacement Physical Therapy
• Workers Comp' Physical Therapy
• Migraine Relief
• Sprain and Strain Treatment
• Geriatric Physical Therapy
• Injury Rehabilitation
• Pain Management Services
• TMJ Treatment
• Herniated Disc Treatment

Dutzow, MO Injury Prevention | Axes Physical Therapy

Being injured in something you love doing can lead to a mental block that keeps us from experiencing the same happiness. The licensed Dutzow, MO physical therapists at Axes are here to develop your personalized injury prevention program that will keep your body prepared for the rigors of physical activity, and your mind confident that you do not have to fear going back to what you love. We will aid you in feeling the physical and mental health benefits that you once valued so much. Request an appointment online or reach out to the location nearest you to start your program with one of our injury prevention professionals in Dutzow, MO.