Injury Prevention Fenton, MO

Injury Prevention in Fenton, MO. Whether you’re an athlete trying to get a shot at the next level, or a recent retiree who wants to spend more time hiking, don’t let the fear of reinjury keep you from the happy, healthy lifestyle you desire. While our licensed Fenton, MO physical therapists work extensively with athletes and others to recover from injury, we are complete movement health specialists who can evaluate your body’s current condition and how you move to show you exercises 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 call the location nearest you.

Being physically active is vitally important to many Fenton, MO residents. We love activities such as playing sports, swimming, and more. Furthermore, pursuing an active lifestyle reduces the risk of chronic diseases 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 Fenton, MO physical therapists help you return to action 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 healing from and preventing injury, are proven to be effective and are customized for each client and the lifestyle they desire.

If you’ve recently sustained an injury, or have a nagging injury that won’t heal on its own, contact the Axes Physical Therapy location nearest you in Fenton, MO for a free injury screening. To take preventative measures and ensure that you can keep up with your active lifestyle, keep reading or call to speak to a physical therapist at your earliest convenience.

Types of Injuries We Prevent Prevent in Fenton, MO

Most injuries happen for one of two reasons:

Overuse 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 athletes who use throwing or striking motions and commonly reveal themselves with joint pain.
Acute injuries are sudden and spontaneous. Examples include falling or receiving a blow. These can result in bruises, twisting joints, broken bones, and dislocations.

Some of the injuries we see most frequently, like 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.

Injury Prevention Fenton, MO | Sports Therapy | Physical Therapy Near Fenton

What Causes Injuries? | Injury Prevention in Fenton, MO

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

Muscle Imbalance

Muscle balance is essential to maintaining healthy joints and staving off injury. Imbalance can cause overemphasis for one set of muscles, causing it to perform actions it cannot do safely. It can also lead to poor posture, and the weaker muscles will become tired faster, making them more susceptible to injuries. Muscle imbalance can refer to 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 cause injury through:

Muscle weakness
Muscle inflexibility
Poor muscle recruitment
Poor coordination

Customized injury prevention with our licensed physical therapists in Fenton, MO will bring balance to your muscles.

Movement Dysfunction

Movement dysfunction can impact your stability and lead to your body moving in ways it is not designed to, causing injury. It can be caused by a range of musculoskeletal issues. It can cause injury through:

Joint mobility limitations
Muscle imbalance
Poor coordination
Reduced balance

At our first injury prevention appointment in Fenton, MO, we’ll go over your medical records and perform a base evaluation to identify the root causes of your movement dysfunction. Then, together with your doctor or any additional medical professionals involved in your treatment, we’ll design a tailored plan of attack 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 who sit a lot. Athletes and other physically active people can be affected by postural dysfunction when lying down, driving, or in certain body positions they need to be in for their sport. Optimal posture refers to proper positioning when both static and moving in a way that does not remove the spine from its natural curves. Poor posture can bring the vertebrae closer together, which disrupts our body’s internal communications and makes it challenging to 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

By helping you understand correct posture, we’ll aid in your injury prevention by ensuring you are using the right muscles for the right movements, your flexibility is not jeopardized, and your nervous system can communicate as its intended to.

Injury Prevention Methods in Fenton, MO

You can still suffer an injury even if you did everything you could to prevent one. We cannot promise that our injury prevention program completely negates the risk of injury. However, there are things you can do to greatly reduce the risk of injury:

Take a rest — Injuries are more common in overworked bodies. If you’re heavily active, make sure to take one or two days off per week to signal to your body to engage in its natural healing and recovery processes. If you have a more moderate activity level, relax for the rest of the day after an activity so your body doesn’t become too fatigued.
Wear protective equipment — Helmets, shin guards, elbow pads, and other recommended equipment in many sports helps you avoid injuries like contusions or head injuries. If you’re returning to activity after an injury, your Fenton, MO doctor or injury prevention professional may suggest stabilizing braces or Kinesio Taping®. Other measures like tying your cleats tightly offers further protection.
Improve muscle strength — Strengthening soft tissue helps it withstand the rigors of heavy activity. Our Fenton, MO injury prevention experts will work to build up your body to be able to avoid injury in the activities you love.
Enhance flexibility — Increasing your flexibility contributes to injury prevention in three way:
1. It boosts which movements you can make and how far you can extend them, which allows for your tendons and ligaments to handle more extreme movements.
2. It increases circulation, which allows for nourishing blood to flow to your soft tissue, eliminating waste byproduct and encouraging the muscles to recover.
3. It encourages good posture, which we already know is an an important part of injury prevention.
According to research, sports like soccer that necessitate dynamic activities require soft tissue compliant enough to perform those movements. Also, it’s important to stretch and warm up before games or training to further reduce the risk of injury.
Use proper technique — Through the years, each sport and physical activity develops a consensus of the best ways to position and move your body. These techniques not only help you get be the best athlete you can be but help prevent injuries. Football players learn to tackle a certain way to reduce the risk of brain damage, and rotational athletes like golfers and baseball players learn how to best rotate their body. We use 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.
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 get the appropriate medical treatment. If your body isn’t feeling up to a particularly rigorous 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, playing with soft tissue or structural damage could exacerbate a current injury and put you out of commission for longer than it originally would have. Depending on the nature of your injury, recommended actions may be using R.I.C.E. method, visiting your doctor, and a series of physical therapy sessions to ensure your body heals naturally and can withstand the activity you want to return to.
Follow the rules — Most sports have special rules at different levels to help prevent injury. Penalties for leading with the helmet 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 leagues enacted 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 in your best interest to see a doctor before a new season or committing yourself to any strenuous physical activity. During your visit, ask your doctor if injury prevention with a expert physical therapist in Fenton, MO is a good idea for you. All of our techniques have been demonstrated to reduce the risk of injury, and we’ll personalize your program to your age, any previous injuries, and which activities you want to participate in.

Injury Prevention Fenton, MO | Sports Therapy | Physical Therapy Near Fenton

Injury Prevention for Older Fenton, MO Adults

Falls in adults over 65 were responsible for over 3 million urgent care admissions and over 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 are wear and tear injuries can be effectively managed with physical therapy exercises that keep your muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints strong. While the physical demands for seniors may not be as high as an athlete, healthy strength, stability, flexibility, and proper posture are great agents in injury prevention.

Other services we offer in Fenton, MO include:

Fenton, MO Injury Prevention | Axes Physical Therapy

Being injured in something you love doing can create a mental block that won’t allow us to experience the same happiness. The licensed Fenton, MO physical therapists at Axes are here to design for you a 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 doing most. We will aid you in feeling the physical and mental health benefits that you once valued so much. Make an appointment online or call the location nearest you to find out more about what our Fenton, MO injury prevention professionals can do for you.