Injury Prevention in Ferguson, MO. Whether you’re an athlete and want to up your game, or you just retired and want to dedicate your time to being physical fit, don’t let the fear of reinjury keep you from the activities you love. While our certified Ferguson, MO physical therapists work extensively with athletes and others to heal after an injury, we are experts in the entire musculoskeletal system who can evaluate your movement, muscle and joint strength, and flexibility to show you techniques that are proven to prevent injury. Schedule an appointment at Axes Physical Therapy today or contact the location nearest you.

Being physically active is an essential part of many Ferguson, MO people’s lives. We love activities such as playing sports, playing golf, and more. Additionally, pursuing an active lifestyle reduces the risk of chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, degenerative brain diseases, anxiety, and many types of cancers. Not only can physical therapy with one of Axes’ licensed Ferguson, 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, are proven to be effective 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 is not getting better with time, contact the Axes Physical Therapy location most convenient for you in Ferguson, MO for a free injury screening. To reduce your chance of an injury and protect your active lifestyle, keep reading or inquire about an appointment at your earliest convenience.

Injuries Axes PT Can Help Prevent in Ferguson, MO

Injuries typically happen for one of two reasons:

1. Chronic 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 athletes who are required to repeat throwing or striking motions and commonly reveal themselves with joint pain.
2. Acute injuries are sudden and spontaneous. Examples include landing on uneven ground or a sudden impact by an object or another person. These can result in bruises, sprains and strains, broken bones, and dislocations.

Some of the injuries we see most frequently, such as rotator cuff tears, can result from either overuse or acute trauma. Other injuries, like ACL tears, almost always occur spontaneously, with an immediate impact to or twisting of the knee.

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

While anyone can suffer an injury almost at any time and for numerous different reasons, they generally occur because your soft tissue, bones, and joints cannot handle 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 maintaining healthy joints and preventing injury. Imbalance can cause an overreliance on one set of muscles, which may cause your body to force it to participate in an activity it shouldn’t. It can also lead to poor posture, 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 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. Symptoms include:

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

Tailored injury prevention with our knowledgeable physical therapists in Ferguson, MO will bring balance to your muscles.

Movement Dysfunction

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

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

When you first see our injury prevention experts in Ferguson, MO, we’ll discuss your medical history and analyze your current movement health, strength, and flexibility. Then, alongside with your doctor or any additional medical professionals treating you, we’ll devise a customized treatment plan based on empirically-backed research and studies to get your movement health to reach its potential.

Posture Dysfunction

Bad posture doesn’t just affect people who spend a lot of time in the same position. Athletes and others with active lifestyles can have postural dysfunction when lying down, sitting, or in certain poses necessary for a given activity. Optimal posture refers to correct alignments when both static and moving in a way that keeps the spine within its natural curves. Poor posture can compact the joints in the spine, which has a negative affect on our body’s ability to communicate with itself and achieve optimal movement health. It causes injuries through:

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

By guiding you to correct posture, we’ll aid in your injury prevention by ensuring muscle balance, flexibility, and that your spine is in its natural position.

Keys to Injury Prevention in Ferguson, MO

You can still suffer an injury even if you did everything possible to reduce that risk. No one safety tip is 100% foolproof in injury prevention. However, there are several steps you can take to make sure your body is prepared for your desired activity level:

• Take a rest — Your body needs time to rest and recover after any moderate to intense activity. If you have a very high activity level, make sure to take one or two days off per week to encourage your body to naturally heal any mild pain or soreness. If you have a more modest activity level, take a break after activity so your body doesn’t become too fatigued.
• Use the right equipment — Helmets, chin straps, safety pads and guards, and other recommended equipment in many sports can help prevent injuries such as bruises or brain injuries. If you’ve already suffered an injury to a joint or soft tissue, your Ferguson, MO doctor or physical therapist may recommend braces or Kinesio Taping® to stabilize the injured area. Other measures like making sure all the equipment is snug offers further stabilization.
• 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 customized injury prevention program with our certified Ferguson, MO physical therapists, we’ll work to achieve optimal muscle balance and strengthen the often forgotten muscles needed to be able to avoid injury in the activities you want to participate in.
• Increase flexibility — Increasing your flexibility contributes to injury prevention in three way:
  1. It boosts your range of motion, which allows for your soft tissue to adjust to more extreme positions.
  2. It increases blood flow, which carries nourishing blood to your muscles, removing waste byproduct and fortifying the muscles.
  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 football that include bouncing and jumping require soft tissue compliant enough to perform those movements. Also, remember to stretch and warm up before games or training to further reduce the risk of injury.

• Use correct technique — Through the years, each sport and physical activity develops a consensus of the best techniques to use. These techniques not only improve performance but help prevent injuries by not forcing your body into unnatural positions and movements. Football players are taught to tackle a certain way to avoid 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 slow down your movement and analyze how to improve it.
• Don’t ignore what your body is telling you — If a part of your body is bothering you, that’s your body’s way of telling you something isn’t right. If you feel something suddenly that doesn’t feel right, immediately withdraw from the activity and seek proportional medical care. If your body does not feel well enough for an intense training session, don’t force it.
• Don’t play through an injury — Even though playing through pain is often seen as a valiant 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 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, seeing urgent care, and a series of physical therapy sessions to make sure your recovery and return to action go as well as possible.
• Follow the rules — Many sports have special rules at different levels to reduce the risk of injury. Penalties for helmet to helmet hits in football, rules against coming from behind in soccer, and even the existence of bike lanes are examples of rules put in place 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 licensed physical therapist — It’s in your best interest to have a medical evaluation before starting another season or starting up a new activity or training regimen. While there, ask your doctor if injury prevention with a experienced physical therapist in Ferguson, MO is a good idea for you. All of our techniques have been demonstrated 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 Senior Citizens in Ferguson, MO

Falls in senior citizens were responsible for over 3 million urgent care admissions and more than 34,000 deaths. Studies show that physical activity is a great method for preventing falls. Other conditions such as arthritis that accumulate over time can be effectively managed with physical therapy exercises that keep your soft tissue and joints active. While seniors typically do not exert themselves as much as an athlete does, appropriate strength, balance, flexibility, and ideal posture can greatly aid in injury prevention.

Other services we offer in Ferguson, MO include:

• Shin Splint Treatment
• Direct Access Physical Therapy
• Gait Analysis
• Pelvic Floor Therapy
• Dry Needling Near Me
• Tendonitis Treatment
• Manual Physical Therapy
• Orthopedic Rehab Near Me
• Beginner Running Program
• Chronic Pain Treatment

Ferguson, MO Injury Prevention | Axes Physical Therapy

Being injured in something you love doing causes a mental block that won’t allow us to experience the same freedom. The knowledgeable Ferguson, 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 confident that you can safely return to the activities you love. We will aid you in feeling the physical and mental health benefits that you do not want to lose. Schedule an appointment online or call the location nearest you to start your program with one of our injury prevention professionals in Ferguson, MO.