Injury Prevention in Gray Summit, MO. Whether you play a sport and are hoping for a shot at the next level, or are entering your golden years and want to dedicate your time to hiking, don’t let the fear of reinjury keep you from the activities you love. While our licensed Gray Summit, MO physical therapists work extensively with athletes and others to recover from injury, we are experts in the entire musculoskeletal system who can evaluate your movement, muscle and joint strength, and flexibility to show you methods that are proven to reduce the risk of injury. Make an appointment at Axes Physical Therapy today or contact the location most convenient for you.
Being physically active is an essential part of many Gray Summit, MO people’s lives. Many of us participate in activities like playing sports, biking, or other physical activities. Furthermore, committing to an active lifestyle helps prevent chronic conditions including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, dementia, depression, and many types of cancers. Not only can physical therapy with one of Axes’ licensed Gray Summit, MO physical therapists help you return to action and perform even better than before, but our injury prevention experts can help you reduce the risk of further injury by optimizing your overall movement health. All of our treatment plans, for both healing from and preventing injury, have been prove to work and are customized for each client and the lifestyle they desire.
If you’ve recently sustained an injury, or have a persistent injury that is not getting better with time, contact the Axes Physical Therapy location nearest you in Gray Summit, MO for a complimentary injury screening. To reduce your chance of an injury and protect your active lifestyle, read on below or inquire about an appointment today.
Types of Injuries We Prevent Prevent in Gray Summit, MO
Most injuries fall into two categories:
- Repetitive motion injuries are injuries that are caused by repetitive movements over time. In sports, we see them the most in in overhead athletes athletes who use throwing or striking motions, with joint pain usually being the first indicator.
- 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 of the injuries we see most frequently, such as 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.
Why Do Injuries Happen? | Injury Prevention in Gray Summit, MO
While anyone can suffer an injury almost at any time and for numerous different reasons, they generally occur because of dysfunction or imbalance and your body and between body parts. There are three common dysfunctions that lead to injury:
Muscle Imbalance
Muscle balance is crucial to maintaining healthy joints and staving off injury. Imbalance can cause dependency on 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 fatigued sooner, increasing the risk of injury. Muscle imbalance can refer to poor muscle balance between muscle groups, such as having a strong bicep and weak tricep, 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
Personalized injury prevention with our licensed physical therapists in Gray Summit, MO will ensure that your muscles are at optimal proportional strength.
Movement Dysfunction
Movement dysfunction can impact your stability and lead to your body moving in unnatural ways, increasing your risk of injury. Neurological issues, inflammation, previous injuries, and muscle imbalance call all contribute to movement dysfunction. It can lead to:
- Joint mobility restrictions
- Muscle imbalance
- Coordination deficits
- Lessened balance
When you initially see our injury prevention specialists in Gray Summit, MO, we’ll discuss your medical records and perform a base evaluation to identify the root causes of your movement dysfunction. Then, alongside with your physician or any other medical professionals treating you, we’ll create a tailored game plan 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 doesn’t just affect people who spend a lot of time in the same position. People who play sports and others with active lifestyles can have postural dysfunction when at lest, using the computer, or in specific body positions they need to be in for a given activity. Good posture means proper positioning when both static and moving in a way that does not remove the spine from its natural curves. Poor posture can compact the bones of the spine, which disrupts communication between your brain and body and makes it challenging to achieve optimal motion health. 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.
How to Prevent Injury in Gray Summit, MO
You can still suffer an injury even if you did everything you could to reduce that risk. 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 in overworked bodies. If you’re heavily active, 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, rest for the rest of the day after an activity so your body doesn’t become too fatigued.
- Wear the correct equipment — Helmets, shin guards, protective eyewear, and other equipment necessary in sports and other activities helps you avoid injuries like contusions or head injuries. If you’re returning to activity after an injury, your Gray Summit, MO physician or physical therapist may fit you for stabilizing braces or Kinesio Taping®. Other methods like tying your cleats tightly can further help injury prevention by stabilizing your joints.
- Increase muscle strength — Strengthening your muscles, tendons, and ligaments helps them withstand the rigors of heavy activity. In your personalized injury prevention program with our licensed Gray Summit, MO physical therapists, we’ll work to build up your body to safely participate in the activities you want to participate in.
- Improve flexibility — Increasing your flexibility achieves three critical things for injury prevention:
- It increases your range of motion, which allows for your soft tissue to adjust to more pronounced movements.
- It boosts blood flow, which carries nutrient-rich blood to your soft tissue, removing waste byproduct and encouraging the muscles to recover.
- It encourages good posture, which we already know is an is one of the most important factors of injury prevention.
According to research, sports like soccer that necessitate sudden twists and movements require soft tissue flexible 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 get be the best athlete you can be but help prevent injuries. Football players are taught to tackle with the shoulder in order to reduce the risk of brain damage, and swimmers learn the proper strokes to use the appropriate muscles. We use DorsaVi video motion analysis to slow down your movement and evaluate 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 isn’t right. If you feel sudden pain, stop immediately and get the appropriate medical treatment. If your body does not feel well enough for an intense training session, don’t force it.
- Don’t play through an injury — While teammates, competitors, and fans appreciate an athlete that plays through pain, playing with soft tissue or structural damage could exacerbate an existing injury 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 your doctor, and scheduling appointments with a physical therapist to ensure your body heals properly and can withstand the activity you want to return to.
- Follow the rules — Many sports have special rules at different levels in the interest of safety. Penalties for targeting in football, rules against slide-tackling in soccer, and even the existence of bike lanes are all rules that were adopted to keep participants safe. Those were enacted for a reason, and there’s a reason that violations of those rules are punished.
- Speak a licensed physical therapist — It’s a good idea to get a physical before another season begins or committing yourself to any strenuous physical activity. While there, inquire with your doctor if injury prevention with a professional physical therapist in Gray Summit, MO is a good idea for you. Every treatment plan we employ has been proven to help athletes remain healthy, and we’ll personalize your program to how old you are, your injury history, and which activities you want to participate in.
Injury Prevention for Senior Citizens in Gray Summit, MO
Falls in adults over 65 were responsible for more than 3 million urgent care visits and over 34,000 deaths. Research demonstrates that being physical active is a great method for reducing the risk of falls. Other conditions that cause pain like arthritis that accumulate over time can be effectively managed with physical therapy exercises that keep your muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints healthy. While the physical demands for seniors may not be as high as an athlete, healthy strength, balance, flexibility, and ideal posture can greatly aid in injury prevention.
Other services we offer in Gray Summit, MO include:
- Total Knee Replacement Physical Therapy
- Vestibular Therapy
- Concussion Treatment
- Soft Tissue Mobilization
- Post Surgical Rehabilitation
- Shin Splint Treatment
- Direct Access Physical Therapy
- Gait Analysis
- Pelvic Floor Therapy
- Dry Needling Near Me
Gray Summit, MO Injury Prevention | Axes Physical Therapy
Being injured in one of your favorite activities causes a mental block that keeps us from experiencing the same happiness. The professional Gray Summit, 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 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. Request an appointment online or contact the location nearest you to find out more about what our Gray Summit, MO injury prevention professionals can do for you.