Injury Prevention in Kimmswick, MO. Whether you’re an athlete and want to improve your performance, or a recent retiree who wants to dedicate your time to taking ski vacations, don’t let the fear of reinjury keep you from the activities you love. While our professional Kimmswick, MO physical therapists spend much of their time helping athletes and others recover from injury, we are complete movement health specialists who can evaluate your movement, muscle and joint strength, and flexibility to show you techniques that are proven to prevent injury. Request an appointment at Axes Physical Therapy today or contact the location nearest you.

Physical activity is vitally important to many Kimmswick, MO residents. We love activities like playing sports, hiking, and more. Furthermore, pursuing an active lifestyle reduces the risk of significant health problems including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, dementia, depression, and certain cancers. Not only can physical therapy with one of Axes’ licensed Kimmswick, MO physical therapists help you 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 treatment plans, for both healing from and preventing injury, are proven to be effective and are customized for each client and the activities they want to return to.

If you’ve recently sustained an injury, or have a nagging injury that is not getting better with time, contact the Axes Physical Therapy location most convenient for you in Kimmswick, MO for a no-risk, no-obligation injury screening. To take preventative measures and protect your sport or hobby, read on below or call to speak to a physical therapist today.

Types of Injuries We Prevent Prevent in Kimmswick, MO

Injuries generally happen for one of two reasons:

1. Repetitive motion 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 such as raquetball or shotput and pole-vaulters, with joint pain usually being the first symptom.
2. Acute injuries are injuries that happen because of a specific and sudden trauma. 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 of the injuries we see most frequently, like rotator cuff tears, can either develop over time or occur suddenly. Other injuries, such as ACL tears, are almost always the result of trauma, with a sudden impact to the knee.

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

While anyone can suffer an injury almost at any time and for numerous different reasons, 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 crucial to supporting joints and reducing injury. Imbalance can lead to an overreliance on one set of muscles, which may cause your body to use it in a way it shouldn’t. It also causes posture dysfunction, and the weaker muscles will become tired sooner, increasing the risk of injury. Muscle imbalance applies to poor muscle balance in relation to other muscle groups, such as having a strong bicep and weak tricep, or within muscle groups, 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 professional physical therapists in Kimmswick, 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 cause injury through:

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

When you initially see our injury prevention professionals in Kimmswick, MO, we’ll evaluate your medical records and perform a base evaluation to identify the root causes of your movement dysfunction. Then, in concert with with your physician or any other providers treating you, we’ll design a personalized game plan been proven to work by 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 other physically active people can be affected by postural dysfunction when lying down, sitting, or in certain stances related to their sport. Good posture refers to proper positioning of the neck, torso, pelvis, and extremities in a way that keeps the spine within its natural curves. Poor posture can bring the joints in the spine closer together, which disrupts communication between your brain and body and makes it challenging to attain ideal 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 you are using the right muscles for the right movements, your flexibility is not jeopardized, and your vertebrae remain in place.

Keys to Injury Prevention in Kimmswick, MO

All sports and physical activities can potentially lead to an injury. We cannot promise that our injury prevention program completely negates the risk of injury. However, there are several steps you can take 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’re heavily active, one or two rest days a week will signal to your body to engage in its natural healing processes. If you’re moderately active, take it easy after activity so your body doesn’t become too fatigued.
• Use the right equipment — Helmets, chest guards, elbow pads, and other required equipment in many sports can help prevent injuries such as bruises or brain injuries. If you’re returning to activity after an injury, your Kimmswick, MO doctor or injury prevention professional may recommend braces or Kinesio Taping® to stabilize the injured area. Other techniques like tying your shoes tightly offers further stabilization.
• Increase muscle strength — Strengthening soft tissue helps it stand up to the rigors of heavy activity. In your tailored injury prevention program with our professional Kimmswick, MO physical therapists, we’ll work to build up your body to safely participate 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 lets for the tendons and ligaments connecting your muscles to your bones to handle more extreme movements.
  2. It boosts circulation, which allows for protein-rich blood to flow to your muscles, removing waste byproduct and re-energizing the muscles.
  3. It encourages good posture, which, as we’ve discussed, is an important part of injury prevention.

  According to studies, sports like soccer that require dynamic motions require muscles and tendons flexible enough to store and exert the high levels of energy required. Also, don’t forget to stretch and warm up before any physical activity to further reduce the risk of injury.

• Use accepted technique — In every physical activity, there are accepted techniques to use. These techniques not only help you get be the best player you can be but help prevent injuries. 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 rotate their body. We use DorsaVi video motion analysis to capture how you move and evaluate how to both be a better athlete and prevent injury.
• Don’t ignore what your body is telling you — If a part of your body is sore, that’s your body’s way of telling you something isn’t right. 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 a particularly rigorous training session, don’t force it.
• Don’t play through an injury — Even though gutting it out through pain is often viewed as commendable among competitors, playing with soft tissue or structural damage could make that injury worse and put you out of commission for much longer than if you had sat out at the time of the injury. Depending on the nature of your injury, you may use methods like the R.I.C.E. method, seeing urgent care, and rehab with a physical therapist to make sure your body heals properly and can withstand the activity you want to return to.
• Follow the rules — Depending on the sport or activity and age level of the participants, it likely has special rules in the interest of safety. Penalties for helmet to helmet hits in football, rules against head-first sliding in baseball, 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.
• Speak a licensed physical therapist — It’s always advisable to get a physical before a new season or committing yourself to any strenuous physical activity. While there, inquire with your doctor if injury prevention with a professional physical therapist in Kimmswick, MO is a good idea for you. Every treatment plan we employ has been proven to help athletes remain healthy, and you plan will be completely unique to you and catered to how old you are, your injury history, and which activities you want to participate in.

Injury Prevention for Older Kimmswick, MO Adults

Falls in senior citizens were responsible for over 3 million emergency room visits and over 34,000 deaths. Research demonstrates that being physical active is invaluable in reducing the risk of falls. Other conditions such as arthritis that are wear and tear injuries can be more bearable and take longer to progress 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 optimal posture are great agents in injury prevention.

Other services we offer in Kimmswick, MO include:

• 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
• Hip Replacement Physical Therapy

Kimmswick, MO Injury Prevention | Axes Physical Therapy

Being injured in one of your favorite activities can lead to a mental block that keeps us from experiencing the same joy. The licensed Kimmswick, 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 at ease that you can safely return to the activities you love. You deserve to feel the physical and mental health benefits of doing what you do best. Make an appointment online or reach out to the location nearest you to get started with one of our injury prevention professionals in Kimmswick, MO.