Kirkwood, MO

Kirkwood, MO

Don't let the fear of reinjury keep you from the things what you do best.

Injury Prevention in Kirkwood, MO. Whether you’re an athlete hoping for an opportunity at the next stage, 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 certified Kirkwood, 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 body’s current condition and how you move to guide you through measures that are proven to reduce the risk of injury. Make an appointment at Axes Physical Therapy today or reach out to the location nearest you.

Being physically active is vitally important to many Kirkwood, MO residents. We love activities such as playing sports, hiking, and more. Furthermore, committing to an active lifestyle helps stave off chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, dementia, mental health issues, and certain cancers. Not only can physical therapy with one of Axes’ licensed Kirkwood, MO physical therapists allow you to return to action and perform even better than before, but our injury prevention specialists 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 activities they want to return to.

If you’ve recently suffered an injury, or have a persistent injury that won’t heal on its own, contact the Axes Physical Therapy location most convenient for you in Kirkwood, MO for a complimentary injury screening. To take preventative measures and protect your sport or hobby, read on below or call to speak to a physical therapist today.

Injuries Axes PT Can Help Prevent in Kirkwood, MO

Injuries typically happen for one of two reasons:

  1. Chronic 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 tennis or volleyball players, with joint pain usually being the first warning sign.
  2. Acute injuries are injuries that happen suddenly. Examples include landing on uneven ground or receiving a blow. These can result in bruises, twisting joints, fractures, and dislocations.

Some of the injuries we see most frequently, like rotator cuff tears, can result from either overuse or acute trauma. Other injuries, such as ACL tears, are almost always the result of trauma, such as receiving a direct blow to the knee.

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

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

While anyone can suffer an injury almost at any time and for numerous different reasons, they generally happen because of dysfunction or imbalance and your body and between body parts. There are three chief causes of why your body cannot handle an activity:

Muscle Imbalance

Muscle balance is key to maintaining healthy joints and preventing injury. Imbalance can cause an overreliance on one muscle group, causing it to perform actions it cannot do safely. It can also lead to poor posture, and the weaker muscles will become fatigued sooner, making them more susceptible to injuries. Muscle imbalance applies to poor muscle balance between muscle groups, such as having a strong hamstring and weak quadriceps, or in the same muscle group, such as the four muscles in the rotator cuff having different levels of strength. Muscle imbalance can lead to:

Tailored injury prevention with our professional physical therapists in Kirkwood, 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, increasing your risk of injury. It can be caused by numerous musculoskeletal issues. It can lead to:

  • Joint mobility restrictions
  • Muscle imbalance
  • Coordination deficiency
  • Decreased balance

When you first see our injury prevention specialists in Kirkwood, MO, we’ll discuss your medical records and perform a base evaluation to identify the root causes of your movement dysfunction. Then, in tandem with with your physician or any additional medical professionals treating you, we’ll devise a tailored plan of attack been proven to work by 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 resting, driving, or in specific stances necessary for their sport. Optimal 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 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 can also lead to:

  • 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 the right muscles for the right movements, your flexibility can be improved and maintained, and your nervous system can communicate as its intended to.



Keys to Injury Prevention in Kirkwood, MO

You can still suffer an injury even if you did everything possible 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 make sure your body is strong and flexible enough for your intended activity:

  • Take a rest — Your body needs time to rest and recover after any moderate to intense activity. If you’re heavily active, make sure to take one or two days off per week to allow your body to engage in its natural healing processes. If you have a more moderate activity level, 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 equipment necessary in sports and other activities helps you avoid injuries such as contusions or brain injuries. If you’ve had a previous injury, your Kirkwood, MO physician or physical therapist may recommend braces or Kinesio Taping® to stabilize the injured area. Other measures like making sure all the equipment is snug can further help injury prevention by stabilizing your joints.
  • Improve muscle strength — Strengthening soft tissue helps it stand up to the rigors of heavy activity. In your tailored injury prevention program with our expert Kirkwood, MO physical therapists, we’ll work to achieve ideal muscle balance and strengthen the often forgotten muscles needed to safely participate in the activities you want to participate in.
  • Enhance flexibility — Stretching achieves three critical things for injury prevention:
    1. It improves which movements you can make and how far you can extend them, which lets for the tendons and ligaments connecting your muscles to your bones to adjust to more drastic movements.
    2. It improves circulation, which allows for protein-rich blood to flow to your soft tissue, removing waste byproduct and rebuilding the muscles.
    3. It encourages good posture, which, as we’ve discussed, is an essential part of injury prevention.

    According to a peer-reviewed sports medicine paper, sports like soccer that require bouncing and jumping require muscles and tendons with sufficient flexibility to store and exert the high amount of energy required. Stretching and warm up exercises before activities further helps prevent injuries.

  • Use accepted technique — In every sport, there is an accepted way to position and move your body. These techniques not only help you get be the best player you can be but help prevent injuries. Football players learn to tackle a certain way to reduce the risk of a concussion, and swimmers learn the proper strokes to use the appropriate muscles. We utilize DorsaVi video motion analysis to slow down your movement and educate you on how to both improve your performance and prevent injury.
  • Listen to your body — If you feel pain in a muscle or joint, your body is trying to send you a message. 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 workout, save it for another day.
  • Don’t play through an injury — Even though gritting through pain is often seen as a heroic act among competitors, playing with soft tissue or structural damage could aggravate an existing injury and put you out of commission for much longer than if you had sat out at the time of the injury. Depending on the severity of your injury, you may use methods like the R.I.C.E. method, visiting urgent care, and a series of physical therapy sessions to ensure your body heals naturally and can handle a return to physical activity.
  • Follow the rules — Most sports have special rules at different levels to reduce the risk of injury. Penalties for leading with the helmet in football, rules against slide-tackling in soccer, and even the presence of special lanes on the street and sidewalk for bikers are examples of rules put in place to keep players safe. Those are in place for a reason, and there’s a reason that violations of those rules are punished.
  • Speak a professional physical therapist — It’s always advisable to have a medical evaluation before starting another season or committing yourself to any strenuous physical activity. While there, ask your doctor if injury prevention with a expert physical therapist in Kirkwood, MO is right for you. All of our techniques have been demonstrated to reduce the risk of injury, and we’ll personalize your program to your age, your injury history, and how physically active you wish to be.

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

Injury Prevention for The Elderly in Kirkwood, MO

Falls in senior citizens accounted for over 3 million urgent care visits and over 34,000 fatalities. Studies show that being physical active is invaluable in preventing falls. Other conditions that limit mobility such as arthritis that develop over the course of several years can be effectively managed with physical therapy exercises that keep your muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints healthy. While seniors typically do not exert themselves as much as an athlete does, the same principles of strength, balance, flexibility, and ideal posture can greatly aid in injury prevention.

Other services we offer in Kirkwood, MO include:

Kirkwood, MO Injury Prevention | Axes Physical Therapy

Suffering in injury in something you love doing can create a mental block that won’t allow us to experience the same joy. The professional Kirkwood, MO physical therapists at Axes are here to guide you through your own personalized injury prevention program that will keep your body strong and flexible, and your mind at ease that you can safely return to the activities you love doing most. You deserve to feel the physical and mental health benefits that you do not want to lose. Schedule an appointment online or call the location nearest you to get started with one of our injury prevention specialists in Kirkwood, MO.

Services Offered

Services Offered
  • Physical Therapy
  • Pre/Post Surgical Rehabilitation
  • Acute Injury Management
  • Chronic Injury Management
  • Work Conditioning/Hardening
  • Functional Capacity Evaluations
  • Sports Physical Therapy
  • Pediatric Orthopedic Physical Therapy
  • Geriatric Physical Therapy
  • Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilization
  • DorsaVi Video Motion Analysis
  • Vestibular Therapy and Post-Concussion Rehabilitation
  • Trigger Point Dry Needling
  • Free Injury Screenings
  • Kinesio Taping®
  • Blood Flow Restriction Therapy

Locations

Begin Your Recovery Today

Injuries and pain shouldn’t keep you from moving and doing the things you love.