Injury Prevention in Moselle, MO. Whether you play a sport and are trying to get a shot at the next stage, or a recent retiree who wants to spend more time being physical fit, don’t let the fear of reinjury keep you from the happy, healthy lifestyle you desire. While our professional Moselle, 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 body’s current condition and how you move to show you measures that are proven to reduce the risk of injury by preparing your body for the stressors of your desired activity. Make an appointment at Axes Physical Therapy today or contact the location nearest you.

Physical activity is vitally important to many Moselle, MO residents. We love activities like playing sports, kayaking, or other physical activities. Furthermore, committing to an active lifestyle helps prevent chronic conditions including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, dementia, mental health issues, and certain cancers. Not only can physical therapy with one of Axes’ licensed Moselle, 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 methods, for both healing from and preventing injury, are based on evidence-backed techniques and are customized for each client and the activities they want to return to.

If you’ve recently suffered 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 Moselle, MO for a no-risk, no-obligation injury screening. To reduce your chance of an injury and protect your sport or hobby, read on below or inquire about an appointment at your earliest convenience.

Injuries Axes PT Can Help Prevent in Moselle, MO

Most injuries fall into two categories:

1. 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 are required to repeat throwing or striking motions, with joint pain usually being the first indicator.
2. Acute injuries are sudden and spontaneous. Examples include landing on uneven ground or receiving a blow. These can result in bruises, sprains and strains, broken bones, and dislocations.

Some common injuries, like rotator cuff tears, can result from either overuse or acute trauma. Other injuries, such as ACL tears, almost always occur spontaneously, such as receiving a direct blow to the knee.

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

While anyone can suffer an injury almost at any time and for numerous different reasons, they generally occur because your muscles, ligaments, tendons, bones, and joints cannot handle 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 key to maintaining healthy joints and staving off injury. Imbalance can result in an overreliance on one set of muscles, causing it to perform actions it cannot do safely. 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 probability of injury. Injuries can be caused by insufficient muscle balance between muscle groups, such as having a strong chest and weak back, or within muscle groups, such as an imbalance between the four muscles of the rotator cuff. Muscle imbalance can lead to:

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

Personalized injury prevention with our certified physical therapists in Moselle, MO will ensure that your muscles are at optimal proportional strength.

Movement Dysfunction

Movement dysfunction can impact your stability and lead to your body bending in unnatural ways, increasing your risk of injury. Neurological issues, inflammation, previous injuries, and muscle imbalance call all contribute to movement dysfunction. Symptoms include:

• Joint mobility restrictions
• Muscle imbalance
• Poor coordination
• Lessened balance

When you initially see our injury prevention experts in Moselle, MO, we’ll go through your medical history and perform a base evaluation to identify the root causes of your movement dysfunction. Then, together with your doctor or any other providers treating you, we’ll design a personalized plan of attack based on empirically-backed research and studies to get your body moving as it should.

Posture Dysfunction

Bad posture is not just an issue for people with slouched shoulders. People who play sports and other physically active people can suffer from postural dysfunction when resting, using the computer, or in certain positions they need to be in for their sport. Good posture means proper alignments 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 has a negative affect on our body’s ability to communicate with itself and achieve the strength and range of motion you need to achieve. Symptoms include:

• Muscle weakness
• Muscle imbalance
• Poor positioning
• Joint mobility restrictions
• 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 can be improved and maintained, and your vertebrae remain in place.

Injury Prevention Techniques in Moselle, MO

All sports and physical activities carry an inherent risk of injury. No one technique is guaranteed to be effective in injury prevention. However, there are precautions to make sure your body is prepared for your desired activity level:

• Take a rest — Injuries are more common when you do not give your body time to restore itself. If you have a very high activity level, one or two rest days a week will encourage your body to naturally heal any mild pain or soreness. If you’re moderately active, take it easy after activity so you don’t overwork your muscles and joints.
• Use protective equipment — Helmets, chest guards, elbow pads, and other recommended equipment in sports and other activities can help prevent injuries like lacerations or head injuries. If you’ve had a previous injury, your Moselle, MO physician or injury prevention expert may fit you for braces or Kinesio Taping® to stabilize the affected area. Other techniques like tying your cleats tightly can further help injury prevention by stabilizing your joints.
• Strengthen muscles — Strengthening soft tissue helps it stand up to the force and torque of heavy activity. Our Moselle, MO injury prevention specialists will work to build up your body to be able to stay healthy in the activities you love.
• Increase flexibility — Stretching achieves three important things for injury prevention:
  1. It improves your range of motion, which allows for your soft tissue to handle more extreme positions.
  2. It increases circulation, which carries protein-rich blood to your muscles, removing waste byproduct and reinvigorating the muscles.
  3. It encourages good posture, which, as we’ve discussed, is an important part of injury prevention.

  According to research, sports like football that include dynamic activities require muscles and tendons with sufficient flexibility to store and expel the high levels of energy required. Also, don’t forget to stretch and warm up before games or training to further reduce the risk of injury.

• Use accepted technique — In every sport, there are accepted techniques to use. These techniques not only improve performance but help prevent injuries. Football players learn to tackle with the shoulder in order to avoid brain damage, and rotational athletes like golfers and baseball players learn how to best rotate their body. We utilize DorsaVi video motion analysis to break down your movement and educate you on how to both improve your performance and reduce your risk of injury.
• Don’t ignore what your body is telling you — If a part of your body is bothering you, your body is trying to send you a message. If you feel something suddenly that doesn’t feel right, immediately stop all physical activity and seek proportional medical care. 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 teammates, competitors, and fans appreciate a player that guts it out through pain, forcing your body to perform with an injury to a muscle, joint, tendon, or ligament could aggravate a current injury and leave you off the field or court for longer than it originally would have. Depending on what caused your injury and how severe it is, you may use methods like the R.I.C.E. method, seeing your doctor, and a series of physical therapy sessions to ensure your body heals properly and can withstand a return to physical activity.
• Follow the rules — Many sports have special rules at different levels to reduce the risk of injury. Penalties for targeting in football, rules against head-first sliding in baseball, and even the existence of bike lanes are all rules put in place to keep participants safe. Those were enacted for a reason, and there’s a reason that violations of those rules are punished.
• Speak a professional physical therapist — It’s a good idea to get a physical before a new season or starting up a new activity or training regimen. During your physical, inquire with your doctor if injury prevention with a professional physical therapist in Moselle, MO is a good idea for you. Every treatment plan we employ has been demonstrated to help athletes remain healthy, and we’ll personalize your program to your age, any previous injuries, and which activities you want to participate in.

Injury Prevention for Older Moselle, MO Adults

Falls in the elderly were responsible for over 3 million emergency room visits and more than 34,000 deaths. Research demonstrates that physical activity is invaluable in reducing the risk of falls. Other conditions like arthritis that develop over the course of several years can be slowed down by physical therapy exercises that keep your soft tissue and joints healthy. While seniors typically do not exert themselves as much as an athlete does, healthy strength, balance, flexibility, and proper posture can greatly aid in injury prevention.

Other services we offer in Moselle, 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

Moselle, MO Injury Prevention | Axes Physical Therapy

Suffering in injury in something you love doing can lead to a mental block that keeps us from experiencing the same joy. The knowledgeable Moselle, 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. You deserve to feel the physical and mental health benefits that you do not want to lose. Make an appointment online or reach out to the location nearest you to start your program with one of our injury prevention professionals in Moselle, MO.