Oakland, MO

Oakland, MO

Don't let a mental block over reinjury prevent you from participating in the activities you love.

Injury Prevention in Oakland, MO. Whether you’re an athlete hoping for a shot at the next stage, or you just retired and want to dedicate your time to camping, don’t let the fear of reinjury keep you from the activities you love. While our certified Oakland, MO physical therapists spend much of their time helping athletes and others recover from injury, we are experts in the entire musculoskeletal system who can evaluate your movement, muscle and joint strength, and flexibility to guide you through methods that are proven to reduce the risk of injury by preparing your body for the stressors of your desired activity. Schedule an appointment at Axes Physical Therapy today or contact the location nearest you.

Being physically active is an essential part of many Oakland, MO people’s lives. Many of us participate in active endeavors like playing sports, biking, or other physical activities. Furthermore, pursuing an active lifestyle helps prevent serious health problems such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, eurodegenerative disease, mental health issues, and certain cancers. Not only can physical therapy with one of Axes’ licensed Oakland, MO physical therapists allow you to come back even stronger after an injury, but our injury prevention experts can help preserve your active lifestyle by improving your overall strength, flexibility, and posture. 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 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 Oakland, 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.

Types of Injuries We Prevent Prevent in Oakland, MO

Most injuries happen for one of two reasons:

  1. Overuse injuries are injuries that are caused by repetitive movements over time. In sports, we see them the most in in overhead athletes such as raquetball or lacrosse players, 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, for example 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.

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

What Causes Injuries? | Injury Prevention in Oakland, 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 muscle group, causing it to perform actions it cannot do safely. It also causes posture dysfunction, and the weaker muscles will become fatigued faster, increasing the risk of injury. Muscle imbalance applies to insufficient muscle balance between 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. Muscle imbalance can lead to:

Tailored injury prevention with our knowledgeable physical therapists in Oakland, MO will ensure that different muscles and muscle groups are equally strong.

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. Problems in your nervous system, inflammation, previous injuries, and muscle imbalance call all contribute to movement dysfunction. It can cause injury through:

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

At our initial injury prevention appointment in Oakland, MO, we’ll go over your medical records and analyze your current movement health, strength, and flexibility. Then, alongside with your physician or any other providers treating you, we’ll create a customized plan of attack based on empirically-backed research and studies to get your movement back on track.

Posture Dysfunction

Bad posture is not just an issue for people who spend a lot of time doing the same activity. Athletes and other physically active people can have postural dysfunction when lying down, using the computer, or in specific positions they need to be in for their sport. Good posture refers to proper alignments of the different joints and muscles of your body in a way that does not remove the spine from its natural curves. Poor posture can compact the vertebrae, which interferes with our body’s ability to communicate with itself and 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 vital part of injury prevention because it ensures muscle balance, flexibility, and that your spine is in its natural position.



Keys to Injury Prevention in Oakland, MO

You can still suffer an injury even if you did everything possible to reduce that risk. No one technique is guaranteed to be effective in injury prevention. However, there are precautions to greatly reduce the risk of injury:

  • Take a rest — 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 encourage your body to naturally heal any mild pain or soreness. If you have a more modest 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, shin guards, protective eyewear, and other required equipment in sports and other activities can help prevent injuries such as bruises or concussions. If you’re returning to activity after an injury, your Oakland, MO physician or physical therapist may suggest braces or Kinesio Taping® to stabilize the affected area. Other techniques 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 your body is put through in sports and other activities. In your personalized injury prevention program with our experienced Oakland, MO physical therapists, we’ll work to build up your body to be able to stay healthy in the activities you want to participate in.
  • Improve flexibility — Stretching contributes to injury prevention in three way:
    1. It increases your range of motion, which lets for the tendons and ligaments connecting your muscles to your bones to adapt to more extreme positions.
    2. It increases circulation, which allows for nourishing blood to flow to your soft tissue, removing waste byproduct and encouraging the muscles to heal.
    3. It boosts your posture, which we already know is an is one of the most important aspects of injury prevention.

    According to studies, sports like soccer that include sudden twists and movements require muscles and tendons flexible enough to store and expel the high amount 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 — Through the years, each sport and physical activity develops a consensus of the best techniques to use. These techniques not only help you perform better but help prevent injuries. Football players learn to tackle a certain way to reduce the risk of brain damage, 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 evaluate how to both be a better athlete and reduce your risk of injury.
  • Listen to your body — If a part of your body is bothering you, your body is trying to send you a message. If you feel a sudden pop or grinding sensation, immediately withdraw from the activity and get the appropriate medical treatment. If your body does not feel well enough for a particularly rigorous training session, don’t force it.
  • Don’t play through an injury — Even though gritting through pain is often seen as a heroic act among competitors, forcing your body to perform with an injury to a muscle, joint, tendon, or ligament could aggravate a current injury and leave you on the sidelines for much longer than if you had sat out at the time of the injury. 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 rehab with a physical therapist to ensure your body heals naturally and can withstand a return to physical activity.
  • Follow the rules — Most sports have special rules at different levels in the interest of safety. Penalties for leading with the helmet in football, rules against coming from behind in soccer, and even the existence of special lanes on the street and sidewalk for bikers are all rules that leagues enacted to keep players safe. Those are in place for a reason, and there’s a reason that violations of those rules are punished.
  • Consult a professional physical therapist — It’s always advisable to get a physical before another season begins or committing yourself to any strenuous physical activity. While there, ask your doctor if injury prevention with a licensed physical therapist in Oakland, MO is something you should consider. Every treatment plan we employ has been demonstrated to help athletes remain healthy, and we’ll personalize your program to how old you are, your injury history, and how physically active you wish to be.

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

Injury Prevention for Senior Citizens in Oakland, MO

Falls in adults over 65 accounted for more than 3 million urgent care visits and more than 34,000 deaths. Research demonstrates that being physical active can go a long way in reducing the risk of falls. Other conditions that cause pain like arthritis that develop over the course of several years can be slowed down by physical therapy exercises that keep your muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints active. While the physical demands for seniors may not be as high as an athlete, the same principles of strength, stability, flexibility, and ideal posture can greatly aid in injury prevention.

Other services we offer in Oakland, MO include:

Oakland, 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 experienced Oakland, 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 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. Make an appointment online or contact the location nearest you to get started with one of our injury prevention professionals in Oakland, 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.