Injury Prevention in Scotsdale, MO. Whether you play a sport and are trying to get an opportunity at the next stage, or a recent retiree who wants to dedicate your time to bike riding, don’t let the fear of reinjury keep you from the happy, healthy lifestyle you deserve. While our certified Scotsdale, 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 exercises 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 call the location nearest you.

Physical activity is an essential part of many Scotsdale, MO people’s lives. Many of us participate in active endeavors such as playing sports, hiking, or other physical activities. Furthermore, pursuing an active lifestyle helps prevent chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, eurodegenerative disease, mental health issues, and many types of cancers. Not only can physical therapy with one of Axes’ licensed Scotsdale, MO physical therapists help you come back as fierce as ever, but our injury prevention professionals can help preserve your active lifestyle by optimizing your overall movement health. All of our treatment plans, for both recovery and injury prevention, have been prove to work and are customized for each client and the lifestyle they desire.

If you’ve recently suffered an injury, or have a lingering injury that just won’t go away, contact the Axes Physical Therapy location nearest you in Scotsdale, MO for a free injury screening. To reduce your chance of an injury and ensure that you can continue with your active lifestyle, read on below or inquire about an appointment at your earliest convenience.

Injuries Axes PT Can Help Prevent in Scotsdale, MO

Most injuries fall into two categories:

1. Wear-and-tear injuries are injuries that are caused by repetitive movements over time. 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 symptom.
2. Acute injuries are injuries that happen in an instant. Examples include landing on uneven ground or receiving a blow. These can result in bruises, sprains and strains, broken bones, 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, almost always occur spontaneously, with an immediate impact to or twisting of the knee.

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

While injuries occur for many different reasons, and some are unpreventable, 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 reducing injury. Imbalance can lead to an overreliance on one set of muscles, causing it to perform actions it cannot do safely. It can also lead to poor posture, and one set of muscles becoming tired sooner, making them more susceptible to injuries. Injuries can be caused by inadequate muscle balance between muscle groups, such as having a strong chest and weak back, or in the same muscle group, such as an imbalance between the four muscles of the rotator cuff. Muscle imbalance can result in:

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

Customized injury prevention with our experienced physical therapists in Scotsdale, MO will bring balance to your muscles.

Movement Dysfunction

Movement dysfunction can result in poor balance and impede your body’s ability to naturally perform functional movements, causing injury. It can be caused by numerous musculoskeletal issues. It can cause injury through:

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

At our initial injury prevention appointment in Scotsdale, 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 doctor or any other medical professionals treating you, we’ll come up with a customized 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 with desk jobs. People who play sports and other physically active people can have postural dysfunction when at lest, sitting, or in certain body positions necessary for their sport. Correct posture means correct positioning of the neck, torso, pelvis, and extremities in a way that keeps the spine within its natural curves. Poor posture can bring the vertebrae closer together, which disrupts our body’s internal communications and makes it difficult to achieve the strength and range of motion you need to achieve. It can also lead to:

• Muscle weakness
• Muscle imbalance
• Poor positioning
• Joint mobility limitations
• Poor muscle recruitment

By helping you understand ideal posture, we’ll aid in your injury prevention by ensuring you are using the right muscles for the right movements, your flexibility can be improved and maintained, and your spine is in its natural position.

How to Prevent Injury in Scotsdale, MO

All sports and physical activities carry an inherent risk of injury. 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 desired activity level:

• Take a rest — Your body needs time to rest and recover after any moderate to intense activity. If you have a very high activity level, make sure to take one or two days off per week to encourage your body to engage in its natural healing and recovery processes. If you’re moderately active, take it easy after activity so your muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints become too fatigued.
• Wear protective equipment — Helmets, shin guards, protective eyewear, and other equipment necessary in sports and other activities can help prevent injuries like rashes or concussions. If you’re returning to activity after an injury, your Scotsdale, MO doctor or physical therapist may fit you for stabilizing braces or Kinesio Taping®. Other techniques like making sure all the equipment is snug can further help injury prevention by stabilizing your joints.
• Increase muscle strength — Strengthening soft tissue helps it stand up to the rigors necessary for in sports and other activities. Our Scotsdale, MO injury prevention specialists will work to achieve ideal muscle balance and strengthen the smaller muscles needed to be able to avoid injury in the activities you love.
• Improve flexibility — Increasing your flexibility contributes to injury prevention in three way:
  1. It increases your range of motion, which allows for your soft tissue to adapt to more dramatic movements.
  2. It increases circulation, which carries protein-rich blood to your soft tissue, eliminating waste byproduct and encouraging the muscles to restore themselves.
  3. It encourages good posture, which, as we’ve discussed, is an important part of injury prevention.

  According to studies, sports like football that require dynamic movements require soft tissue with sufficient flexibility to store and expel the high levels of energy required. Also, remember to stretch and warm up before any physical activity to further reduce the risk of injury.

• Use proper technique — Through the years, each sport and physical activity develops a consensus of the best techniques to use. These techniques not only improve performance but help reduce the risk of injury. 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 apply torque to your body. We utilize DorsaVi video motion analysis to slow down your movement and educate you on how to both be a better athlete and reduce your risk of injury.
• Listen to your body — If you feel pain in a muscle or joint, that means that body part is telling your brain that something is wrong. If you feel something suddenly that doesn’t feel right, 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, save it for another day.
• Don’t play through an injury — Even though gutting it out through pain is often viewed as a heroic act among competitors, playing with an injury to a muscle, joint, tendon, or ligament could exacerbate a current 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 nature of your injury, recommended actions may be using R.I.C.E. method, seeing your doctor, and a series of physical therapy sessions to make sure your recovery and return to action go as well as possible.
• 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 targeting in football, rules against coming from behind in soccer, and even the presence of special lanes on the street and sidewalk for bikers are all rules that leagues enacted to keep players safe. Those were enacted for a reason, and there’s a reason that there are penalties for them.
• Speak a professional physical therapist — It’s in your best interest to get a physical before starting another season or starting up a new physical activity. During your appointment, inquire with your doctor if injury prevention with a licensed physical therapist in Scotsdale, MO is a good idea for you. All of our techniques have been proven to prevent injury, 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 The Elderly in Scotsdale, MO

Falls in adults over 65 accounted for over 3 million urgent care visits and over 34,000 fatalities. Studies show that being physical active can go a long way in reducing the risk of falls. Other conditions that limit mobility like arthritis that develop over the course of several years can be more bearable and take longer to progress with physical therapy exercises that keep your muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints active. While older adults typically do not exert themselves as much as an athlete does, the same principles of strength, stability, flexibility, and optimal posture can greatly aid in injury prevention.

Other services we offer in Scotsdale, MO include:

• Neck Pain Treatment
• 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

Scotsdale, MO Injury Prevention | Axes Physical Therapy

Being injured in one of your favorite activities can create a mental block that won’t allow us to experience the same freedom. The knowledgeable Scotsdale, MO physical therapists at Axes are here to design for you a personalized injury prevention program that will keep your body prepared for the rigors of physical activity, and your mind confident that you do not have to fear going back to what you love. We will aid you in feeling 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 see what our Scotsdale, MO injury prevention professionals can do for you.