Injury Prevention in Union, MO. Whether you play a sport and are trying to get a shot at the next level, or you just retired and want to spend more time bike riding, don’t let the fear of reinjury keep you from the happy, healthy lifestyle you desire. While our licensed Union, 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 teach out exercises that are proven to reduce the risk of injury. Schedule an appointment at Axes Physical Therapy today or call the location nearest you.

Being physically active is an essential part of many Union, MO people’s lives. Many of us participate in active endeavors like playing sports, hiking, or other physical activities. Additionally, keeping an active lifestyle helps stave off chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, degenerative brain diseases, anxiety, and many types of cancers. Not only can physical therapy with one of Axes’ licensed Union, MO physical therapists allow you to come back 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, 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 lingering injury that just won’t go away, contact the Axes Physical Therapy location most convenient for you in Union, MO for a free injury screening. To take preventative measures and ensure that you can continue with your sport or hobby, read on below or inquire about an appointment today.

Types of Injuries We Prevent Prevent in Union, MO

Injuries typically fall into two categories:

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 baseball or shotput and pole-vaulters and typically are accompanied by joint pain.
2. Acute injuries are injuries that happen suddenly. Examples include landing on uneven ground or a sudden impact by an object or another person. These can result in bruises, twisting joints, broken bones, and dislocations.

Some common injuries, for example rotator cuff tears, can either develop over time or occur suddenly. Other injuries, for example ACL tears, almost always occur spontaneously, with a sudden impact to the knee.

What Causes Injuries? | Injury Prevention in Union, MO

While injuries occur for many different reasons, and some are inescapable, they generally happen because of dysfunction or instability and your body and between body parts. There are three main causes of why your body cannot adjust to an activity:

Muscle Imbalance

Muscle balance is key to maintaining healthy joints and reducing injury. Imbalance can result in dependency on one set of muscles, which may cause your body to force it to participate in an activity it shouldn’t. 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 likelihood of injury. Injuries can be caused by inadequate muscle balance in relation to other 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 not having proportionate strength. Muscle imbalance can lead to:

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

Tailored injury prevention with our licensed physical therapists in Union, MO will ensure that your muscles are at optimal proportional strength.

Movement Dysfunction

Movement dysfunction can result in poor balance and lead to your body moving in ways it is not designed to, increasing your risk of injury. Neurological issues, swelling, previous injuries, and muscle imbalance call all contribute to movement dysfunction. It can lead to:

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

When you initially visit our injury prevention specialists in Union, MO, we’ll evaluate your medical history and perform a base evaluation to identify the root causes of your movement dysfunction. Then, alongside with your doctor or any other providers involved in your care, we’ll devise a tailored 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 desk jobs. Athletes and other physically active people can suffer from postural dysfunction when lying down, using the computer, or in specific positions necessary for their sport. Optimal posture refers to correct alignments of your body from your head to your toes in a way that encourages our spine to stay in its natural curves. Poor posture can compress the bones of the spine, 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 restrictions
• Poor muscle recruitment

By helping you understand the best practices for posture, we’ll aid in your injury prevention by ensuring you are using your muscles equally, your flexibility can be improved and maintained, and your vertebrae remain in place.

Injury Prevention Techniques in Union, 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 — Your body needs time to rest and recover after any moderate to intense activity. If you’re heavily active, one or two rest days a week will signal to your body to naturally heal any mild pain or soreness. If you have a more moderate activity level, take a break after activity so your muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints become too fatigued.
• Wear the appropriate equipment — Helmets, chest guards, protective eyewear, and other equipment necessary in sports and other activities can help prevent injuries such as lacerations or head injuries. If you’ve had a previous injury, your Union, MO physician or physical therapist may fit you for stabilizing braces or Kinesio Taping®. Other measures like tying your cleats tightly can further help injury prevention by stabilizing your joints.
• Strengthen muscles — Strengthening your muscles, tendons, and ligaments helps them stand up to the rigors your body is put through in sports and other activities. Our Union, MO injury prevention professionals will work to build up your body to be able to stay healthy in the activities you love.
• Boost flexibility — Increasing your flexibility contributes to injury prevention in three way:
  1. It increases which movements you can make and how far you can extend them, which lets for your soft tissue to adapt to more forceful positions.
  2. It increases blood flow, which allows for nutrient-rich blood to flow to your muscles, eliminating waste byproduct and encouraging the muscles to restore themselves.
  3. It increases your posture, which, as you read earlier, is an essential part of injury prevention.

  According to research, sports like basketball that require sudden twists and movements require soft tissue compliant enough to store and exert the high amount of energy required. Also, it’s important 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 help you get be the best player you can be but help reduce the risk of injury. Football players learn to tackle with the shoulder in order to reduce the risk of a head injury, and rotational athletes like golfers and baseball players learn how to best rotate their body. We use DorsaVi video motion analysis to slow down your movement and educate you on how to improve it.
• Don’t ignore what your body is telling you — If a part of your body is bothering you, that’s your body’s way of telling you something isn’t right. If you feel a sudden crack or grinding sensation, stop immediately and seek proportional medical care. If your body does not feel well enough for a particularly rigorous workout, save it for another day.
• Don’t play through an injury — While 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 make that injury worse and put you out of commission for longer than it originally would have. Depending on what caused your injury and how severe it is, recommended actions may be using R.I.C.E. method, seeing your doctor, and rehab with a physical therapist to ensure your body heals properly and can withstand a return to physical activity.
• Follow the rules — Most sports have special rules at different levels to help prevent injury. Penalties for leading with the helmet in football, rules against head-first sliding in baseball, and even the presence of bike lanes are all rules that were adopted 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 a good idea to have a medical evaluation before a new season or committing yourself to any strenuous activity or training regimen. While there, inquire with your doctor if injury prevention with a knowledgeable physical therapist in Union, MO is something you should consider. All of our techniques have been proven to help athletes remain healthy, and we’ll personalize your program to how old you are, your injury history, and which activities you want to participate in.

Injury Prevention for Senior Citizens in Union, MO

Falls in the elderly accounted for over 3 million emergency room admissions and more than 34,000 fatalities. Research demonstrates that being physical active is invaluable in preventing falls. Other conditions that limit mobility such as arthritis that are wear and tear injuries can be effectively managed with physical therapy exercises that keep your soft tissue and joints active. While older adults typically do not exert themselves as much as an athlete does, the same principles of strength, balance, flexibility, and good posture can greatly aid in injury prevention.

Other services we offer in Union, 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

Union, MO Injury Prevention | Axes Physical Therapy

Suffering in injury in in an activity you prepare and train for and love can lead to a mental block that keeps us from experiencing the same freedom. The experienced Union, MO physical therapists at Axes are here to design for you a 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. 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 start your program with one of our injury prevention experts in Union, MO.