Injury Prevention in Valley Park, MO. Whether you’re an athlete and want to up your game, or a recent retiree who wants to dedicate your time to bike riding, don’t let the fear of reinjury keep you from the activities you love. While our professional Valley Park, MO physical therapists spend much of their time helping athletes and others heal after an injury, we are experts in the entire musculoskeletal system who can evaluate your movement, muscle and joint strength, and flexibility to show you exercises 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 Valley Park, MO residents. We love active endeavors such as playing sports, hiking, and more. Additionally, keeping an active lifestyle helps stave off significant health problems like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, dementia, anxiety, and many types of cancers. Not only can physical therapy with one of Axes’ licensed Valley Park, MO physical therapists allow you to return to action even stronger after an injury, but our injury prevention experts can help preserve your active lifestyle 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 lifestyle they desire.

If you’ve recently sustained an injury, or have a lingering injury that is not getting better with time, contact the Axes Physical Therapy location nearest you in Valley Park, MO for a complimentary injury screening. To take preventative measures and ensure that you can keep up with your active lifestyle, keep reading or inquire about an appointment at your earliest convenience.

Injuries Axes PT Can Help Prevent in Valley Park, MO

Injuries typically fall into two categories:

1. Chronic injuries are injuries that occur when a part of the body repeats the same motion time and time again. In sports, we see them the most in in overhead athletes such as water polo or lacrosse players, with joint pain usually being the first warning sign.
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, twisting joints, fractures, and dislocations.

Some of the injuries we see most frequently, for example rotator cuff tears, can result from either overuse or acute trauma. Other injuries, like ACL tears, are almost always the result of trauma, with a sudden impact to the knee.

Why Do Injuries Happen? | Injury Prevention in Valley Park, MO

While injuries can happen in a variety of circumstances, and are sometimes inescapable, they generally occur because your soft tissue, bones, and joints cannot hold up under the force, torque, or stretching that are required or are possible in a given activity. There are three primary causes of why your body cannot adjust to an activity:

Muscle Imbalance

Muscle balance is crucial to maintaining healthy joints and reducing injury. Imbalance can lead to overemphasis for one muscle group, 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. 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. Symptoms include:

• Muscle weakness
• Muscle inflexibility
• Poor muscle recruitment
• Coordination deficiency

Personalized injury prevention with our knowledgeable physical therapists in Valley Park, MO will bring balance to your muscles.

Movement Dysfunction

Movement dysfunction can impact your stability and lead to your body bending in unnatural ways, causing injury. It can be caused by numerous musculoskeletal issues. It can lead to:

• Joint mobility limitations
• Muscle imbalance
• Coordination deficits
• Decreased balance

At our initial injury prevention appointment in Valley Park, MO, we’ll go through your medical history and analyze your current movement health, strength, and flexibility. Then, together with your doctor or any additional medical professionals involved in your care, we’ll develop a customized treatment plan 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 others with active lifestyles can suffer from postural dysfunction when resting, driving, or in specific positions they need to be in for a given activity. Optimal posture refers to proper positioning of the neck, torso, pelvis, and extremities in a way that keeps the spine within its natural curves. Poor posture can compress the vertebrae, which interferes with our body’s ability to communicate with itself and reach 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 teaching you the best practices for posture, we’ll aid in your injury prevention by ensuring muscle balance, range of motion, and that your spine is in its natural position.

How to Prevent Injury in Valley Park, 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 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 have a very high activity level, make sure to take one or two days off per week to signal to your body to engage in its natural healing processes. If you’re moderately active, take a break after activity so you don’t overwork your muscles and joints.
• Use the right equipment — Helmets, mouth guards, elbow pads, and other required equipment in sports and other activities helps you avoid injuries such as contusions or head injuries. If you’re returning to activity after an injury, your Valley Park, MO doctor or injury prevention expert may recommend stabilizing braces or Kinesio Taping®. Other methods like making sure all the equipment is snug offers further stabilization.
• Boost muscle strength — Strengthening your muscles, tendons, and ligaments helps them withstand the force and torque necessary for in sports and other activities. Our Valley Park, MO injury prevention specialists will work to achieve optimal muscle balance and strengthen the often forgotten muscles needed to safely participate in the activities you love.
• Increase flexibility — Increasing your flexibility contributes to injury prevention in three way:
  1. It boosts your range of motion, which allows for the tendons and ligaments connecting your muscles to your bones to adapt to more forceful positions.
  2. It boosts blood flow, which allows for nutrient-rich blood to flow to your muscles, removing waste byproduct and encouraging the muscles to heal.
  3. It encourages good posture, which, as you read earlier, is an essential part of injury prevention.

  According to research, sports like soccer that require dynamic motions require soft tissue flexible enough to perform those movements. Also, it’s important to stretch and warm up before any physical activity to further reduce the risk of injury.

• Use correct technique — In every physical activity, 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 by not forcing your body into unnatural positions and movements. Football players are taught to tackle a certain way to reduce the risk of a head injury, and swimmers learn the proper strokes to use the appropriate muscles. We utilize DorsaVi video motion analysis to capture how you move and evaluate how to both improve your performance and prevent injury.
• Don’t ignore what your body is telling you — If a part of your body is sore, your body is trying to send you a message. If you feel a sudden pop or grinding sensation, immediately stop all physical activity and get the appropriate medical treatment. If your body does not feel well enough for an intense workout, don’t force it.
• Don’t play through an injury — While teammates, competitors, and fans appreciate an athlete that plays through pain, forcing your body to perform with soft tissue or structural damage 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 scheduling appointments with a physical therapist to make sure your body heals properly and can handle the activity you want to return to.
• Play by the rules — Most sports have special rules at different levels in the interest of safety. Penalties for targeting in football, rules against slide-tackling in soccer, and even the existence of special lanes on the street and sidewalk for bikers are all rules that were adopted to keep participants safe. There’s a reason those rules exist, and a reason that violations of those rules are punished.
• Consult a professional physical therapist — It’s always advisable to see a doctor before another season begins or starting up a new activity or training regimen. While there, ask your doctor if injury prevention with a experienced physical therapist in Valley Park, MO is right for you. Every treatment plan we employ has been proven to prevent injury, and we’ll personalize your program to your age, any previous injuries, and which activities you want to participate in.

Injury Prevention for Older Valley Park, MO Adults

Falls in the elderly accounted for over 3 million urgent care visits and more than 34,000 fatalities. Studies show that physical activity is invaluable in preventing falls. Other conditions that cause pain like arthritis that accumulate over time can be slowed down by physical therapy exercises that keep your soft tissue and joints active. While the physical demands for seniors may not be as high as an athlete, healthy strength, stability, flexibility, and correct posture can greatly aid in injury prevention.

Other services we offer in Valley Park, MO include:

• Shin Splint Treatment
• Direct Access Physical Therapy
• Gait Analysis
• Pelvic Floor Therapy
• Dry Needling Near Me
• Tendonitis Treatment
• Manual Physical Therapy
• Orthopedic Rehab Near Me
• Beginner Running Program
• Chronic Pain Treatment

Valley Park, MO Injury Prevention | Axes Physical Therapy

Being injured in in an activity you prepare and train for and love can create a mental block that keeps us from experiencing the same exultation. The professional Valley Park, 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 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 do not want to lose. Make an appointment online or contact the location nearest you to discover what our Valley Park, MO injury prevention professionals can do for you.