Injury Prevention in Washington, MO. Whether you’re an athlete hoping for an opportunity at the next level, or you just retired and want to dedicate your time to bike riding, don’t let the fear of reinjury keep you from the activities you love. While our certified Washington, MO physical therapists work extensively with athletes and others to heal after an injury, we are complete movement health specialists who can evaluate your movement, muscle and joint strength, and flexibility to guide you through techniques that are proven to prevent injury. Schedule an appointment at Axes Physical Therapy today or call the location most convenient for you.

Physical activity is an essential part of many Washington, MO people’s lives. We love active endeavors like playing sports, hiking, or other physical activities. Furthermore, pursuing an active lifestyle helps prevent significant health problems including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, dementia, depression, and certain cancers. Not only can physical therapy with one of Axes’ licensed Washington, MO physical therapists help you come back even stronger after an injury, but our injury prevention specialists can help you reduce the risk of further injury by optimizing your overall movement health. All of our methods, both when helping restore motion health and when looking to improve it, have been prove to work and are personalized to 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 most convenient for you in Washington, MO for a complimentary injury screening. To reduce your chance of an injury and protect your sport or hobby, keep reading or call to speak to a physical therapist today.

Types of Injuries We Prevent Prevent in Washington, MO

Most injuries fall into two categories:

1. Repetitive demand 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 athletes who use throwing or striking motions and typically are accompanied by joint pain.
2. Acute injuries are injuries that happen because of a specific and sudden trauma. Examples include falling or receiving a blow. These can result in bruises, sprains and strains, broken bones, and dislocations.

Some of the injuries we see most frequently, such as rotator cuff tears, can result from either overuse or acute trauma. Other injuries, for example ACL tears, almost always occur spontaneously, such as receiving a direct blow to the knee.

What Causes Injuries? | Injury Prevention in Washington, 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 are required or are possible in a given activity. There are three chief causes of why your body cannot adjust to an activity:

Muscle Imbalance

Muscle balance is essential to supporting joints and preventing injury. Imbalance can result in overemphasis for one set of muscles, which may cause your body to force it to participate in an activity it shouldn’t. It also causes posture dysfunction, 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 inadequate muscle balance in relation to other muscle groups, such as having a strong chest and weak back, or in the same muscle group, such as the four muscles in the rotator cuff not having proportionate strength. Muscle imbalance can cause injury through:

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

Tailored injury prevention with our knowledgeable physical therapists in Washington, 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 unnatural ways, increasing your risk of injury. It can be caused by a range of musculoskeletal issues. It can cause injury through:

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

When you initially visit our injury prevention experts in Washington, MO, we’ll evaluate your medical history and perform a base evaluation to identify the root causes of your movement dysfunction. Then, in concert with with your physician or any other providers treating you, we’ll develop a customized game plan based on empirically-backed research and studies to get your movement back on track.

Posture Dysfunction

Bad posture doesn’t just affect people with slouched shoulders. Athletes and others with active lifestyles can suffer from postural dysfunction when at lest, sitting, or in certain poses related to a given activity. Good posture means proper positioning 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 joints in the spine, which has a negative affect on our body’s ability to communicate with itself and reach ideal movement health. Symptoms include:

• 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.

How to Prevent Injury in Washington, MO

All sports and physical activities carry an inherent risk of injury. No one technique is 100% foolproof in injury prevention. However, there are several steps you can take to make sure your body is prepared for your desired activity level:

• Take breaks — Injuries are more common in overworked bodies. If you have a very high activity level, one or two rest days a week will encourage your body to engage in its natural healing processes. If you’re moderately active, relax for the rest of the day after an activity so you don’t overwork your muscles and joints.
• Wear the appropriate equipment — Helmets, shin guards, elbow pads, and other required equipment in sports and other activities helps you avoid injuries such as contusions or concussions. If you’re returning to activity after an injury, your Washington, MO doctor or injury prevention specialist may advise stabilizing braces or Kinesio Taping®. Other methods like making sure all the equipment is snug can further help injury prevention by stabilizing your joints.
• Strengthen muscles — Strengthening your muscles, tendons, and ligaments helps them withstand the force and torque of heavy activity. Our Washington, MO injury prevention experts will work to build up your body to safely participate in the activities you want to participate in.
• Improve flexibility — Increasing your flexibility contributes to injury prevention in three way:
  1. It improves your range of motion, which lets for your soft tissue to adjust to more pronounced movements.
  2. It increases blood flow, which carries nourishing blood to your muscles, eliminating waste byproduct and encouraging the muscles to restore themselves.
  3. It encourages good posture, which we already know is an an important part of injury prevention.

  According to a peer-reviewed sports medicine paper, sports like football that necessitate bouncing and jumping require muscles and tendons with sufficient flexibility to perform those movements. Stretching and warm up exercises before activities further helps prevent injuries.

• Use accepted technique — In every sport, there are accepted techniques to use. These techniques not only help you perform better but help reduce the risk of injury. Football players are taught to tackle with the shoulder in order 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 improve it.
• Listen to your body — If a part of your body is sore, your body is trying to send you a message. If you feel a sudden crack or grinding sensation, immediately stop all physical activity and seek proportional medical care. 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 viewed as commendable among competitors, forcing your body to perform with soft tissue or structural damage could exacerbate a current injury and put you out of commission for longer than it originally would have. Depending on the severity 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 body heals properly and can withstand the activity you want to return to.
• Play by the rules — Many sports have special rules at different levels to reduce the risk of injury. Penalties for helmet to helmet hits 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 were adopted to prevent injuries to ourselves and others. Those are in place for a reason, and there’s a reason that there are penalties for them.
• Consult a licensed physical therapist — It’s always advisable to have a medical evaluation before a new season or starting up a new physical activity. While there, ask your doctor if injury prevention with a expert physical therapist in Washington, MO is right for you. All of our techniques have been demonstrated to help athletes remain healthy, and you plan will be completely unique to you and catered to your age, any previous injuries, and how physically active you wish to be.

Injury Prevention for Senior Citizens in Washington, MO

Falls in adults over 65 were responsible for more than 3 million emergency room admissions and over 34,000 fatalities. Research demonstrates that physical activity can go a long way in preventing falls. Other conditions that cause pain such as arthritis that are wear and tear injuries can be more bearable and take longer to progress with physical therapy exercises that keep your muscles, tendons, ligaments, and joints active. While the physical demands for older adults may not be as high as an athlete, appropriate strength, stability, flexibility, and ideal posture can greatly aid in injury prevention.

Other services we offer in Washington, 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

Washington, MO Injury Prevention | Axes Physical Therapy

Suffering in injury in in an activity you prepare and train for and love causes a mental block that won’t allow us to experience the same happiness. The licensed Washington, 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 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. Schedule an appointment online or contact the location nearest you to learn more about what our Washington, MO injury prevention specialists can do for you.