Injury Prevention in Woodson Terrace, MO. Whether you’re an athlete and want to improve your performance, or you just retired and want to spend more time being physical fit, don’t let the fear of reinjury keep you from the happy, healthy lifestyle you desire. While our licensed Woodson Terrace, MO physical therapists work extensively with athletes and others to recover from injury, we are complete movement health specialists who can evaluate your movement, muscle and joint strength, and flexibility to teach out exercises 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 call the location nearest you.
Physical activity is vitally important to many Woodson Terrace, MO residents. Many of us participate in activities like playing sports, swimming, and more. Additionally, pursuing an active lifestyle helps prevent chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, eurodegenerative disease, mental health issues, and certain cancers. Not only can physical therapy with one of Axes’ licensed Woodson Terrace, MO physical therapists help you come back even stronger after an injury, but our injury prevention experts 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 level of activity they want to reach.
If you’ve recently suffered an injury, or have a lingering injury that won’t heal on its own, contact the Axes Physical Therapy location nearest you in Woodson Terrace, MO for a no-risk, no-obligation injury screening. To take preventative measures and ensure that you can keep up with your sport or hobby, keep reading or inquire about an appointment today.
Types of Injuries We Prevent Prevent in Woodson Terrace, MO
Most injuries fall into two categories:
- Repetitive demand injuries are injuries that are caused by repetitive movements over time. They are common in overhead athletes such as raquetball or volleyball players, with joint pain usually being the first warning sign.
- Acute injuries are injuries that happen suddenly. 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, like rotator cuff tears, can result from either overuse or acute trauma. Other injuries, such as ACL tears, are almost always the result of trauma, such as receiving a direct blow to the knee.
Why Do Injuries Happen? | Injury Prevention in Woodson Terrace, MO
While injuries occur for many different reasons, and are sometimes unpreventable, 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 essential to supporting joints and reducing injury. Imbalance can result in an overreliance on one muscle group, which may cause your body to use it in a way 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. Muscle imbalance applies to inadequate muscle balance between muscle groups, such as having a strong bicep and weak tricep, 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
- Coordination deficits
Tailored injury prevention with our certified physical therapists in Woodson Terrace, 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. Neurological issues, inflammation, previous injuries, and muscle imbalance call all contribute to movement dysfunction. Symptoms include:
- Joint mobility limitations
- Muscle imbalance
- Poor coordination
- Lessened balance
When you initially see our injury prevention specialists in Woodson Terrace, MO, we’ll discuss your medical records and analyze your current movement health, strength, and flexibility. Then, in concert with with your doctor or any other medical professionals treating you, we’ll devise a customized game plan been proven to work through 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 be affected by postural dysfunction when at lest, sitting, or in certain poses related to a given activity. Optimal posture refers to proper positioning of your body from your head to your toes in a way that keeps the spine within its natural curves. Poor posture can bring the bones of the spine closer together, which disrupts our body’s internal communications and makes it difficult to reach ideal 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, range of motion, and that your nervous system can communicate as its intended to.
Injury Prevention Techniques in Woodson Terrace, MO
You can still suffer an injury even if you did everything possible to prevent one. No one precaution is guaranteed to be effective in injury prevention. However, there are precautions to make sure your body is prepared for your desired activity level:
- Take breaks — Injuries are more common when you do not give your body time to restore itself. 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 naturally heal any mild pain or soreness. If you have a more modest activity level, take it easy after activity so you don’t overwork your muscles and joints.
- Wear protective equipment — Helmets, mouth guards, elbow pads, and other recommended equipment in sports and other activities helps you avoid injuries such as cuts or concussions. If you’re returning to activity after an injury, your Woodson Terrace, MO doctor or injury prevention specialist may fit you for braces or Kinesio Taping® to stabilize a joint. Other measures like tying your shoes tightly offers further protection.
- Increase muscle strength — Strengthening soft tissue helps it withstand the force and torque of heavy activity. In your personalized injury prevention program with our professional Woodson Terrace, MO physical therapists, we’ll work to achieve ideal muscle balance and strengthen the often forgotten muscles needed to safely participate in the activities you love.
- Increase flexibility — Increasing your flexibility achieves three important things for injury prevention:
- It increases your range of motion, which allows for your tendons and ligaments to handle more drastic movements.
- It enhances blood flow, which carries protein-rich blood to your muscles, eliminating waste byproduct and encouraging the muscles to recover.
- It encourages good posture, which we already know is an an essential part of injury prevention.
According to a peer-reviewed sports medicine paper, sports like soccer that necessitate sudden twists and movements require muscles and tendons compliant enough to perform those movements. Stretching and warm up exercises before games or training further helps prevent injuries.
- Use proper technique — In every sport, 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 reduce the risk of injury. Football players learn 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 break down your movement and educate you on how to improve it.
- Listen to your body — If you feel pain in a muscle or joint, your body is trying to send you a message. 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 feeling up to an intense workout, don’t force it.
- Don’t play through an injury — While teammates, competitors, and fans appreciate an athlete that guts it out through pain, playing with an injury to a muscle, joint, tendon, or ligament could make that injury worse and leave you off the field or court for longer than it originally would have. Depending on the severity of your injury, you may use methods like the R.I.C.E. method, visiting your doctor, and rehab with a physical therapist to ensure your body heals properly and can handle the activity you want to return to.
- Follow 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 slide-tackling in soccer, and even the existence of special lanes on the street and sidewalk for bikers are all rules that leagues enacted to prevent injuries to ourselves and others. Those were enacted for a reason, and there’s a reason that violations of those rules are punished.
- Consult a licensed physical therapist — It’s a good idea to get a physical before another season begins or starting up a new activity or training regimen. While there, ask your doctor if injury prevention with a expert physical therapist in Woodson Terrace, MO is a good idea for you. All of our techniques have been proven 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 Older Woodson Terrace, MO Adults
Falls in the elderly were responsible for over 3 million urgent care visits and over 34,000 fatalities. Research demonstrates that physical activity can go a long way in reducing the risk of falls. Other conditions like arthritis that accumulate over time can be effectively managed with physical therapy exercises that keep your soft tissue and joints active. While seniors typically do not exert themselves as much as an athlete does, appropriate strength, stability, flexibility, and optimal posture are great agents in injury prevention.
Other services we offer in Woodson Terrace, MO include:
- Total Knee Replacement Physical Therapy
- Vestibular Therapy
- Concussion Treatment
- Soft Tissue Mobilization
- Post Surgical Rehabilitation
- Shin Splint Treatment
- Direct Access Physical Therapy
- Gait Analysis
- Pelvic Floor Therapy
- Dry Needling Near Me
Woodson Terrace, MO Injury Prevention | Axes Physical Therapy
Suffering in injury in something you love doing can lead to a mental block that keeps us from experiencing the same euphoria. The knowledgeable Woodson Terrace, MO physical therapists at Axes are here to develop your personalized injury prevention program that will keep your body strong and flexible, and your mind at ease that you can safely return to the activities you love doing most. You deserve to feel the physical and mental health benefits that you once valued so much. Request an appointment online or contact the location nearest you to learn more about what our Woodson Terrace, MO injury prevention professionals can do for you.