Mobility in St. Charles, MO. Our bodies are built to to make walking and other movements easy. But sometimes, our mobility is impeded and it prevents us from our favorite activities, or even just being able to carry out or daily live comfortably. While that loss of physical mobility can affect our mental health as well, Axes Physical Therapy in St. Charles, MO offers safe, effective, and evidence-backed solutions that are tailored specifically to you, your age, and your desired activity level. Regardless of whether your mobility is limited because of an injury, a disease, or an impairment in your musculoskeletal structure such as sciatica, begin your journey to your best possible mobility and a pain-free daily life as soon as possible by requesting a free evaluation with Axes today or calling the the one of our 15 locations nearest you.

The one definition of mobility is, “the ability to move… freely and easily.” For some of us that is as simple as rolling over in bed comfortably, while for others it may mean making a diving catch in their softball league. Whatever you need to improve your movement health for, if you can’t live the life you want pain-free consult with your doctor to see if physical therapy is the right choice for you.

Functional Mobility in St. Charles, MO

Functional mobility is the capacity one has to safely move around in their home environment. This includes anything from rolling over in bed or bringing a cup of coffee to the living room and sitting on a chair. Fundamentally, there are three types of functional mobility:

1. Bed mobility — Your ability to scoot, roll, and get in and out of bed with ease.
2. Transfers — Your ability to move from one surface to a different one, for example from a chair, bed, or sofa to another.
3. Ambulation — Your ability to walk freely without the need of assistance. This also includes walking while being able to carry objects.

While the injury or condition impeding your functional mobility may mean that you currently rely on assistance in order to operate in your daily life, the St. Charles, MO physical and occupational therapists at Axes are committed to getting your independence back. Whether the condition affecting you is a sports injuryan rotator cuff tear tear, arthritis or other joint pain, or even a central nervous system disorder like Parkinson’s disease, we’ll design a personalized plan that safely and correctly helps you reach the best possible movement health. Most treatment plans include strengthening, balance, and flexibility training. We also offer vestibular therapy to help with vestibular disorders that cause sensory dysfunction.

St. Charles, MO physical therapists often utilize the Functional Independence Measure (FIM) of seven levels to evaluate someone’s functional mobility:

1. Complete independence, meaning you are able to move in a certain way without risk of injury and without taking an excessive amount of time
2. Modified independence, meaning you need a device such as a walker to complete the task
3. Stand-by assist, meaning you can complete the task by yourself but need someone close by to prevent risk of injury
4. Minimal assistance, meaning you can exert 75% of the effort needed to complete the task or more while a physical therapist does the rest
5. Moderate assistance, meaning you can perform about 50% of the work needed
6. Maximal assistance, meaning you can complete about 25% of the task without assistance
7. Total assistance or not testable, meaning you are unable to put in a quarter of the effort required, or that the activity is not safe to test

At Axes Physical Therapy in St. Charles, MO, your customized treatment plan may include gradually allowing you more and more independence until you get the highest level you can. All of our methods are proven to be safe and effective through extensive clinical studies, and your dedicated physical therapist will begin your mobility treatment with a thorough examination of your health to ensure that the exercises we use are safe for someone suffering from the same ailment you are.

Beyond Functional Mobility in St. Charles, MO

Of course, simply walking up the stairs without limitations does not define optimal movement health for many of us. There are fast breaks to run, fun activities to share with your family, and the job-related tasks you need to carry out every day in order to earn a living for your St. Charles, MO family. At Axes, we offer comprehensive physical and occupational physical therapy that can help any athlete, worker, or family member improve mobility they need to get back to the activities they love. Our services also include:

• Occupational therapy — Our St. Charles, MO occupational therapists are crucial to your return to work when an injury or condition does not allow you to carry out the tasks of your job. We team up with you and your physician, insurance carrier, workers’ compensation lawyer and employer so you can get back to contributing to our St. Charles, MO community and providing for your family as you want to. Our advanced work rehabilitation includes Functional Capacity Evaluations to determine if you are ready to return to your job.
• Sports therapy — Every athletes worst nightmare is an unexpected fall or collision that sidelines them and keeps them from what they love for anywhere from a couple weeks to a year. Our St. Charles, MO physical therapy team knows how to help those who are sidelined because of ACL tears, rotator cuff tears, and a variety of other injuries. Our Certified Athletic Trainers can also educate you on the specifics of injury prevention to help you stay off the sidelines.
• Pre/post surgical rehabilitation — Surgery makes anyone anxious. Whether your surgery is elective or medically necessary, we’ll team up with the doctors recommending and performing your surgery to help you feel confident in your treatment, and formulate a proven plan of action to restore optimal mobility.

Whatever the current level of mobility, and the extent to wish you want to improve it, consult with your St. Charles, MO doctor about whether they think getting you a prescription for physical therapy is right for you, or come see us for a complimentary injury screening from a licensed physical or occupational therapist.

How a Physical Therapist in St. Charles, MO Can Help Improve Your Mobility

The four determinants of mobility are our strength, flexibility, range of motion, and balance:

• Strength — While physical therapy can help rebuild muscle after an injury and slow the weakening of muscles as we age, it also ensures that no muscle is disproportionately strong or weak. Having equal muscle balance around joints is essential in preventing injury and improving your mobility.
• Flexibility and range of motion — To achieve optimal movement health, not only do our muscles need to have the strength to control bones, but our muscles, ligaments, and other soft tissue need to be able to lengthen, and our joints need to be able to perform a wide variety of movements.
• Balance — Problems with balance are usually due to:
  • Problems with vision
  • A vestibular issue, or something in your inner ear
  • Your proprioceptive system, the receptors in our muscles that monitor length, tension, pressure and noxious stimuli

A clinically experienced physical therapist in St. Charles, MO will determine what is causing your mobility issues and develop a safe and effective treatment plan to improve your movement health. In addition to restorative strength, flexibility, and core exercises, your treatment plan may also include:

• Soft tissue mobilization
• Kinesio Taping®
• Trigger point dry needling
• Blood flow restriction training
• Posture correction and teaching good posture

If your doctor and therapy team agree, a physical therapist in St. Charles, MO can also mold your very own medically accepted assistive devices such as splints, braces, crutches, or canes in order to aid you in your mobility and reduce risk of injury.

How Physical Therapy in St. Charles, MO Helps Beyond Mobility

The benefits of physical therapy go beyond just getting around easier, getting back to work, or getting back on the field. Your personalized treatment plans:

• Pain relief for both acute and chronic conditions without needing to depend on costly and potentially habit forming prescription drugs
• Depending on the nature of your mobility limitations, the potential to avoid surgery by encouraging the body’s natural way of healing itself
• Patient education, including physical therapy techniques you can safely do at home, injury prevention techniques, and the best postures for improved mobility
• Encouraging better physical health, which leads to increased energy, decreases your odds of developing cardiovascular disease, contributes to a healthy weight, makes you feel better, and encourages your body to get a full 8 hours of sleep

Other services we offer in St. Charles, MO include:

• Soft Tissue Mobilization
• Post Surgical Rehabilitation
• 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

Mobility in St. Charles, MO | Axes Physical Therapy

Whether you are looking for hand therapy in order to make it easier for you to do basic things around the house, are in need of meaningful pain management for joint problems, or want to get back on the field after a sports injury, Axes’ team of licensed physical and occupational therapists is here to help you get back to what you love doing most. We take a leads to positive patient outcomes. To restore the level of mobility you deserve, request an appointment with Axes Physical Therapy today or reach out to the location most convenient for you.