Mobility in St. Genevieve, MO. Our bodies are meant to be on the go. But sometimes, our bodies don’t work the way they should and it impedes us from the activities we love. While experiencing pain and other factors that affect mobility affects us in more ways than just physically, Axes Physical Therapy in St. Genevieve, MO can provide you with safe, effective, and proven solutions that are customized specifically to you, your age, and your desired activity level. Whether your mobility limitations are the result of an injury, a chronic condition, or a musculoskeletal issue such as sciatica, begin your journey to optimal mobility and a pain-free daily life now by requesting a mobility and injury analysis with Axes today or calling the location nearest you.

The dictionary definition of mobility is, “the ability to move… freely and easily.” For some people that looks like rolling over in bed without pain, while others have more active lifestyle desires like serving an ace on the tennis court. Whatever you need to improve your movement health for, if your mobility is severely restricted consult with a physician to see if physical therapy is the right choice for you.

Functional Mobility in St. Genevieve, MO

Functional mobility refers to a person’s ability to safely get around their home. This includes anything from getting in and out of bed or walking up a flight of stairs. Fundamentally, functional mobility is typically though of in three different ways:

1. Bed mobility — Your ability to comfortably move around in bed, including rolling, scooting, sitting up, and lying down.
2. Transfers — Your ability to move from one place to a different one, for example from one chair to another.
3. Ambulation — If you can walk on your own while having objects in your hands.

While the injury or condition affecting your functional mobility may mean that you currently rely on assistance in order to complete basic tasks, the St. Genevieve, MO physical and occupational therapists at Axes are dedicated to getting your freedom back. Whether you currently lack full functional mobility because of an ACL tear, arthritis or other joint pain, or even a degenerative condition like Parkinson’s disease, we’ll develop a tailor-made plan that has been proven to help people like you return to the best possible mobility. Most treatment plans include strengthening, balance, and flexibility exercises. Our therapists are also experts vestibular therapy for people who have a debilitating vestibular disorder.

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

1. Complete independence, meaning you can complete a specified task safely and without taking an excessive amount of time
2. Modified independence, meaning you can perform specific movements but only with a walker, a cane, or crutches
3. Stand-by assist, meaning you can complete the task by yourself but need someone next to you for safety
4. Minimal assistance, meaning you can do 75% or more while someone else helps you the rest of the way
5. Moderate assistance, meaning you can exert 50% of the effort necessary
6. Maximal assistance, meaning you can complete about 25% of the task yourself
7. Total assistance or not testable, meaning you can complete less than 25% of the task, or that even testing whether or not you can do it is not safe

At Axes Physical Therapy in St. Genevieve, MO, your customized treatment plan may include safely allowing you more and more independence until you get the highest level you can. All of our treatment plans are proven to be safe and effective through extensive clinical studies, and your dedicated physical therapist will begin your mobility treatment with a thorough evaluation of your health to confirm that the exercises we use are safe for someone in your exact condition.

Beyond Functional Mobility in St. Genevieve, MO

Obviously, many of us desire a higher level of movement health than just being to move between furniture comfortably. There are doubles to hit in your softball league, your children to play with, and the occupational tasks of the job you carry out every day so that you can put food on the table for your St. Genevieve, MO family. At Axes, our occupational and physical therapists can help any individual achieve the activity level they desire. We also offer:

• Occupational therapy — Our St. Genevieve, MO occupational therapists are crucial to your recovery 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. Genevieve, MO community and providing for your family the best way you can. Our advanced work rehabilitation includes Functional Capacity Evaluations to ascertain what functional capacities you are capable of.
• Sports therapy — Every athletes worst nightmare is a sudden injury that keeps them inactive and limited for anywhere from a couple weeks to a year. Our St. Genevieve, 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 also specialize in injury prevention to help you reduce the risk of having to go through an injury again.
• Pre/post surgical rehabilitation — Surgery makes anyone anxious. Whether your surgery is a matter of choice or a strong recommendation from a physician, we’ll team up with the doctors recommending and performing your surgery to give you piece of mind, and formulate a successful strategy to restore optimal mobility.

However limited you currently are in your mobility, and the level of improved mobility you desire, consult with your St. Genevieve, MO doctor about whether or not physical therapy is advisable, or visit one of our locations for a complimentary injury screening from a licensed physical or occupational therapist.

How a Physical Therapist in St. Genevieve, 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. Surrounding our joints with healthy and equally strong muscles is imperative in preventing injury and improving your mobility.
• Flexibility and range of motion — To reach the movement health and lifestyle we desire, 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 — Frequent causes of balance issues are:
  • Problems with eyesight
  • A vestibular disorder, or a problem in your inner ear
  • Your proprioceptive system, the sense of awareness ingrained in our muscles and joints

A licensed physical therapist in St. Genevieve, MO will determine what is causing your mobility issues and come up with a safe and effective treatment plan to get you back to the lifestyle you enjoy most. In addition to therapeutic strength, flexibility, and core exercises, We can help you improve your mobility with:

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

If your doctor and therapy team agree, a physical therapist in St. Genevieve, MO can also create custom medically accepted assistive devices including splints, braces, crutches, or canes in order to aid you in your mobility and reduce risk of injury.

How Physical Therapy in St. Genevieve, 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, whether from an injury or pain that is chronic in nature without needing to depend on painkillers or opioids
• Depending on the nature of your mobility limitations, the potential to avoid a surgical procedure by encouraging the body’s natural way of healing itself
• Mobility education, including physical therapy techniques you can safely do at home, what you can do to prevent injuries, and correct posture
• Encouraging better physical health, carries with it the benefits of enhanced energy, lowers your risk of cardiovascular disease, helps control weight, makes you feel better, and encourages your body to get a full 8 hours of sleep

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

• Dry Needling Near Me
• Tendonitis Treatment
• Manual Physical Therapy
• Orthopedic Rehab Near Me
• Beginner Running Program
• Chronic Pain Treatment
• Spine Specialist Near Me
• MCL Injury
• Shoulder Pain
• Injury Prevention

Mobility in St. Genevieve, MO | Axes Physical Therapy

Whether you are looking for hand therapy in order to make it easier for you to open jars, are looking for meaningful pain management for arthritis, or want to return to your active lifestyle following acute trauma, Axes’ team of licensed physical and occupational therapists will develop and implement the treatment plan that works best for you. We employ a client-centered approach. To get back your independence and active lifestyle, request an appointment with Axes Physical Therapy today or call the location most convenient for you.