Mobility in St. Louis, MO. Our bodies are built to to make walking and other movements easy. But sometimes, our bodies don’t work the way they should and it impedes us from the activities we love. While losing your independence because of losing your mobility also have an impact on our emotional well-being, Axes Physical Therapy in St. Louis, MO offers solutions that have been proven to be successful and that are built specifically to getting you back to the life you want to live. No matter if your mobility limitations are the result of an injury, a disease, or an impairment in your musculoskeletal structure such as sciatica, start on the road back to your best possible movement health and meaningful pain relief as soon as possible by requesting an appointment with Axes today or calling the the one of our 15 locations most convenient for you.

The dictionary defines mobility as, “the ability to move… freely and easily.” For some people that may mean walking up the stairs comfortably, while others have more active lifestyle desires like serving an ace on the tennis court. Whatever it means to you, if can’t complete the activities you want to consult with your doctor about professional physical therapy and movement health services.

Functional Mobility in St. Louis, MO

Functional mobility is the capacity one has to complete basic tasks. This can be anything from getting in and out of bed or bringing a cup of coffee to another room and sitting on a chair. Fundamentally, functional mobility can be broken down into three categories:

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 place to another, for example from one chair to another.
3. Ambulation — Whether or not you can walk, and can do so while carrying things.

If you cannot currently complete some or all of the tasks above without the aid of a person or assistive device, the St. Louis, MO physical and occupational therapists at Axes are devoted to getting your self-sufficiency back. Whether your currently limited functional mobility was caused by a sports injuryan rotator cuff tear tear, arthritis or other joint pain, or even a a progressive disorder like Parkinson’s disease, we’ll guide you through your journey to optimal movement health. Part of your treatment will likely be simple and safe strengthening, balance, and flexibility training. Our therapists are also highly trained in vestibular therapy for people who have a debilitating vestibular disorder.

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

1. Complete independence, meaning you are able to move in a certain way without assistance and without taking an excessive amount of time
2. Modified independence, meaning you need a device such as a cane to complete the task
3. Supervision, meaning you can perform the movement independently but need someone to monitor you to prevent risk of injury
4. Minimal assistance, meaning you can exert 75% of the effort needed to complete the task or more while someone else helps you the rest of the way
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 yourself
7. Total assistance or not testable, meaning you are unable to put in 25% of the effort required, or that the activity is not safe to test

At Axes Physical Therapy in St. Louis, MO, your personalized treatment plan may include safely taking you up through the seven levels, or at least to the highest level you are able to achieve. 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 have in mind for you are safe for someone suffering from the same ailment you are.

Beyond Functional Mobility in St. Louis, MO

Obviously, simply rolling over in bed without limitations does not define optimal movement health for many of us. There are pickleball leagues to dominate, fun activities to share with your family, and the job-related tasks you need to perform every day so that you can put food on the table for your St. Louis, MO family. At Axes, we offer comprehensive physical and occupational physical therapy that can help any individual improve mobility they need to get back to the activities they love. Our services also include:

• Occupational therapy — Our St. Louis, MO occupational therapists are an essential part of getting you back to work after a work-related injury. We serve as an integral member of your workers’ compensation team so you can get back to being an integral member of our St. Louis, MO community and providing for your family as you want to. Our advanced work rehabilitation includes Functional Capacity Evaluations to determine if you can safely go back to work either fully or at some level.
• Sports therapy — The last thing anyone who loves playing sports wants to experience is a sudden pop or crack that keeps them off the field or court for weeks, months, or longer. Our St. Louis, MO physical therapy team is experienced in helping 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 avoid re-injury.
• Pre/post surgical rehabilitation — Surgery makes anyone anxious. Whether your surgery is elective or medically necessary, we’ll work with your physician and surgeons to form a complete surgical team to give you piece of mind, and develop a successful strategy to get the best possible outcome from your procedure.

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

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

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

• Strength — While physical therapy is effective at rebuilding and maintaining strength, it also helps achieve muscle balance. Achieving equal muscle balance around joints is imperative in preventing injury and reaching optimal movement health.
• Flexibility and range of motion — To improve our mobility to the highest level we can, not only do our muscles need to have the strength to control bones, but our muscles, tendons, 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 eyesight
  • A vestibular issue, or a problem in your inner ear
  • Your proprioceptive system, the sense of awareness ingrained in our muscles and joints

A clinically experienced physical therapist in St. Louis, MO will be able to identify the source of your limitations in mobility and come up with a safe and effective treatment plan to get you back to the activities you love. In addition to restorative strength, flexibility, and core exercises, other evidence-backed techniques may include:

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

If your doctor and therapy team agree, a physical therapist in St. Louis, MO can also mold your very own medically accepted assistive devices such as splints, braces, crutches, or canes in order to help you achieve the best possible mobility.

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

Physical therapy does more than just increase mobility. As we work to reach optimal movement health, you’ll also see the following benefits:

• Pain relief, whether from an injury or pain that is chronic in nature without the need of prescription medications
• In some cases, the potential to avoid a surgical procedure by motivating your body to heal on its own
• Patient education, including exercises you can safely do at home, injury prevention techniques, and correct posture
• Motivating better physical health, carries with it the benefits of increased energy, lowers your risk of heart disease, helps control weight, improves your mood, and promotes better sleep

Other services we offer in St. Louis, 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

Mobility in St. Louis, MO | Axes Physical Therapy

Whether you are looking for hand therapy in order to make it easier for you to do basic everyday things, are in need of meaningful pain management for sciatica, or need to return to optimal movement health following a devastating injury, Axes’ team of licensed physical and occupational therapists will develop and implement the treatment plan that works best for you. We take a client-centered approach. To get back your independence and active lifestyle, request an appointment with Axes Physical Therapy today or call the location that works best for you.