ACL Tear Greater Antonia, MO. ACL tears can abruptly upend your active routine and daily life. One instant you’re sprinting down the field, engaging in your favorite sport or having fun with your children, and the next instant you’re wondering if you’ll get to play or even go to work again. At Axes Physical Therapy in Antonia, MO, we have dedicated our practice to helping our patients regain their strength and mobility, and getting them back to the activities they love. Our ACL tear rehabilitation specialists work with you as a team and create customize, empirically-backed treatment plans. If you’ve sustained an ACL tear, or any other injury, in Antonia, MO, contact us online or find the most convenient Axes location for you. Our mission is getting every patient a positive outcome and getting you back to the things that matter most to you, whether that means breaking defender’s ankles on a Antonia, MO basketball court, or picking up your grandchildren without any pain.

The Anterior Cruciate Ligament | Antonia, MO Physical Therapy

Ligaments are bands found in joints made of tough, flexible fibrous tissue that attach two bones. The ligaments in the knee help maintain stability in your knee by affixing your tibia (shinbone) to your femur (thigh bone). The ACL, or anterior cruciate ligament, is in the center of your knee and crosses the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) so they make an “x”. The ACL and PCL work in tandem to control the front and back motion of your knee, and the ACL impedes the tibia from sliding too far forward on the femur and supplies stability when the knee rotates.

ACL tears can be either partial or complete. Depending on the grade of your ACL tear, your ability to put weight on your knee and your movement will be affected. No Matter how significant your injury, trust in the Antonia, MO licensed physical therapists of Axes to help you fully heal.

Causes of an ACL Tear | Antonia, MO Physical Therapy

There are as many as 250,000 ACL injuries nationwide annually, and it is one of the most common knee injuries and sports injuries. They are common in contact sports that require frequent and rapid cutting and changing directions, such as football, baseball, soccer, and basketball. According to data from the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, the vast majority of ACL tears happen in non-contact injuries, such as cutting rapidly, and the rest are because of direct blunt force trauma. External and internal factors could both contribute to an ACL tear:

External Factors

These are when your motion is disrupted immediately before the injury. Some examples are:

• Landing on uneven footing or landing awkwardly
• Being hit by something or someone
• A sudden reduction in speed or changing direction
• Swiveling with a firmly planted foot
• Suffering a direct hit to the knee

Internal Factors

These have to do with the structure and anatomy of the body. Examples include:

• The differences in anatomy between men and women
• Flexibility of the hamstring
• Differences in genetics

While many ACL tears happen in sports, they are also common in falls and work-related injuries. The elderly are also at high risk, as our bodies degenerate as we age. Women are 4-6 times more likely to sustain an ACL tear, likely due to anatomical differences.

Symptoms of an ACL Tear | Antonia, MO Physical Therapy

After an ACL tear, you’ll likely feel pain at the center of the knee. You might not necessarily feel considerable pain after an ACL tear unless other parts of the knee were also injured. Some indicators that you may have torn your ACL are:

• Feeling or hearing a pop in your knee
• Inability to continue activity
• Rapid swelling
• Reduction of range of motion
• Instability when putting weight on your knee

If you suspect you’ve suffered an ACL tear, it’s important to contact a doctor or a licensed physical therapist in Antonia, MO to diagnose your injury and get you the treatment you need. We offer complimentary, no-obligation injury screenings and have a wide network of trusted physicians in Antonia, MO that we can connect you with. Your Axes physical or occupational therapist is an essential part of your recovery team, working closely with you and your doctors and medical providers to collaborate on your safe and efficient recovery.

How to Treat an ACL Tear | Antonia, MO Physical Therapy

It is essential to get effective and personalized treatment soon after your ACL tear. If your injury does not heal properly, it can lead to problems such as obesity or osteoarthritis, which can greatly affect you for the remainder of your life.

In the minutes after your ACL tear, it’s best to use over-the-counter pain medication and the R.I.C.E. method to reduce pain and swelling. A doctor will then examine you, assess your range of motion, and likely order an MRI to confirm the ACL tear and gauge the completeness and grade of your tear.

Because ligaments do not receive blood flow, a complete ACL tear will not be able to heal by itself. That is why the aid of a licensed professional physical therapist is necessary to return to the activities you love. The only way to fully repair an ACL tear is through surgery. So, surgery is often necessary for younger people, athletes who need their knee reconstructed in order to play, patients with other significant injury to other parts of their knee, or those whose ACL tear causes pain or weakness when performing basic, everyday activities. In an ACL surgery, a surgeon will remove the damaged ACL, take a graft from another one of your or a donors tendons, and use small incisions to attach it to the bones.

Once the new ligament is attached, your journey back to normalcy and the activities you love is still a long way from over. After surgery, you’ll likely be given crutches so you can get around for the next few weeks, as your quadriceps muscles will weaken from disuse. Axes Physical Therapy offers both pre- and post-surgical rehabilitation for ACL tears in Antonia, MO to get you a positive outcome for both your physical rehabilitation and your operation. Our ACL tear physical therapy professionals will work with you throughout your recovery process with proven, customized physical therapy. As part of your treatment plan, we will:

• Mitigate pain and swelling
• Educate you on your injury and the rehab process
• Gradually and effectively get you back to bearing weight
• Fit you for a brace and teach you how to safely use it
• Do movement exercises and balance exercises to increase range of motion
• Perform strength exercises to increase strength
• Potentially utilize electrical stimulation to return strength and flexibility

When you work with the knowledgeable Antonia, MO area physical therapists of Axes and take an active role in your recovery, you have the greatest chance of a complete and quick recovery. Before you know it, we will get you back to dominating the local pick-up league, or just enjoying being able to to climb stairs without feeling any instability in your knee.

How to Prevent an ACL Tear | Antonia, MO Physical Therapy

Unfortunately, many people suffer a second ACL tear and they can lead to permanent consequences. As part of our ACL tear physical therapy services in Antonia, MO, our Certified Athletic Trainers will help you understand the best practices that help to avoid another ACL tear down the road. Some of the preventive methods you can take in order to prevent further injury are:

• Strengthen your core
• Strengthen your hip and leg muscles
• Practice correct technique, for example keeping knees shoulder width apart while landing
• Stretch consistently
• Increase your balance
• Always warm up before sports or other physical activities
• Make sure you are using appropriate footwear

Our physical therapists dedicate themselves not only to retuning you to the activities you love, but doing everything possible to ensure that you stay off the sidelines.

Some of the other services we offer in Antonia, MO are:

• Neck Pain Treatment
• 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

ACL Tear in Antonia, MO | Axes Physical Therapy

It is normal to be apprehensive about your your future after being seriously injured. If you’ve sustained an ACL tear, you probably want to get back to your normal, active lifestyle as quickly as possible. Trust in the experienced professionals of Axes Physical Therapy to work in concert with you to design a proven, personalized physical therapy plan to get you back to the football field, gymnasts’ mat, or just back to your normal, pain-free life. Contact us online or call the location are closest to you.