ACL Tear Greater Argentville, MO. ACL tears have an enormous effect on your active routine and daily life. One instant you’re running down the field, engaging in your favorite sport or having fun with your kids, and the next second you’re wondering if you’ll get to play or even go back to your job again. At Axes Physical Therapy in Argentville, MO, we have committed our practice to restoring our patients’ mobility and returning them to the activities they love. Our ACL tear rehabilitation specialists work with you as a team and create personalized, evidence-based treatment plans. If you’ve sustained an ACL tear, or any other injury, in Argentville, MO, contact us online or check out the most convenient Axes location for you. We dedicate ourselves to getting every patient a positive outcome and getting you back to the things that matter most to you, whether that means burning corners in your local Argentville, MO flag football league, or carrying your children on your shoulders without any pain.

The Anterior Cruciate Ligament | Argentville, MO Physical Therapy

Ligaments are bands found in joints made of tough, pliable connective tissue that affix two bones. The ligaments in the knee work to keep your knee stable by connecting 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 concert to stabilize the forward and backward movement of your knee, and the ACL shields the tibia from slipping too far forward on the femur and supplies stability when the knee rotates.

Most ACL tears are partial, but they can be completely torn as well. Depending on the grade of your ACL tear, your ability to put weight on your knee and range of motion will be reduced. Regardless of how serious your injury, trust in the Argentville, MO licensed physical therapists of Axes to help you achieve a complete recovery.

Why an ACL Tear Happens | Argentville, MO Physical Therapy

There are up to 250,000 ACL injuries in the United States each year, and it is one of the most frequent knee injuries and sports injuries. Athletes who play contact sports and/or sports where there is a lot of cutting and changing direction are the most likely to get ACL tears. According to data from the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, almost three-quarters of ACL tears happen in non-contact injuries, such as changing direction quickly, and the rest are due to direct blows to the knee. External and internal factors could both contribute to an ACL tear:

External Factors

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

• Landing on uneven ground or landing awkwardly
• Something or someone knocking into you
• Suddenly decelerating or changing direction
• Swiveling with a firmly planted foot
• Sustaining a direct blow to the knee

Internal Factors

These are related to the structure and anatomy of the body. Examples include:

• The anatomical differences between men and women
• How flexible the hamstring and other surrounding muscles are
• Differences in genetics

ACL tears don’t just happen in sports, falls and work-related injuries can damage they ACL too. They can become more common as we age and our bodies weaken. Women are 4-6 times more likely to sustain an ACL tear, likely owing to anatomical differences.

Symptoms of an ACL Tear | Argentville, MO Physical Therapy

When you suffer 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 except if other constructive damage was done to the knee. Some indicators that you might have suffered an ACL tear include:

• Feeling or hearing a pop in your knee
• Not being able to continue activity
• Rapid swelling
• Reduction of range of motion
• Instability when putting weight on your knee

If you think you’ve suffered an ACL tear, it’s critical to reach out to a physician or a licensed physical therapist in Argentville, MO to verify your injury and get you the treatment you need. We offer free, no-obligation injury screenings and work with many trusted physicians in Argentville, MO that we can connect you with. Your Axes physical or occupational therapist, your doctor and medical providers, and you will join forces and work together to ensure your recovery is safe and efficient.

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

It is vital to get prompt, effective, personalized treatment for your ACL tear. If your injury does not heal don’t, it can lead to health conditions like obesity or osteoarthritis, which can significantly impact you for the remainder of your life.

Directly following your ACL tear, you should use over-the-counter pain medication and the R.I.C.E. method to reduce pain and swelling. A doctor will then examine you, evaluate your mobility, and likely order an MRI or other tests to confirm the ACL tear and judge the extent of the injury.

Because ligaments do not receive blood flow, a complete ACL tear will not be able to regenerate on its own. That is why the aid of a licensed professional physical therapist is necessary to get back to the activities you love. Surgery is the only means available to completely heal an ACL tear. So, surgery is often necessary for younger people, athletes who need their knee reconstructed in order to perform, patients whose ACL tears were accompanied by other serious injury to other parts of their knee, or those whose ACL tear causes their knee to buckle in basic, everyday activities. ACL surgery is typically done by taking a graft from another tendon — either one of yours or a deceased donor’s — and then using small incisions to attach the graft to the femur and tibia.

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 probably be given crutches so you can get around for the next few weeks, as your quadriceps muscles will have weakened. Axes Physical Therapy offers both pre- and post-surgical rehabilitation for ACL tears in Argentville, MO to optimize your recovery and the success of your operation. Our ACL tear physical therapy experts will guide you through your recovery process with a personalized treatment plan that has been proven to work. As part of your treatment plan, we will:

• Reduce pain and swelling
• Provide patient education so you understand your injury and why our methods work
• Gradually and effectively get you back to bearing weight
• Provide you with a brace and teach you how to safely use it
• Perform movement exercises and balance exercises to increase range of motion
• Perform strength exercises to return you to full strength
• Possibly employ electrical stimulation as a supplement to the exercises

You have the best chance for a full recovery by actively participating in it and trusting the licensed Argentville, MO area physical therapists of Axes. Before you know it, we will get you back to dominating the local softball league, or just enjoying being able to to sit down and stand up without your knee buckling.

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

Unfortunately, second ACL tears are common and they can result in permanent repercussions. As part of our ACL tear physical therapy services in Argentville, MO, our Certified Athletic Trainers will educate you on how to avoid another ACL tear down the line. We recommend some of the following steps to prevent further injury:

• Having a strong core
• Strengthen your hip and leg muscles
• Practice proper technique, for instance always landing with your feet directly over your knee
• Stretch consistently
• Increase your balance
• Perform warm-up exercises before sports or other physical activities
• Always wear appropriate footwear

Our physical therapists devote themselves not only to retuning you to the activities you love, but doing everything possible to make certain that you can continue doing them without being upended by another injury.

Some of the other services we offer in Argentville, 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 Argentville, MO | Axes Physical Therapy

It is normal to be apprehensive about your prognosis and road to recovery after being seriously injured. If you’ve sustained an ACL tear, you might be impatient to return to your active lifestyle and physical activities you value. Trust in the experienced professionals of Axes Physical Therapy to work in concert with you to create a proven, tailor-made physical therapy plan to return you to the basketball court, bowling alley, or just back to your normal, pain-free life. Contact us online or call the location are closest to you.