ACL Tear Greater Arnold, MO. ACL tears have an enormous effect on your active routine and daily life. You go from having a blast in a sport or playing with your kids, to suddenly wondering whether you’ll get to play or even go to work again. At Axes Physical Therapy in Arnold, MO, we have dedicated 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 put in place personalized, evidence-based treatment plans. If you’ve sustained an ACL tear, or any other injury, in Arnold, MO, contact us online or check out the most convenient Axes location for you. Our mission is getting every patient positive results and getting you back to the things that matter most to you, whether that means burning corners in your local Arnold, MO flag football league, or picking up your grandchildren without any pain.

The Anterior Cruciate Ligament | Arnold, MO Physical Therapy

Ligaments are bands found in joints made of durable, 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, runs down the center of your knee and forms an “X” with the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL). The ACL and PCL work in concert to control the forward and backward movement of your knee, and the ACL shields the tibia from gliding too far forward on the femur and provides stability when the joint rotates.

ACL tears can be either partial or complete. Depending on the grade of your ACL tear, your capacity to put weight on your knee and range of motion will be impacted. Regardless of how serious your injury, trust in the Arnold, MO licensed physical therapists of Axes to help you reach a complete recovery.

Why an ACL Tear Happens | Arnold, MO Physical Therapy

There are as many as 250,000 ACL injuries in the United States every year, and it is one of the most common knee injuries and sports injuries. They are common in contact sports that demand frequent and rapid cutting and changing directions, such as football, baseball, soccer, and basketball. According to data from the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, almost three-quarters of ACL tears occur in non-contact injuries, such as cutting quickly, 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 coordination is interrupted immediately before the injury. Some examples are:

• Landing on uneven footing or landing with improper form
• Something or someone bumping into you
• Suddenly decelerating or switching direction
• Pivoting with a firmly planted foot
• Receiving a direct hit 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
• Flexibility of the hamstring
• Genetic differences

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 | Arnold, MO Physical Therapy

When you sustain an ACL tear, you’ll likely feel pain in the middle of the knee. An ACL tear does not always cause sever pain except if other parts of the knee were also injured. Some signals that you may have torn your ACL are:

• Feeling or hearing a pop in your knee
• Having to cease activity
• Rapid swelling
• Loss of range of motion
• Instability when bearing weight

If you suspect you’ve suffered an ACL tear, it’s necessary to reach out to a physician or a licensed physical therapist in Arnold, MO to diagnose your injury and start the treatment you need to recover. We offer complimentary, no-obligation injury screenings and have a wide network of trusted doctors in Arnold, 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 | Arnold, MO Physical Therapy

It is important to get prompt, effective, personalized treatment for your ACL tear. If your injury does not heal don’t, it can result in complications like obesity or osteoarthritis, which can greatly affect you for the remainder of your life.

Directly following your ACL tear, it’s best to use over-the-counter pain medication and the R.I.C.E. method to reduce pain and inflammation. A doctor will then examine you, evaluate your range of motion, and likely order an MRI or other tests to confirm the ACL tear and evaluate the completeness and grade of your tear.

As there is no blood flow to the ligament, a complete ACL tear cannot heal on its own. 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 the best option for younger people, athletes who need their knee reconstructed in order to perform, patients with other serious injury to their knee, or those whose ACL tear causes pain or weakness when performing basic, everyday tasks. In an ACL surgery, a surgeon will remove the torn 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 probably need crutches to move around, as your quadriceps muscles will have weakened. Axes Physical Therapy offers both pre- and post-surgical rehabilitation for ACL tears in Arnold, MO to optimize your recovery and the success of your surgery. Our ACL tear physical therapy experts will be by your side throughout your recovery process with proven, customized physical therapy. As part of your treatment plan, we will:

• Alleviate pain and swelling
• Provide patient education so you understand your injury and why our methods work
• Gradually and successfully allow you to put weight on your knee again
• Fit you for a brace and teach you how to safely use it
• Perform movement exercises and balance exercises to increase range of motion
• Do strength exercises to increase strength
• Possibly employ electrical stimulation to return strength and flexibility

You have the best chance for a full recovery by actively participating in it and trusting the expert Arnold, MO area physical therapists of Axes. Before you know it, we will get you back to tearing up 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 | Arnold, MO Physical Therapy

Unfortunately, many people suffer a second ACL tear and they can cause life-long repercussions. Included in your treatment program in Arnold, MO, our Certified Athletic Trainers will educate you on how to avoid another ACL tear in the future. We recommend some of the following steps to prevent further injury:

• Having a strong core
• Strengthen your hip and leg muscles
• Practice correct form, for instance bending at the knees and hips when turning
• Stretch consistently
• Increase your balance
• Always warm up before sports or other physical activities
• Always wear appropriate footwear

Our physical therapists committed themselves not only to retuning you to the activities you love, but doing what we can to make sure that you can carry on doing them without being upended by another injury.

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

It is normal to experience anxieties about your your future after suffering a severe injury. 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 knowledgeable professionals of Axes Physical Therapy to work in concert with you to design a proven, customized rehabilitation plan to return you to the football field, gymnasts’ mat, or just back to your normal, pain-free daily activities. Contact us online or call the location are closest to you.