ACL Tear Greater Barnhart, MO. ACL tears can unexpectedly obstruct 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 Barnhart, MO, we have devoted our practice to restoring our patients’ mobility and returning them to the activities they love. Our ACL tear rehabilitation specialists work in concert with you as a team and design personalized, evidence-based treatment plans. If you’ve suffered an ACL tear, or any other injury, in Barnhart, MO, contact us online or find the most convenient Axes location for you. We focus on getting every patient great results and getting you back to the things that matter most to you, whether that means burning corners in your local Barnhart, MO flag football league, or picking up your grandchildren without any pain.

The Anterior Cruciate Ligament | Barnhart, MO Physical Therapy

Ligaments are bands found in joints made of durable, pliable connective 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, runs down the center of your knee and forms an “X” with the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL). The ACL and PCL work together to control the front and back movement of your knee, and the ACL shields the tibia from moving too far forward on the femur and supplies rotational stability.

ACL tears can be either partial or complete. Depending on the grade of your ACL tear, your ability to bear weight and your motion will be affected. However serious your injury, trust in the Barnhart, MO licensed physical therapists of Axes to help you fully recover.

Causes of an ACL Tear | Barnhart, MO Physical Therapy

There are up to 250,000 ACL injuries in the United States every 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 reporting from the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, the vast majority of ACL tears occur in non-contact injuries, such as cutting quickly, and the rest are the result of direct blows to the knee. 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 ground or landing with improper form
• Being hit by something or someone
• Suddenly decelerating or changing direction
• Swiveling with a firmly planted foot
• Sustaining a direct blow to the knee

Internal Factors

These concern the structure and anatomy of the body. Some examples are:

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

ACL tears don’t just transpire in sports, falls and work-related injuries can hurt they ACL too. The elderly are also at high risk, as our bodies degenerate as we age. Women are 4-6 times more likely to suffer an ACL tear, likely due to anatomical differences.

Symptoms of an ACL Tear | Barnhart, MO Physical Therapy

When you suffer an ACL tear, the pain will likely be at the center 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 might have torn your ACL are:

• Feeling or hearing a pop in your knee
• Inability to continue activity
• Rapid swelling
• Reduction of range of motion
• Not being able to put any weight on your knee

If you think you’ve suffered an ACL tear, it’s imperative to see a doctor or a licensed physical therapist in Barnhart, MO to verify your injury and start the treatment you need to recover. We offer no-cost, no-obligation injury screenings and have a wide network of trusted physicians in Barnhart, MO that we can refer you to. 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 | Barnhart, MO Physical Therapy

It is imperative to get prompt, effective, personalized treatment for your ACL tear. If you wait, or your treatment is ineffective, it can cause complications such as obesity or osteoarthritis, which can greatly affect you for the remainder of your life.

Immediately after your ACL tear, you should use over-the-counter pain medication and the R.I.C.E. method to mitigate pain and swelling. In an examination, a doctor will evaluate your range of motion, and likely order an MRI or other tests to confirm the ACL tear and gauge the extent of the injury.

Because ligaments do not receive blood flow, 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. Surgery is the only means available to completely heal an ACL tear. So, surgery is often recommended for younger people, athletes who need a fully functioning ACL in order to play, patients whose ACL tears were accompanied by other significant damage to other parts of their knee, or those whose ACL tear causes their knee to buckle in 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 in place, you still have a long way to go before you’ll feel fully back to normal. 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 Barnhart, MO to get you the best results for both your recovery and your operation. Our ACL tear physical therapy professionals will work with you throughout your recovery process with a personalized treatment plan that has been demonstrated to work. As part of your treatment plan, we will:

• Mitigate pain and swelling
• Educate you on your injury and the rehab process
• Gradually and successfully 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
• Do strength exercises to increase strength
• Possibly implement electrical stimulation as a supplement to the exercises

When you work with the experienced Barnhart, MO area physical therapists of Axes and take an active role in your rehabilitation, you have the greatest chance of a complete and efficient recovery. Before you know it, we will get you back to dominating the local pickleball league, or just enjoying the ability to sit down and stand up without your knee buckling.

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

Unfortunately, second ACL tears are common and they can cause permanent consequences. As part of our ACL tear physical therapy services in Barnhart, 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
• Having strong hip and leg muscles
• Practice correct technique, for example landing evenly on both feet
• Maintain flexibility
• Perform balance exercises
• Perform warm-up exercises before sports or other physical activities
• Make sure you are using appropriate footwear

Our physical therapists dedicate themselves not only to getting you back to the things you love to do, but doing everything possible to make certain that you can carry on doing them without being interrupted by another injury.

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

• 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
• Hip Replacement Physical Therapy

ACL Tear in Barnhart, MO | Axes Physical Therapy

It is normal to be anxious about your prognosis and road to recovery after suffering a severe injury. 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 knowledgeable professionals of Axes Physical Therapy to work with you to implement a proven, customized rehabilitation plan to get you back to the basketball court, bowling alley, or just back to your normal, pain-free daily activities. Contact us online or call the location are closest to you.