ACL Tear Greater Beaufort, MO. ACL tears have an enormous effect on your active and daily routine. One second you’re running down the field, engaging in your favorite sport or having fun with your kids, and the next instant you’re don’t know if you’ll get to play or even go to work again. At Axes Physical Therapy in Beaufort, MO, we have committed 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 in tandem with you as a team and create personalized, evidence-based treatment plans. If you’ve suffered an ACL tear, or any other injury, in Beaufort, MO, contact us online or locate the most convenient Axes location for you. Our priority is getting every patient a positive outcome and getting you back to what’s most important to you, whether that means burning corners in your local Beaufort, MO flag football league, or carrying your children on your shoulders without any pain.

The Anterior Cruciate Ligament | Beaufort, MO Physical Therapy

Ligaments are bands found in joints made of durable, flexible fibrous tissue that connect two bones. The ligaments in the knee help 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 together to stabilize the forward and backward movement of your knee, and the ACL impedes the tibia from sliding 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 capacity to bear weight and your motion will be affected. Regardless of how serious your injury, trust in the Beaufort, MO licensed physical therapists of Axes to help you fully recover.

Causes of an ACL Tear | Beaufort, MO Physical Therapy

There are up to 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 entail frequent and fast cutting and changing directions, such as football, baseball, soccer, and basketball. According to the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, the vast majority of ACL tears occur in non-contact injuries, such as changing direction rapidly, and the rest are the result of direct blunt force trauma. External and internal factors could both be at play when you suffer an ACL tear:

External Factors

These are when your coordination is disrupted just before the injury. Some examples are:

• Landing on uneven footing or landing with improper form
• Something or someone knocking into you
• Suddenly decelerating or changing direction
• Spinning with a firmly planted foot
• Suffering a direct blow to the knee

Internal Factors

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

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

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

Symptoms of an ACL Tear | Beaufort, MO Physical Therapy

Following an ACL tear, the pain will likely be at the center of the knee. An ACL tear does not always cause considerable pain unless other constructive damage was done to the knee. Some indicators that you may have torn your ACL include:

• A “popping” sensation in your knee
• Having to cease activity
• Your knee becoming inflamed quickly
• Reduction of range of motion
• Not being able to put any weight on your knee

If you suspect you’ve sustained an ACL tear, it’s necessary to contact a physician or a licensed physical therapist in Beaufort, MO to verify your injury and start the treatment you need to recover. We offer free, no strings attached injury screenings and know many excellent doctors in Beaufort, MO that we can refer you to. Your Axes physical or occupational therapist, your doctor and medical providers, and you will form a close team and work together to ensure your recovery is safe and efficient.

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

It is important to get prompt, effective, personalized treatment for your ACL tear. If you delay, or your treatment is ineffective, it can result in problems like obesity or osteoarthritis, which can greatly affect your quality of life.

Immediately after your ACL tear, you should use over-the-counter pain medication and the R.I.C.E. method to alleviate pain and swelling. A doctor will then examine you, evaluate your mobility, and likely order an MRI to verify the ACL tear and gauge the extent of the injury.

As there is no blood flow to the ligament, a complete ACL tear cannot 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. The only way to fully repair an ACL tear is through surgery. So, surgery is often recommended for younger people, athletes who need their knee reconstructed in order to perform, patients whose ACL tears were accompanied by other serious damage to 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 injured 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 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 Beaufort, MO to get you a positive outcome for both your physical rehabilitation and your operation. Our ACL tear physical therapy experts will guide you through your recovery process with proven, customized physical therapy. Our treatment methods will help to:

• Alleviate 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 return range of motion
• Perform strength exercises to return you to full strength
• Potentially implement electrical stimulation as a supplement to the exercises

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

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

Unfortunately, many people sustain a second ACL tear and they can lead to permanent repercussions. Included in your treatment program in Beaufort, 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 proper technique, for example bending at the knees and hips when turning
• Maintain flexibility
• Increase your balance
• Always warm up before sports or other physical activities
• Make sure you are using appropriate footwear

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

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

It is normal to be anxious about your what your life will look like in the 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 alongside you to produce a proven, personalized physical therapy plan to get you back 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.