ACL Tear Greater Bella Villa, MO. ACL tears have an enormous effect on your active and daily routine. One second you’re running down the court, taking part in your favorite sport or having fun with your kids, and the next second you’re don’t know if you’ll get to play or even go to work again. At Axes Physical Therapy in Bella Villa, MO, we have devoted 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 concert with you as a team and create personalized treatments plans that have been empirically proven to be effective. If you’ve sustained an ACL tear, or any other injury, in Bella Villa, MO, contact us online or check out the most convenient Axes location for you. Our mission is getting every patient great results and getting you back to what’s most important to you, whether that means dominating your local Bella Villa, MO pickleball league, or picking up your grandchildren without any pain.

What is the ACL? | Bella Villa, MO Physical Therapy

Ligaments are bands found in joints made of durable, pliable fibrous tissue that affix two bones. The ligaments in the knee help keep your knee stable 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 stabilize the front and back movement of your knee, and the ACL impedes the tibia from sliding 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 ability to bear weight and your motion will be affected. However serious your injury, trust in the Bella Villa, MO licensed physical therapists of Axes to help you achieve a complete recovery.

Causes of an ACL Tear | Bella Villa, MO Physical Therapy

There are up to 250,000 ACL injuries in the United States annually, and it is one of the most common knee injuries and sports injuries. They are common in contact sports that demand frequent and fast cutting and changing directions, such as football, baseball, soccer, and basketball. According to reporting from the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, 70% of ACL tears occur in non-contact injuries, such as changing direction rapidly, 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 motion is interrupted just before the injury. Some examples are:

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

Internal Factors

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

• The differences in anatomy between men and women
• How flexible the hamstring and other surrounding muscles are
• Genetic differences

ACL tears don’t just occur in sports, falls and work-related injuries can damage they ACL as well. 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 as a result of anatomical differences.

Symptoms of an ACL Tear | Bella Villa, MO Physical Therapy

When you suffer an ACL tear, you’ll likely feel pain in the middle of the knee. An ACL tear does not always cause sever pain unless other parts of the knee were also injured. Some signs that you may have sustained an ACL tear are:

• Feeling or hearing a pop in your knee
• Not being able to continue activity
• Rapid swelling
• Loss 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 contact a doctor or a licensed physical therapist in Bella Villa, MO to confirm your injury and get you the treatment you need. We offer free, no strings attached injury screenings and work with many trusted physicians in Bella Villa, 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.

ACL Tear Treatments | Bella Villa, MO Physical Therapy

It is important to get effective and personalized treatment soon after your ACL tear. If your injury does not heal properly, it can result in health conditions like obesity or osteoarthritis, which can greatly affect you for the remainder of your life.

In the minutes after your ACL tear, you should use over-the-counter pain medication and the R.I.C.E. method to manage pain and inflammation. A doctor will then examine you, evaluate your mobility, and likely order an MRI or other tests to verify 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. 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 with other significant injury to other parts of their knee, or those whose ACL tear causes pain or weakness when carrying out 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 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 have weakened. Axes Physical Therapy offers both pre- and post-surgical rehabilitation for ACL tears in Bella Villa, MO to optimize your recovery and the success of your operation. Our ACL tear physical therapy specialists will be by your side throughout your recovery process with proven, customized physical therapy. Our treatment methods will help to:

• Reduce 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 mobility
• Do strength exercises to increase strength
• Potentially use electrical stimulation as a supplement to the exercises

When you work with the knowledgeable Bella Villa, 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 return you to tearing up the local pickleball league, or just enjoying being able to to sit down and stand up without your knee buckling.

How to Prevent an ACL Tear | Bella Villa, MO Physical Therapy

Unfortunately, many people sustain a second ACL tear and they can cause life-long consequences. Included in your treatment program in Bella Villa, MO, our Certified Athletic Trainers will help you understand the best practices that help to avoid another ACL tear later on. We recommend some of the following steps to prevent further injury:

• Having a strong core
• Strengthen your hip and leg muscles
• Practice proper form, for instance landing evenly on both feet
• Maintain flexibility
• Increase your balance
• Perform warm-up exercises before sports or other physical activities
• Always wear appropriate footwear

Our physical therapists committed themselves not only to getting you back to the activities you love, but doing what we can to make certain that you stay off the sidelines.

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

It is normal to be apprehensive 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 in concert with you to produce a proven, tailor-made physical therapy plan to return you 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.