ACL Tear Greater Bismarck, MO. ACL tears have a tremendous effect on your active and daily routine. 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 back to your job again. At Axes Physical Therapy in Bismarck, 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 design tailored, empirically-backed treatment plans. If you’ve suffered an ACL tear, or any other injury, in Bismarck, MO, contact us online or find the most convenient Axes location for you. We dedicate ourselves to getting every patient positive results and getting you back to what’s most important to you, whether that means dominating your local Bismarck, MO pickleball league, or carrying your children on your shoulders without any pain.

What is the ACL? | Bismarck, 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 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 motion of your knee, and the ACL stops the tibia from gliding too far forward on the femur and supplies stability when the knee rotates.

ACL tears can be either partial or complete. Depending on the grade of your ACL tear, your ability to put weight on your knee and range of motion will be lowered. However significant your injury, trust in the Bismarck, MO licensed physical therapists of Axes to help you accomplish a complete recovery.

Causes of an ACL Tear | Bismarck, MO Physical Therapy

There are as many as 250,000 ACL injuries nationwide annually, 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 at high risk for ACL tears. According to data from the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, almost three-quarters of ACL tears occur in non-contact injuries, such as changing direction quickly, and the rest are caused by direct blows to the knee. External and internal factors could both be at play when you suffer an ACL tear:

External Factors

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

• Landing on uneven ground or landing awkwardly
• Something or someone knocking into you
• Instantly decelerating or switching direction
• Pivoting with a firmly planted foot
• Sustaining a direct hit to the knee

Internal Factors

These have to do with the structure and anatomy of the knee and legs. Some examples are:

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

ACL tears don’t just occur 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 sustain an ACL tear, likely as a result of anatomical differences.

Symptoms of an ACL Tear | Bismarck, MO Physical Therapy

Following an ACL tear, the pain will likely be in the middle of the knee. An ACL tear does not always cause sever pain except if other structural damage was done to the knee. Some signs that you might have torn your ACL include:

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

If you think you’ve sustained an ACL tear, it’s important to reach out to a doctor or a licensed physical therapist in Bismarck, MO to verify your injury and start the treatment you need to recover. We offer complimentary, no strings attached injury screenings and know many trusted physicians in Bismarck, 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 | Bismarck, MO Physical Therapy

It is vital to get effective and personalized treatment soon after your ACL tear. If you don’t, it can cause complications 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 swelling. A doctor will then examine you, assess your mobility, and likely order an MRI to confirm the ACL tear and judge the completeness and grade of your tear.

As there is no blood flow to the ligament, a complete ACL tear will not be able to heal 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 advisable for younger people, athletes who need a fully healthy 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 pain or weakness when performing basic, everyday activities. ACL surgery is usually 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 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 Bismarck, MO to get you a positive outcome for both your recovery and your surgery. Our ACL tear physical therapy specialists will guide you through your recovery process with proven, customized physical therapy. Our treatment methods will help to:

• Reduce pain and swelling
• Educate you on your injury and the rehab process
• Gradually and successfully get you back to bearing weight
• Provide you with a brace and teach you how to safely use it
• Do movement exercises and balance exercises to return mobility
• Perform strength exercises to return you to full strength
• Potentially use 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 Bismarck, MO area physical therapists of Axes. Before you know it, we will return you to tearing up the local flag football league, or just enjoying the ability to climb stairs without any pain.

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

Unfortunately, many people sustain a second ACL tear and they can have life-long consequences. As part of our ACL tear physical therapy services in Bismarck, MO, our Certified Athletic Trainers will educate you on how to avoid another ACL tear in the future. Some of the preventive methods you can take in order to prevent further injury are:

• Strengthen your core
• Strengthen your hip and leg muscles
• Practice proper form, for example always landing with your feet directly over your knee
• Stretch consistently
• Increase your balance
• Always warm up before sports or other physical activities
• Make sure you are using appropriate footwear

Our physical therapists committed themselves not only to getting you back to the activities you love, but doing everything possible to ensure that you can carry on doing them without being disrupted by another injury.

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

It is normal to experience anxieties 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 implement a proven, customized 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.