ACL Tear Greater Campbellton, MO. ACL tears have an enormous effect on your active routine and daily life. One moment you’re running down the court, competing in your favorite sport or playing with your kids, and the next instant you’re thinking about whether you’ll get to play or even go back to your job again. At Axes Physical Therapy in Campbellton, 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 design tailored treatments plans that have been empirically proven to be effective. If you’ve sustained an ACL tear, or any other injury, in Campbellton, MO, contact us online or find the most convenient Axes location for you. Our priority is getting every patient a positive outcome and getting you back to the things that matter most to you, whether that means breaking defender’s ankles on a Campbellton, MO basketball court, or carrying your children on your shoulders without any pain.

The Anterior Cruciate Ligament | Campbellton, MO Physical Therapy

Ligaments are bands found in joints made of durable, flexible connective 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 in tandem to stabilize the forward and backward movement of your knee, and the ACL shields the tibia from gliding too far forward on the femur and supplies rotational stability.

Most ACL tears are partial, but they can be completely torn as well. Depending on the grade of your ACL tear, your capacity to put weight on your knee and range of motion will be impacted. However serious your injury, trust in the Campbellton, MO licensed physical therapists of Axes to help you attain a complete recovery.

Causes of an ACL Tear | Campbellton, MO Physical Therapy

There are as many as 250,000 ACL injuries nationwide every year, and it is one of the most frequent knee injuries and sports injuries. They are common in contact sports that call for frequent and fast cutting and changing directions, such as football, baseball, soccer, and basketball. According to data from the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, the vast majority of ACL tears happen in non-contact injuries, such as changing direction quickly, and the rest are caused by direct blunt force trauma. External and internal factors could both contribute to 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 awkwardly
• Being hit by something or someone
• A sudden reduction in speed or switching direction
• Swiveling with a firmly planted foot
• Suffering a direct hit to the knee

Internal Factors

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

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

ACL tears don’t just transpire in sports, falls and work-related injuries can harm 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 as a result of anatomical differences.

Symptoms of an ACL Tear | Campbellton, MO Physical Therapy

Following an ACL tear, the pain will likely be in the middle of the knee. You might not necessarily feel considerable pain after an ACL tear unless other parts of the knee were also injured. Some signs that you may have torn your ACL include:

• A “popping” sensation 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 suffered an ACL tear, it’s important to contact a physician or a licensed physical therapist in Campbellton, MO to confirm your injury and start the treatment you need to recover. We offer free, no-obligation injury screenings and have a great network of excellent physicians in Campbellton, 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 | Campbellton, MO Physical Therapy

It is essential to get prompt, effective, personalized treatment for your ACL tear. If you wait, or your treatment is ineffective, it can cause problems like obesity or osteoarthritis, which can significantly impact 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 inflammation. A doctor will then examine you, assess your range of motion, and likely order an MRI or other tests to verify 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 cannot regenerate on its own. This means that you will need the help of licensed professional physical therapists in order 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 a fully healthy ACL in order to play, patients with other significant damage 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, 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 Campbellton, MO to get you the best results for both your recovery and your surgery. Our ACL tear physical therapy experts will lead you through your recovery process with proven, customized physical therapy. As part of your treatment plan, we will:

• Mitigate pain and swelling
• Educate you on your injury and the rehab process
• Gradually and effectively allow you to put weight on your knee again
• Provide you with a brace and teach you how to safely use it
• Perform movement exercises and balance exercises to increase range of motion
• Perform strength exercises to increase strength
• Potentially utilize electrical stimulation to return strength and flexibility

When you work with the experienced Campbellton, MO area physical therapists of Axes and take an active role in your recovery, you have the greatest chance of a complete and quick recovery. 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 your knee buckling.

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

Unfortunately, many people suffer a second ACL tear and they can cause permanent repercussions. As part of our ACL tear physical therapy services in Campbellton, 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 correct form, for instance always landing with your feet directly over your knee
• Stretch consistently
• Perform balance exercises
• Perform warm-up exercises before sports or other physical activities
• Always wear appropriate footwear

Our physical therapists dedicate themselves not only to retuning you to the activities you love, but doing what we can to ensure that you can continue doing them without being interrupted by another injury.

Some of the other services we offer in Campbellton, 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 Campbellton, 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 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 create a proven, customized rehabilitation plan to return you to the football field, bowling alley, or just back to your normal, pain-free life. Contact us online or call the location are closest to you.