ACL Tear Greater Cedar Hill, MO. ACL tears have a tremendous effect on your active and daily routine. One second you’re flying down the field, engaging in your favorite sport or playing with your children, and the next second you’re wondering if you’ll get to play or even go back to your job again. At Axes Physical Therapy in Cedar Hill, 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 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 Cedar Hill, MO, contact us online or check out the most convenient Axes location for you. Our priority is getting every patient positive results and getting you back to the things that matter most to you, whether that means running the bases in your local Cedar Hill, MO league, or picking up your grandchildren without any pain.
What is the ACL? | Cedar Hill, MO Physical Therapy
Ligaments are bands found in joints made of tough, flexible fibrous tissue that affix two bones. The ligaments in the knee work to 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 control the front and back motion of your knee, and the ACL prevents 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 put weight on your knee and your movement will be affected. Regardless of how significant your injury, trust in the Cedar Hill, MO licensed physical therapists of Axes to help you fully recover.
Causes of an ACL Tear | Cedar Hill, MO Physical Therapy
There are as many as 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 at high risk for ACL tears. According to the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, the vast majority of ACL tears happen in non-contact injuries, such as cutting quickly, and the rest are caused by direct blows to the knee. External and internal factors could both contribute to an ACL tear:
External Factors
These are when your coordination is disrupted immediately before the injury. Some examples are:
- Landing on uneven footing or landing awkwardly
- Colliding with something or someone
- A sudden reduction in speed or switching direction
- Swiveling with a firmly planted foot
- Sustaining a direct hit to the knee
Internal Factors
These are related to the structure and anatomy of the knee and legs. Examples include:
- The differences in anatomy between men and women
- How flexible the hamstring and other surrounding muscles are
- Differences in genetics
While many ACL tears happen in sports, they are also common in falls and work-related injuries. The elderly are also at high risk, as our bodies degenerate as we age. Women are 4-6 times more likely to sustain an ACL tear, likely because of anatomical differences.
Symptoms of an ACL Tear | Cedar Hill, MO Physical Therapy
When you sustain an ACL tear, you’ll likely feel pain at the center of the knee. An ACL tear does not always cause significant pain except if other parts of the knee were also injured. Some indicators that you may have sustained an ACL tear include:
- A “popping” sensation in your knee
- Having to stop activity
- Your knee becoming inflamed quickly
- Loss of range of motion
- Not being able to put any weight on your knee
If you think you’ve sustained an ACL tear, it’s vital to reach out to a physician or a licensed physical therapist in Cedar Hill, MO to verify your injury and get you the treatment you need. We offer complimentary, no-obligation injury screenings and work with many excellent physicians in Cedar Hill, MO that we can connect you with. Your Axes physical or occupational therapist is an essential part of your recovery team, working closely with you and your doctors and medical providers to collaborate on your safe and efficient recovery.
ACL Tear Treatments | Cedar Hill, MO Physical Therapy
It is essential to get effective and personalized treatment soon after your ACL tear. If you wait, or your treatment is ineffective, it can result in problems such as obesity or osteoarthritis, which can greatly affect how you live your life.
Directly following your ACL tear, you should use over-the-counter pain medication and the R.I.C.E. method to reduce pain and swelling. A doctor will then examine you, evaluate your mobility, and likely order an MRI to confirm 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. This means that you will need the help of licensed professional physical therapists in order to get back 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 play, patients with other significant damage to 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 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 have weakened. Axes Physical Therapy offers both pre- and post-surgical rehabilitation for ACL tears in Cedar Hill, MO to optimize your recovery and the success of your operation. Our ACL tear physical therapy experts will work with you throughout your recovery process with proven, customized physical therapy. As part of your treatment plan, we will:
- Reduce pain and swelling
- Provide patient education so you understand your injury and why our methods work
- Gradually and effectively 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
- Possibly employ electrical stimulation as a supplement to the exercises
When you work with the experienced Cedar Hill, MO area physical therapists of Axes and take an active role in your recovery, you have the greatest chance of a complete and timely recovery. Before you know it, we will return you to dominating the local pick-up league, or just enjoying being able to to climb stairs without your knee buckling.
How to Prevent an ACL Tear | Cedar Hill, MO Physical Therapy
Unfortunately, second ACL tears are common and they can result in permanent repercussions. Included in your treatment program in Cedar Hill, 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:
- Strengthen your core
- Strengthen your hip and leg muscles
- Practice proper technique, for instance always landing with your feet directly over your knee
- Maintain flexibility
- Perform balance exercises
- 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 things you love to do, but doing what we can to make sure that you can continue doing them without being interrupted by another injury.
Some of the other services we offer in Cedar Hill, MO are:
ACL Tear in Cedar Hill, MO | Axes Physical Therapy
It is normal to be nervous about your what your life will look like in the future after being seriously injured. 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 experienced professionals of Axes Physical Therapy to work alongside you to design a proven, personalized physical therapy plan to get you back to the football field, gymnasts’ mat, or just back to your normal, pain-free daily activities. Contact us online or call the location are closest to you.
