ACL Tear Greater Concord, MO. ACL tears can unexpectedly obstruct 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 Concord, 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 put in place customize treatments plans that have been empirically proven to be effective. If you’ve sustained an ACL tear, or any other injury, in Concord, MO, contact us online or find the most convenient Axes location for you. We focus on getting every patient great results and getting you back to what’s most important to you, whether that means breaking defender’s ankles on a Concord, MO basketball court, or picking up your grandchildren without any pain.

The Anterior Cruciate Ligament | Concord, MO Physical Therapy

Ligaments are bands found in joints made of tough, pliable fibrous tissue that attach two bones. The ligaments in the knee help maintain stability in your knee by connecting 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 in concert to control the front and back movement of your knee, and the ACL safeguards the tibia from gliding too far forward on the femur and provides stability when the knee rotates.

ACL tears can be either partial or complete. Depending on the grade of your ACL tear, your capacity to bear weight and range of motion will be lowered. No Matter how severe your injury, trust in the Concord, MO licensed physical therapists of Axes to help you accomplish a complete recovery.

Why an ACL Tear Happens | Concord, MO Physical Therapy

There are up to 250,000 ACL injuries nationwide annually, and it is one of the most common knee injuries and sports injuries. They are common in contact sports that entail frequent and rapid cutting and switching directions, such as football, baseball, soccer, and basketball. According to data from the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, almost three-quarters of ACL tears happen in non-contact injuries, such as cutting rapidly, and the rest are due to direct blunt force trauma. External and internal factors could both be at play when you sustain an ACL tear:

External Factors

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

• Landing on uneven footing or landing with improper form
• Something or someone knocking into you
• A sudden reduction in speed or changing direction
• Pivoting with a firmly planted foot
• Receiving a direct blow 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 happen 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 sustain an ACL tear, likely as a result of anatomical differences.

Symptoms of an ACL Tear | Concord, 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 except if other constructive damage was done to the knee. Some indicators that you may have sustained an ACL tear include:

• Feeling or hearing a pop in your knee
• Having to cease activity
• Your knee becoming inflamed quickly
• Loss of range of motion
• Instability when putting weight on your knee

If you think you’ve sustained an ACL tear, it’s imperative to visit a physician or a licensed physical therapist in Concord, MO to confirm your injury and start the treatment you need to recover. We offer no-cost, no-obligation injury screenings and work with many trusted doctors in Concord, MO that we can connect you with. 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.

ACL Tear Treatments | Concord, MO Physical Therapy

It is important to get effective and personalized treatment soon after your ACL tear. If you delay, or your treatment is ineffective, it can lead to problems like obesity or osteoarthritis, which can significantly impact 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 to verify the ACL tear and gauge 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. 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 functioning ACL in order to play, patients whose ACL tears were accompanied by other serious damage to other parts of their knee, or those whose ACL tear causes pain or weakness when carrying out basic, everyday tasks. 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 in place, you still have a long way to go before you’ll feel fully back to normal. After surgery, you’ll probably need crutches to move around, as your quadriceps muscles will weaken from disuse. Axes Physical Therapy offers both pre- and post-surgical rehabilitation for ACL tears in Concord, MO to optimize your recovery and the success of your surgery. Our ACL tear physical therapy professionals will be by your side throughout your recovery process with a personalized treatment plan that has been demonstrated to work. Our treatment methods will help to:

• Reduce pain and swelling
• Educate you on your injury and the rehab process
• 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
• Perform strength exercises to return you to full strength
• Potentially utilize 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 professional Concord, MO area physical therapists of Axes. 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 feeling any instability in your knee.

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

Unfortunately, many people suffer a second ACL tear and they can result in life-long consequences. Included in your treatment program in Concord, 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
• Having strong hip and leg muscles
• Practice correct form, for instance landing evenly on both feet
• Maintain flexibility
• Perform balance exercises
• Perform warm-up exercises before sports or other physical activities
• Always wear appropriate footwear

Our physical therapists committed themselves not only to retuning you to the things you love to do, but doing everything possible to make certain that you can continue doing them without being interrupted by another injury.

Some of the other services we offer in Concord, MO are:

• Back Pain Treatment
• 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

ACL Tear in Concord, MO | Axes Physical Therapy

It is normal to be nervous about your prognosis and road to recovery 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 design a proven, customized physical therapy plan to get you back to the football field, gymnasts’ mat, or just back to your normal, pain-free life. Contact us online or call the location are closest to you.