ACL Tear Greater Country Life Acres, MO. ACL tears can unexpectedly upset your active and daily routine. One instant you’re flying down the court, engaging in your favorite sport or having fun with your kids, and the next instant you’re thinking about whether you’ll get to play or even go to work again. At Axes Physical Therapy in Country Life Acres, 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 tandem 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 Country Life Acres, MO, contact us online or check out 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 burning corners in your local Country Life Acres, MO flag football league, or picking up your grandchildren without any pain.

What is the ACL? | Country Life Acres, 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 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 concert to control the front and back motion of your knee, and the ACL safeguards the tibia from gliding too far forward on the femur and supplies stability when the joint rotates.

Most ACL tears are partial, but they can be completely torn as well. Depending on the grade of your ACL tear, your ability to put weight on your knee and your movement will be affected. However significant your injury, trust in the Country Life Acres, MO licensed physical therapists of Axes to help you fully recover.

Why an ACL Tear Happens | Country Life Acres, MO Physical Therapy

There are as many as 250,000 ACL injuries in the United States each year, and it is one of the most frequent knee injuries and sports injuries. They are common in contact sports that demand 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 occur in non-contact injuries, such as cutting quickly, and the rest are the result of 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 motion is interrupted immediately before the injury. Some examples are:

• Landing on uneven ground or landing awkwardly
• Something or someone knocking into you
• Instantly decelerating or changing direction
• Pivoting with a firmly planted foot
• Sustaining 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
• Flexibility of the hamstring
• Differences in genetics

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 because of anatomical differences.

Symptoms of an ACL Tear | Country Life Acres, 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 except if other parts of the knee were also injured. Some indicators that you may have sustained an ACL tear are:

• A “popping” sensation in your knee
• Having to cease activity
• Rapid swelling
• Loss of range of motion
• Not being able to put any weight on your knee

If you suspect you’ve sustained an ACL tear, it’s necessary to visit a physician or a licensed physical therapist in Country Life Acres, MO to verify your injury and get you the treatment you need. We offer no-cost, no strings attached injury screenings and know many trusted physicians in Country Life Acres, MO that we can connect you with. Your Axes physical or occupational therapist is a fundamental part of your recovery team, working closely with you and your doctors and medical providers to collaborate on your safe and efficient recovery.

How to Treat an ACL Tear | Country Life Acres, MO Physical Therapy

It is vital to get effective and personalized treatment soon after your ACL tear. If your injury does not heal don’t, it can lead to health conditions like obesity or osteoarthritis, which can significantly impact how you live 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 mitigate pain and inflammation. In an examination, a doctor will assess your range of motion, and likely order an MRI to verify the ACL tear and evaluate the severity of the injury.

Because ligaments do not receive blood flow, a complete ACL tear cannot heal by itself. 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 necessary for younger people, athletes who need their knee reconstructed in order to perform, patients with other serious damage to other parts of their knee, or those whose ACL tear causes their knee to buckle in basic, everyday tasks. 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 Country Life Acres, MO to get you a positive outcome for both your physical rehabilitation and your operation. Our ACL tear physical therapy professionals will be by your side throughout 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 successfully 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 increase range of motion
• Do strength exercises to increase strength
• Possibly employ electrical stimulation to return strength and flexibility

You have the best chance for a full recovery by actively participating in it and trusting the expert Country Life Acres, MO area physical therapists of Axes. Before you know it, we will return you to tearing up the local softball league, or just enjoying the ability to sit down and stand up without your knee buckling.

How to Prevent an ACL Tear | Country Life Acres, MO Physical Therapy

Unfortunately, many people sustain a second ACL tear and they can have life-long repercussions. As part of our ACL tear physical therapy services in Country Life Acres, 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:

• Strengthen your core
• Having strong hip and leg muscles
• Practice correct technique, for example keeping knees shoulder width apart while landing
• Stretch consistently
• Perform balance exercises
• Perform warm-up exercises before sports or other physical activities
• Make sure you are using appropriate footwear

Our physical therapists dedicate themselves not only to getting you back to the things you love to do, but doing everything possible to make certain that you stay off the sidelines.

Some of the other services we offer in Country Life Acres, 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 Country Life Acres, MO | Axes Physical Therapy

It is normal to be anxious about your your future 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 knowledgeable professionals of Axes Physical Therapy to work alongside you to implement a proven, customized physical therapy plan to get you back to the football field, bowling alley, or just back to your normal, pain-free daily activities. Contact us online or call the location are closest to you.