ACL Tear Greater Crestwood, MO. ACL tears can suddenly disrupt your active and daily routine. One instant you’re sprinting down the court, competing in your favorite sport or having fun with your children, 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 Crestwood, MO, we have dedicated 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 with you as a team and put in place personalized treatments plans that have been empirically proven to be effective. If you’ve suffered an ACL tear, or any other injury, in Crestwood, MO, contact us online or check out the most convenient Axes location for you. We focus on getting every patient a positive outcome and getting you back to the things that matter most to you, whether that means running the bases in your local Crestwood, MO league, or picking up your grandchildren without any pain.

The Anterior Cruciate Ligament | Crestwood, MO Physical Therapy

Ligaments are bands found in joints made of tough, flexible fibrous tissue that connect two bones. The ligaments in the knee work to maintain stability in your knee by attaching 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 slipping too far forward on the femur and provides rotational stability.

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. No Matter how severe your injury, trust in the Crestwood, MO licensed physical therapists of Axes to help you fully heal.

Causes of an ACL Tear | Crestwood, 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 common knee injuries and sports injuries. They are common in contact sports that call for frequent and rapid cutting and switching directions, such as football, baseball, soccer, and basketball. According to the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, the vast majority of ACL tears happen in non-contact injuries, such as cutting rapidly, and the rest are the result of 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 interrupted immediately before the injury. Some examples are:

• Landing on uneven footing or landing with improper form
• Colliding with something or someone
• A sudden reduction in speed or switching direction
• Swiveling with a firmly planted foot
• Suffering a direct blow to the knee

Internal Factors

These have to do with 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

ACL tears don’t just transpire 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 | Crestwood, MO Physical Therapy

When you sustain an ACL tear, you’ll likely feel pain at the center of the knee. You might not necessarily feel significant pain after an ACL tear except if other constructive damage was done to the knee. Some indicators that you may have torn your ACL are:

• Feeling or hearing a pop in your knee
• Inability to continue activity
• Your knee becoming inflamed quickly
• Loss of range of motion
• Not being able to bear weight your knee

If you suspect you’ve sustained an ACL tear, it’s vital to see a physician or a licensed physical therapist in Crestwood, MO to diagnose your injury and start the treatment you need to recover. We offer no-cost, no strings attached injury screenings and have a great network of trusted physicians in Crestwood, MO that we can refer you to. 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.

How to Treat an ACL Tear | Crestwood, MO Physical Therapy

It is imperative to get effective and personalized treatment soon after your ACL tear. If you delay, or your treatment is ineffective, it can result in health conditions such as obesity or osteoarthritis, which can greatly affect how you live your life.

Immediately 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 gauge the severity of the injury.

As there is no blood flow to the ligament, a complete ACL tear will not be able to 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 advisable for younger people, athletes who need their knee reconstructed in order to perform, patients whose ACL tears were accompanied by other serious damage to other parts of their knee, or those whose ACL tear causes their knee to buckle in 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, you still have a long way to go before you’ll feel fully back to normal. After surgery, you’ll likely 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 Crestwood, MO to get you the best results for both your recovery and your surgery. Our ACL tear physical therapy professionals will guide you through your recovery process with a personalized treatment plan that has been proven to work. Our treatment methods will help to:

• Reduce pain and swelling
• Provide patient education so you understand your injury and why our methods work
• Gradually and successfully get you back to bearing weight
• Fit you for a brace and teach you how to safely use it
• Perform movement exercises and balance exercises to return mobility
• Perform strength exercises to increase strength
• Possibly implement 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 Crestwood, MO area physical therapists of Axes. Before you know it, we will return you to tearing up the local pick-up league, or just enjoying being able to to climb stairs without any pain.

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

Unfortunately, many people suffer a second ACL tear and they can have permanent consequences. As part of our ACL tear physical therapy services in Crestwood, MO, our Certified Athletic Trainers will help you understand the best practices that help 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 correct technique, for instance landing evenly on both feet
• Maintain flexibility
• Increase your balance
• Perform warm-up exercises before sports or other physical activities
• Make sure you are using appropriate footwear

Our physical therapists devote themselves not only to retuning you to the activities you love, but doing everything possible to ensure that you stay off the sidelines.

Some of the other services we offer in Crestwood, 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 Crestwood, 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 with you to design a proven, tailor-made rehabilitation plan to return you 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.