ACL Tear Greater Crystal City, MO. ACL tears have a tremendous effect on 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 Crystal City, MO, we have devoted 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 tailored, evidence-based treatment plans. If you’ve sustained an ACL tear, or any other injury, in Crystal City, MO, contact us online or check out the most convenient Axes location for you. We focus on getting every patient positive results and getting you back to what’s most important to you, whether that means running the bases in your local Crystal City, MO league, or picking up your grandchildren without any pain.

The Anterior Cruciate Ligament | Crystal City, MO Physical Therapy

Ligaments are bands found in joints made of tough, flexible connective tissue that connect two bones. The ligaments in the knee work to 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 movement of your knee, and the ACL prevents the tibia from moving too far forward on the femur and provides stability when the knee rotates.

Most ACL tears are partial, but they can be completely torn as well. Depending on the grade of your ACL tear, your capacity to bear weight and range of motion will be reduced. Regardless of how significant your injury, trust in the Crystal City, MO licensed physical therapists of Axes to help you fully heal.

Why an ACL Tear Happens | Crystal City, MO Physical Therapy

There are up to 250,000 ACL injuries nationwide 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 the most likely to get ACL tears. According to the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, 70% of ACL tears occur in non-contact injuries, such as changing direction 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 coordination is interrupted just before the injury. Some examples are:

• Landing on uneven footing or landing awkwardly
• Something or someone knocking into you
• Suddenly decelerating or switching direction
• Spinning with a firmly planted foot
• Suffering a direct hit to the knee

Internal Factors

These have to do with the structure and anatomy of the body. Some examples are:

• The differences in anatomy between men and women
• Flexibility of the hamstring
• Differences in genetics

ACL tears don’t just occur in sports, falls and work-related injuries can hurt they ACL as well. They can become more common as we age and our bodies weaken. Women are 4-6 times more likely to suffer an ACL tear, likely as a result of anatomical differences.

Symptoms of an ACL Tear | Crystal City, MO Physical Therapy

Following an ACL tear, the pain will likely be at the center of the knee. You might not necessarily feel sever pain after an ACL tear except if other parts of the knee were also injured. Some signals that you may have torn your ACL are:

• Feeling or hearing a pop in your knee
• Inability to continue activity
• Rapid swelling
• Reduction of range of motion
• Not being able to bear weight your knee

If you suspect you’ve sustained an ACL tear, it’s critical to see a physician or a licensed physical therapist in Crystal City, MO to confirm your injury and get you the treatment you need. We offer free, no-obligation injury screenings and know many excellent doctors in Crystal City, MO that we can connect you with. Your Axes physical or occupational therapist is an indispensable 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 | Crystal City, 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 lead to complications like obesity or osteoarthritis, which can significantly impact your quality of life.

In the minutes after your ACL tear, it’s best to use over-the-counter pain medication and the R.I.C.E. method to mitigate pain and swelling. In an examination, a doctor will assess your mobility, and likely order an MRI to confirm the ACL tear and judge the severity of the injury.

Because blood does not flow to ligaments, a complete ACL tear will not be able to regenerate on its own. 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 the best option for younger people, athletes who need their knee reconstructed in order to perform, patients with other significant injury to other parts of their knee, or those whose ACL tear causes pain or weakness when performing 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 in place, your journey back to normalcy and the activities you love is still a long way from over. After surgery, you’ll probably 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 Crystal City, 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 a personalized treatment plan that has been demonstrated 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 effectively 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
• Do strength exercises to increase strength
• Potentially use 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 licensed Crystal City, 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 the ability to climb stairs without feeling any instability in your knee.

How to Prevent an ACL Tear | Crystal City, MO Physical Therapy

Unfortunately, second ACL tears are common and they can cause life-long consequences. Included in your treatment program in Crystal City, MO, our Certified Athletic Trainers will help you understand the best practices that help to avoid another ACL tear down the road. We recommend some of the following steps to prevent further injury:

• Having a strong core
• Having strong hip and leg muscles
• Practice correct technique, for example keeping knees shoulder width apart while landing
• Maintain flexibility
• Increase your balance
• 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 activities you love, but doing everything possible to ensure that you can carry on doing them without being disrupted by another injury.

Some of the other services we offer in Crystal City, 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 Crystal City, MO | Axes Physical Therapy

It is normal to be nervous about your prognosis and road to recovery after suffering a severe injury. 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 knowledgeable professionals of Axes Physical Therapy to work in concert with you to create a proven, customized physical therapy plan to get you back to the basketball court, gymnasts’ mat, or just back to your normal, pain-free daily activities. Contact us online or call the location are closest to you.