ACL Tear Greater Dellwood, MO. ACL tears can abruptly disrupt your active routine and daily life. 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 Dellwood, MO, we have committed 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 suffered an ACL tear, or any other injury, in Dellwood, MO, contact us online or check out the most convenient Axes location for you. We dedicate ourselves to getting every patient great results and getting you back to what’s most important to you, whether that means burning corners in your local Dellwood, MO flag football league, or picking up your grandchildren without any pain.

The Anterior Cruciate Ligament | Dellwood, MO Physical Therapy

Ligaments are bands found in joints made of tough, pliable connective tissue that connect 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 tandem to stabilize the front and back movement of your knee, and the ACL prevents the tibia from slipping 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 your motion will be affected. No Matter how significant your injury, trust in the Dellwood, MO licensed physical therapists of Axes to help you accomplish a complete recovery.

Causes of an ACL Tear | Dellwood, MO Physical Therapy

There are as many as 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 the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, 70% of ACL tears happen in non-contact injuries, such as cutting quickly, and the rest are due to direct blunt force trauma. External and internal factors could both contribute to an ACL tear:

External Factors

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

• Landing on uneven ground or landing awkwardly
• Something or someone knocking into you
• A sudden reduction in speed or switching direction
• Pivoting with a firmly planted foot
• Receiving a direct blow to the knee

Internal Factors

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

• The anatomical differences between men and women
• Flexibility of the hamstring
• Genetic differences

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

Symptoms of an ACL Tear | Dellwood, MO Physical Therapy

After an ACL tear, the pain will likely be at the center of the knee. You might not necessarily feel significant pain after an ACL tear unless other structural damage was done to the knee. Some signs that you might have torn your ACL are:

• Feeling or hearing a pop in your knee
• Having to cease activity
• Rapid swelling
• Loss of range of motion
• Not being able to bear weight your knee

If you suspect you’ve suffered an ACL tear, it’s crucial to see a physician or a licensed physical therapist in Dellwood, MO to confirm your injury and get you the treatment you need. We offer complimentary, no strings attached injury screenings and know many trusted physicians in Dellwood, MO that we can refer you to. Your Axes physical or occupational therapist, your doctor and medical providers, and you will join forces and work together to ensure your recovery is safe and efficient.

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

It is vital to get prompt, effective, personalized treatment for your ACL tear. If you don’t, it can result in problems such as obesity or osteoarthritis, which can greatly affect your quality of life.

Directly following 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 or other tests to verify the ACL tear and gauge the completeness and grade of your tear.

Because ligaments do not receive blood flow, a complete ACL tear will not be able to regenerate by itself. That is why the aid of a licensed professional physical therapist is necessary to return 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 a fully healthy ACL in order to play, patients with other serious injury to 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 attached, 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 Dellwood, MO to get you a positive outcome for both your recovery and your surgery. Our ACL tear physical therapy specialists will be by your side throughout your recovery process with a personalized treatment plan that has been proven to work. 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
• Do strength exercises to increase strength
• Possibly use electrical stimulation as a supplement to the exercises

When you work with the experienced Dellwood, 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 get you back to tearing up the local pickleball league, or just enjoying the ability to climb stairs without feeling any instability in your knee.

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

Unfortunately, second ACL tears are common and they can lead to life-long repercussions. Included in your treatment program in Dellwood, 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:

• Having a strong core
• Having strong hip and leg muscles
• Practice correct form, for instance landing evenly on both feet
• Stretch consistently
• 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 getting you back to the activities you love, but doing everything possible to make certain that you stay off the sidelines.

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

It is normal to be anxious 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 with you to design a proven, tailor-made physical therapy 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.