ACL Tear Greater Earth City, MO. ACL tears have a tremendous effect on your active routine and daily life. One moment you’re running down the court, competing in your favorite sport or having fun with your kids, and the next moment you’re don’t know if you’ll get to play or even go to work again. At Axes Physical Therapy in Earth City, 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 in tandem with you as a team and put in place personalized, evidence-based treatment plans. If you’ve suffered an ACL tear, or any other injury, in Earth City, MO, contact us online or check out the most convenient Axes location for you. Our priority is getting every patient positive results and getting you back to the things that matter most to you, whether that means dominating your local Earth City, MO pickleball league, or carrying your children on your shoulders without any pain.

What is the ACL? | Earth City, MO Physical Therapy

Ligaments are bands found in joints made of durable, flexible fibrous 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 together to control the front and back movement of your knee, and the ACL impedes the tibia from sliding too far forward on the femur and supplies rotational stability.

ACL tears can be either partial or complete. Depending on the grade of your ACL tear, your capacity to bear weight and your movement will be affected. Regardless of how serious your injury, trust in the Earth City, MO licensed physical therapists of Axes to help you attain a complete recovery.

Causes of an ACL Tear | Earth City, 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 common knee injuries and sports injuries. Athletes who play contact sports and/or sports where there is a lot of cutting and changing direction are at high risk for ACL tears. According to data from the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, 70% of ACL tears occur in non-contact injuries, such as cutting quickly, and the rest are because of direct blunt force trauma. 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 ground or landing with improper form
• Colliding with something or someone
• A sudden reduction in speed or switching direction
• Spinning with a firmly planted foot
• Sustaining a direct blow to the knee

Internal Factors

These have to do with the structure and anatomy of the body. 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 occur in sports, falls and work-related injuries can harm they ACL too. 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 | Earth City, 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 significant pain unless other parts of the knee were also injured. Some signs that you might have torn your ACL are:

• A “popping” sensation in your knee
• Having to cease activity
• Your knee becoming inflamed quickly
• Reduction of range of motion
• Instability when bearing weight

If you think you’ve sustained an ACL tear, it’s imperative to visit a physician or a licensed physical therapist in Earth City, MO to diagnose your injury and start the treatment you need to recover. We offer complimentary, no-obligation injury screenings and have a great network of trusted physicians in Earth City, MO that we can refer you to. 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.

How to Treat an ACL Tear | Earth City, MO Physical Therapy

It is important to get prompt, effective, personalized treatment for your ACL tear. If you don’t, it can cause complications like obesity or osteoarthritis, which can significantly impact you for the remainder of 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, evaluate your mobility, and likely order an MRI to confirm the ACL tear and assess 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. 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 with other significant injury to their knee, or those whose ACL tear causes their knee to buckle in basic, everyday tasks. 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, 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 Earth City, MO to get you a positive outcome for both your recovery and your surgery. Our ACL tear physical therapy experts will be by your side throughout your recovery process with proven, customized physical therapy. 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 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 return mobility
• Perform 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 professional Earth City, 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 your knee buckling.

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

Unfortunately, many people suffer a second ACL tear and they can cause life-long consequences. As part of our ACL tear physical therapy services in Earth City, MO, our Certified Athletic Trainers will help you understand the best practices that help to avoid another ACL tear down the line. Some of the preventive methods you can take in order to prevent further injury are:

• Having a strong core
• Strengthen your hip and leg muscles
• Practice correct form, for example landing evenly on both feet
• Stretch consistently
• Perform balance exercises
• Always warm up before sports or other physical activities
• Always wear appropriate footwear

Our physical therapists dedicate themselves not only to retuning you to the activities you love, but doing what we can to make certain that you stay off the sidelines.

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

It is normal to be nervous 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 knowledgeable professionals of Axes Physical Therapy to work in concert with you to design a proven, personalized rehabilitation plan to return you 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.