ACL Tear Greater Eureka, MO. ACL tears have a tremendous effect on your active routine and daily life. One instant you’re running down the field, engaging in your favorite sport or playing with your children, 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 Eureka, 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 concert with you as a team and develop customize treatments plans that have been empirically proven to be effective. If you’ve suffered an ACL tear, or any other injury, in Eureka, 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 breaking defender’s ankles on a Eureka, MO basketball court, or carrying your children on your shoulders without any pain.
The Anterior Cruciate Ligament | Eureka, MO Physical Therapy
Ligaments are bands found in joints made of tough, flexible fibrous tissue that affix two bones. The ligaments in the knee help maintain stability in your knee by attaching your tibia (shinbone) to your femur (thigh bone). The ACL, or anterior cruciate ligament, runs down the center of your knee and forms an “X” with the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL). The ACL and PCL work together to stabilize the front and back motion of your knee, and the ACL impedes the tibia from slipping too far forward on the femur and provides rotational stability.
Most ACL tears are partial, but they can be completely torn as well. Depending on the grade of your ACL tear, your capacity to put weight on your knee and your movement will be affected. Regardless of how severe your injury, trust in the Eureka, MO licensed physical therapists of Axes to help you fully heal.
Why an ACL Tear Happens | Eureka, 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, almost three-quarters of ACL tears occur in non-contact injuries, such as cutting rapidly, and the rest are because of direct blunt force trauma. External and internal factors could both contribute to an ACL tear:
External Factors
These are when your movement is interrupted just before the injury. Some examples are:
- Landing on uneven footing or landing with improper form
- Something or someone bumping into you
- A sudden reduction in speed or changing direction
- Pivoting with a firmly planted foot
- Sustaining a direct hit to the knee
Internal Factors
These are related to the structure and anatomy of the knee and legs. Some examples are:
- 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 happen in sports, falls and work-related injuries can hurt 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 because of anatomical differences.
Symptoms of an ACL Tear | Eureka, MO Physical Therapy
Following an ACL tear, you’ll likely feel pain 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 might have sustained an ACL tear are:
- A “popping” sensation or sound 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 suffered an ACL tear, it’s necessary to see a physician or a licensed physical therapist in Eureka, MO to diagnose your injury and get you the treatment you need. We offer no-cost, no strings attached injury screenings and know many trusted doctors in Eureka, MO that we can connect you with. 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.
ACL Tear Treatments | Eureka, MO Physical Therapy
It is important to get effective and personalized treatment soon after your ACL tear. If you don’t, it can lead to health conditions such as obesity or osteoarthritis, which can greatly affect how you live your life.
Directly following your ACL tear, it’s best to use over-the-counter pain medication and the R.I.C.E. method to mitigate pain and inflammation. A doctor will then examine you, assess your mobility, and likely order an MRI or other tests to confirm the ACL tear and judge the extent of the injury.
Because ligaments do not receive blood flow, 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 return to the activities you love. The only way to fully repair an ACL tear is through surgery. So, surgery is often recommended for younger people, athletes who need a fully healthy ACL in order to perform, patients whose ACL tears were accompanied by other serious damage 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, you still have a long way to go before you’ll feel fully back to normal. After surgery, you’ll probably need crutches to move around, as your quadriceps muscles will have weakened. Axes Physical Therapy offers both pre- and post-surgical rehabilitation for ACL tears in Eureka, MO to optimize your recovery and the success of your operation. Our ACL tear physical therapy experts will guide you through 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 successfully get you back to bearing weight
- Provide you with a brace and teach you how to safely use it
- Perform movement exercises and balance exercises to increase mobility
- 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 Eureka, MO area physical therapists of Axes. Before you know it, we will return you to tearing up the local softball league, or just enjoying being able to to climb stairs without feeling any instability in your knee.
How to Prevent an ACL Tear | Eureka, MO Physical Therapy
Unfortunately, second ACL tears are common and they can lead to life-long consequences. As part of our ACL tear physical therapy services in Eureka, MO, our Certified Athletic Trainers will educate you on how to avoid another ACL tear later on. We recommend some of the following steps to prevent further injury:
- Strengthen your core
- Strengthen your 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
- Always wear appropriate footwear
Our physical therapists committed themselves not only to getting you back to the activities you love, but doing what we can to ensure that you stay off the sidelines.
Some of the other services we offer in Eureka, MO are:
ACL Tear in Eureka, MO | Axes Physical Therapy
It is normal to be anxious about your your 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 implement a proven, tailor-made rehabilitation plan to return you to the football field, bowling alley, or just back to your normal, pain-free life. Contact us online or call the location are closest to you.
