ACL Tear Greater Femme Osage, MO. ACL tears have a tremendous effect on 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 to work again. At Axes Physical Therapy in Femme Osage, MO, we have dedicated our practice to restoring our patients’ mobility and returning them to the activities they love. Our ACL tear rehabilitation specialists work in tandem with you as a team and create customize treatments plans that have been empirically proven to be effective. If you’ve suffered an ACL tear, or any other injury, in Femme Osage, 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 the things that matter most to you, whether that means dominating your local Femme Osage, MO pickleball league, or carrying your children on your shoulders without any pain.

The Anterior Cruciate Ligament | Femme Osage, MO Physical Therapy

Ligaments are bands found in joints made of tough, flexible fibrous tissue that attach two bones. The ligaments in the knee work to keep your knee stable by affixing 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 in tandem to stabilize the forward and backward movement of your knee, and the ACL safeguards the tibia from sliding too far forward on the femur and supplies stability when the joint rotates.

Most ACL tears are partial, but they can be completely torn as well. Depending on the grade of your ACL tear, your ability to put weight on your knee and your motion will be affected. However significant your injury, trust in the Femme Osage, MO licensed physical therapists of Axes to help you fully recover.

Causes of an ACL Tear | Femme Osage, 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 frequent knee injuries and sports injuries. They are common in contact sports that require frequent and rapid cutting and changing directions, such as football, baseball, soccer, and basketball. According to data from the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, almost three-quarters 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 contribute to an ACL tear:

External Factors

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

• Landing on uneven footing or landing awkwardly
• Colliding with something or someone
• A sudden reduction in speed or changing direction
• Swiveling with a firmly planted foot
• Receiving a direct blow to the knee

Internal Factors

These concern the structure and anatomy of the body. Examples include:

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

While many ACL tears transpire in sports, they are also common in falls and work-related injuries. 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 due to anatomical differences.

Symptoms of an ACL Tear | Femme Osage, MO Physical Therapy

Following an ACL tear, the pain will likely be in the middle of the knee. An ACL tear does not always cause sever pain unless other constructive damage was done to the knee. Some indicators that you might have torn your ACL include:

• A “popping” sensation or sound in your knee
• Not being able to continue activity
• Rapid swelling
• Loss of range of motion
• Not being able to put any weight on your knee

If you suspect you’ve suffered an ACL tear, it’s imperative to contact a physician or a licensed physical therapist in Femme Osage, MO to verify your injury and start the treatment you need to recover. We offer free, no-obligation injury screenings and have a great network of excellent doctors in Femme Osage, MO that we can connect you with. Your Axes physical or occupational therapist is an integral 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 | Femme Osage, MO Physical Therapy

It is essential to get prompt, effective, personalized treatment for your ACL tear. If you wait, or your treatment is ineffective, it can result in problems such as obesity or osteoarthritis, which can significantly impact you for the remainder of your life.

Immediately 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 inflammation. A doctor will then examine you, evaluate your mobility, and likely order an MRI or other tests to confirm the ACL tear and gauge the completeness and grade of your tear.

As there is no blood flow to the ligament, a complete ACL tear cannot heal 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. 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 other parts of 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 torn 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 Femme Osage, MO to optimize your recovery and the success of your operation. Our ACL tear physical therapy specialists will lead you through 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 effectively allow you to put weight on your knee again
• Provide you with a brace and teach you how to safely use it
• Do movement exercises and balance exercises to increase range of motion
• Do strength exercises to increase strength
• Possibly employ electrical stimulation to return strength and flexibility

When you work with the knowledgeable Femme Osage, MO area physical therapists of Axes and take an active role in your rehabilitation, you have the greatest chance of a complete and quick recovery. Before you know it, we will return you to tearing up the local pick-up league, or just enjoying the ability to sit down and stand up without feeling any instability in your knee.

How to Prevent an ACL Tear | Femme Osage, MO Physical Therapy

Unfortunately, many people sustain a second ACL tear and they can have life-long repercussions. Included in your treatment program in Femme Osage, MO, our Certified Athletic Trainers will help you understand the best practices that help to avoid another ACL tear down the road. 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 example keeping knees shoulder width apart while landing
• Stretch consistently
• Increase your balance
• Perform warm-up exercises 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 things you love to do, but doing what we can to ensure that you stay off the sidelines.

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

It is normal to experience anxieties about your what your life will look like in the future after being seriously injured. 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 experienced professionals of Axes Physical Therapy to work with you to produce a proven, customized rehabilitation plan to get you back 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.