ACL Tear Greater Ferguson, MO. ACL tears can unexpectedly disrupt 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 Ferguson, 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 in concert with you as a team and design personalized treatments plans that have been empirically proven to be effective. If you’ve suffered an ACL tear, or any other injury, in Ferguson, MO, contact us online or find the most convenient Axes location for you. We focus on getting every patient a positive outcome and getting you back to what’s most important to you, whether that means burning corners in your local Ferguson, MO flag football league, or picking up your grandchildren without any pain.

What is the ACL? | Ferguson, MO Physical Therapy

Ligaments are bands found in joints made of durable, flexible connective tissue that affix two bones. The ligaments in the knee work to maintain stability in your knee by connecting 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 control the front and back movement of your knee, and the ACL shields the tibia from sliding too far forward on the femur and supplies stability when the joint rotates.

ACL tears can be either partial or complete. Depending on the grade of your ACL tear, your capacity to put weight on your knee and range of motion will be lowered. No Matter how severe your injury, trust in the Ferguson, MO licensed physical therapists of Axes to help you achieve a complete recovery.

Why an ACL Tear Happens | Ferguson, MO Physical Therapy

There are as many as 250,000 ACL injuries in the United States annually, and it is one of the most common 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 happen in non-contact injuries, such as cutting rapidly, and the rest are caused by direct blows to the knee. External and internal factors could both be at play when you sustain 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
• Colliding with something or someone
• A sudden reduction in speed or switching direction
• Pivoting 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. Some examples are:

• The anatomical differences between men and women
• How flexible the hamstring and other surrounding muscles are
• Genetic variations

While many ACL tears occur in sports, they are also common in falls and work-related injuries. 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 | Ferguson, MO Physical Therapy

Following an ACL tear, you’ll likely feel pain in the middle of the knee. You might not necessarily feel significant pain after an ACL tear except if other parts of the knee were also injured. Some signals that you might have torn your ACL include:

• 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 put any weight on your knee

If you suspect you’ve sustained an ACL tear, it’s necessary to visit a physician or a licensed physical therapist in Ferguson, MO to confirm your injury and start the treatment you need to recover. We offer complimentary, no-obligation injury screenings and have a wide network of trusted physicians in Ferguson, 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.

ACL Tear Treatments | Ferguson, MO Physical Therapy

It is important to get prompt, effective, personalized treatment for your ACL tear. If you delay, or your treatment is ineffective, it can result in problems like obesity or osteoarthritis, which can greatly affect 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 alleviate pain and swelling. A doctor will then examine you, assess your mobility, and likely order an MRI to verify the ACL tear and assess the completeness and grade of your tear.

As there is no blood flow to the ligament, 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. 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 other parts of their knee, or those whose ACL tear causes pain or weakness when performing 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 weaken from disuse. Axes Physical Therapy offers both pre- and post-surgical rehabilitation for ACL tears in Ferguson, MO to optimize your recovery and the success of your surgery. Our ACL tear physical therapy experts will lead 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
• Educate you on your injury and the rehab process
• 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
• Do strength exercises to return you to full strength
• Potentially employ electrical stimulation to return strength and flexibility

When you work with the knowledgeable Ferguson, MO area physical therapists of Axes and take an active role in your rehabilitation, you have the greatest chance of a complete and efficient recovery. 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 any pain.

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

Unfortunately, second ACL tears are common and they can result in permanent consequences. Included in your treatment program in Ferguson, MO, our Certified Athletic Trainers will educate you on how to avoid another ACL tear down the road. We recommend some of the following steps to prevent further injury:

• Having a strong core
• Strengthen your hip and leg muscles
• Practice proper technique, for instance landing evenly on both feet
• Maintain flexibility
• Perform balance exercises
• Always warm up before sports or other physical activities
• Always wear appropriate footwear

Our physical therapists committed themselves not only to retuning you to the things you love to do, but doing what we can to make certain that you can carry on doing them without being upended by another injury.

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

It is normal to be apprehensive about your your future after suffering a severe injury. 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 in concert with you to implement a proven, customized rehabilitation plan to return you to the basketball court, gymnasts’ mat, or just back to your normal, pain-free life. Contact us online or call the location are closest to you.