ACL Tear Greater Foley, 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 back to your job again. At Axes Physical Therapy in Foley, MO, we have devoted 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 tailored treatments plans that have been empirically proven to be effective. If you’ve suffered an ACL tear, or any other injury, in Foley, MO, contact us online or locate the most convenient Axes location for you. We focus on getting every patient great results and getting you back to what’s most important to you, whether that means burning corners in your local Foley, MO flag football league, or picking up your grandchildren without any pain.
What is the ACL? | Foley, MO Physical Therapy
Ligaments are bands found in joints made of durable, pliable connective 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 control the front and back motion of your knee, and the ACL impedes the tibia from gliding 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 ability to bear weight and range of motion will be impacted. However serious your injury, trust in the Foley, MO licensed physical therapists of Axes to help you fully recover.
Why an ACL Tear Happens | Foley, MO Physical Therapy
There are up to 250,000 ACL injuries in the United States every year, and it is one of the most frequent 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 the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, almost three-quarters of ACL tears happen in non-contact injuries, such as changing direction quickly, 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 motion is obstructed immediately before the injury. Some examples are:
- Landing on uneven ground or landing with improper form
- Something or someone knocking into you
- A sudden reduction in speed or switching direction
- Pivoting with a firmly planted foot
- Sustaining a direct hit to the knee
Internal Factors
These concern the structure and anatomy of the knee and legs. Some examples are:
- The anatomical differences between men and women
- How flexible the hamstring and other surrounding muscles are
- Differences in genetics
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 due to anatomical differences.
Symptoms of an ACL Tear | Foley, MO Physical Therapy
When you suffer an ACL tear, you’ll likely feel pain in the middle of the knee. You might not necessarily feel considerable pain after an ACL tear unless other parts of the knee were also injured. Some signals that you might have sustained an ACL tear include:
- Feeling or hearing a pop in your knee
- Having to stop activity
- Rapid swelling
- Reduction of range of motion
- Instability when putting weight on your knee
If you think you’ve suffered an ACL tear, it’s crucial to contact a physician or a licensed physical therapist in Foley, MO to verify your injury and start the treatment you need to recover. We offer no-cost, no strings attached injury screenings and know many trusted physicians in Foley, MO that we can refer you to. 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 | Foley, MO Physical Therapy
It is imperative to get effective and personalized treatment soon after your ACL tear. If you wait, or your treatment is ineffective, it can cause problems such as obesity or osteoarthritis, which can greatly affect you for the remainder of your 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. In an examination, a doctor will assess your range of motion, and likely order an MRI or other tests to verify the ACL tear and gauge the severity of the injury.
Because ligaments do not receive blood flow, a complete ACL tear will not be able to 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 advisable for younger people, athletes who need their knee reconstructed in order to play, patients whose ACL tears were accompanied by other significant damage to their knee, or those whose ACL tear causes their knee to buckle in basic, everyday tasks. ACL surgery is typically 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 likely 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 Foley, MO to get you a positive outcome for both your recovery and your surgery. Our ACL tear physical therapy professionals will be by your side throughout your recovery process with proven, customized physical therapy. As part of your treatment plan, we will:
- Mitigate pain and swelling
- Educate you on your injury and the rehab process
- 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 range of motion
- Perform strength exercises to increase strength
- Potentially use electrical stimulation to return strength and flexibility
When you work with the experienced Foley, MO area physical therapists of Axes and take an active role in your recovery, you have the best chance of a complete and timely recovery. Before you know it, we will return you to dominating the local softball league, or just enjoying the ability to climb stairs without your knee buckling.
How to Prevent an ACL Tear | Foley, MO Physical Therapy
Unfortunately, second ACL tears are common and they can result in permanent repercussions. Included in your treatment program in Foley, MO, our Certified Athletic Trainers will educate you on how 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
- Strengthen your hip and leg muscles
- Practice proper form, for example bending at the knees and hips when turning
- Stretch consistently
- Perform balance exercises
- Always warm up before sports or other physical activities
- Always wear appropriate footwear
Our physical therapists devote themselves not only to retuning you to the things you love to do, but doing everything possible to make certain that you stay off the sidelines.
Some of the other services we offer in Foley, MO are:
- 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
- Stroke Rehabilitation
ACL Tear in Foley, 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 knowledgeable professionals of Axes Physical Therapy to work alongside you to create a proven, tailor-made rehabilitation plan to get you back 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.
