ACL Tear Greater Green Park, MO. ACL tears can suddenly disrupt 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 Green Park, 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 with you as a team and develop personalized treatments plans that have been empirically proven to be effective. If you’ve sustained an ACL tear, or any other injury, in Green Park, MO, contact us online or locate the most convenient Axes location for you. Our mission is getting every patient positive results and getting you back to what’s most important to you, whether that means breaking defender’s ankles on a Green Park, MO basketball court, or carrying your children on your shoulders without any pain.

What is the ACL? | Green Park, MO Physical Therapy

Ligaments are bands found in joints made of durable, pliable connective tissue that connect two bones. The ligaments in the knee help maintain stability in your knee by connecting 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 stabilize the forward and backward motion of your knee, and the ACL stops the tibia from sliding too far forward on the femur and provides stability when the knee rotates.

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 Green Park, MO licensed physical therapists of Axes to help you fully heal.

Causes of an ACL Tear | Green Park, 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. They are common in contact sports that call for frequent and fast cutting and changing directions, such as football, baseball, soccer, and basketball. According to the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, almost three-quarters of ACL tears happen 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 motion is obstructed 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 changing direction
• Swiveling with a firmly planted foot
• Receiving a direct hit to the knee

Internal Factors

These concern the structure and anatomy of the knee and legs. Some examples are:

• The differences in anatomy between men and women
• Flexibility of the hamstring
• Genetic variations

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 | Green Park, MO Physical Therapy

After an ACL tear, the pain will likely be in the middle of the knee. You might not necessarily feel considerable pain after an ACL tear except if other parts of the knee were also injured. Some signals that you may have sustained an ACL tear include:

• Feeling or hearing a pop in your knee
• Having to cease activity
• Your knee becoming inflamed quickly
• Reduction of range of motion
• Instability when putting weight on your knee

If you think you’ve suffered an ACL tear, it’s vital to visit a physician or a licensed physical therapist in Green Park, MO to confirm your injury and get you the treatment you need. We offer no-cost, no strings attached injury screenings and know many trusted physicians in Green Park, 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.

How to Treat an ACL Tear | Green Park, MO Physical Therapy

It is imperative to get effective and personalized treatment soon after your ACL tear. If you delay, or your treatment is ineffective, it can result in health conditions 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 reduce pain and swelling. A doctor will then examine you, assess your range of motion, and likely order an MRI or other tests to confirm the ACL tear and evaluate the severity of the injury.

Because ligaments do not receive blood flow, a complete ACL tear cannot 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 advisable for younger people, athletes who need their knee reconstructed in order to play, patients whose ACL tears were accompanied by other serious injury to other parts of their knee, or those whose ACL tear causes pain or weakness when carrying out basic, everyday tasks. ACL surgery is generally 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 may 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 Green Park, MO to get you the best results for both your recovery and your surgery. Our ACL tear physical therapy professionals will guide you through your recovery process with proven, customized physical therapy. Our treatment methods will help to:

• Mitigate 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 range of motion
• Perform strength exercises to return you to full strength
• Possibly implement electrical stimulation to return strength and flexibility

You have the best chance for a full recovery by actively participating in it and trusting the professional Green Park, MO area physical therapists of Axes. Before you know it, we will get you back to dominating the local pickleball league, or just enjoying being able to to sit down and stand up without any pain.

How to Prevent an ACL Tear | Green Park, MO Physical Therapy

Unfortunately, second ACL tears are common and they can have life-long consequences. Included in your treatment program in Green Park, MO, our Certified Athletic Trainers will help you understand the best practices that help 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 form, for example bending at the knees and hips when turning
• Stretch consistently
• Perform balance exercises
• Perform warm-up exercises before sports or other physical activities
• Always wear appropriate footwear

Our physical therapists devote themselves not only to getting you back to the activities you love, but doing everything possible to make sure that you can carry on doing them without being interrupted by another injury.

Some of the other services we offer in Green Park, 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 Green Park, 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 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 with you to produce a proven, tailor-made physical therapy plan to get you back 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.