ACL Tear Greater Holstein, MO. ACL tears have an enormous 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 Holstein, MO, we have devoted 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 create tailored, evidence-based treatment plans. If you’ve suffered an ACL tear, or any other injury, in Holstein, MO, contact us online or check out the most convenient Axes location for you. Our mission is getting every patient great results and getting you back to what’s most important to you, whether that means running the bases in your local Holstein, MO league, or carrying your children on your shoulders without any pain.

What is the ACL? | Holstein, MO Physical Therapy

Ligaments are bands found in joints made of durable, pliable connective tissue that attach two bones. The ligaments in the knee help 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 front and back movement of your knee, and the ACL prevents the tibia from gliding too far forward on the femur and provides stability when the knee rotates.

Most ACL tears are partial, but they can be completely torn as well. Depending on the grade of your ACL tear, your capacity to bear weight and range of motion will be impacted. However significant your injury, trust in the Holstein, MO licensed physical therapists of Axes to help you fully heal.

Causes of an ACL Tear | Holstein, MO Physical Therapy

There are up to 250,000 ACL injuries nationwide 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 the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, almost three-quarters of ACL tears occur in non-contact injuries, such as cutting rapidly, and the rest are due to direct blows to the knee. External and internal factors could both contribute to an ACL tear:

External Factors

These are when your motion is disrupted just 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
• Suffering a direct hit to the knee

Internal Factors

These have to do with the structure and anatomy of the knee and legs. Examples include:

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

ACL tears don’t just happen 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 because of anatomical differences.

Symptoms of an ACL Tear | Holstein, MO Physical Therapy

After an ACL tear, the pain will likely be at the center of the knee. You might not necessarily feel significant pain after an ACL tear except if other structural damage was done to the knee. Some signals that you may have suffered an ACL tear are:

• Feeling or hearing a pop in your knee
• Not being able 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 sustained an ACL tear, it’s imperative to visit a doctor or a licensed physical therapist in Holstein, MO to diagnose your injury and get you the treatment you need. We offer free, no strings attached injury screenings and work with many trusted doctors in Holstein, 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 | Holstein, MO Physical Therapy

It is important to get prompt, effective, personalized treatment for your ACL tear. If you don’t, it can result in health conditions like obesity or osteoarthritis, which can greatly affect your quality of life.

Directly following 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 range of motion, and likely order an MRI or other tests to verify the ACL tear and evaluate the extent of the injury.

Because blood does not flow to ligaments, a complete ACL tear cannot 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 necessary for younger people, athletes who need a fully functioning ACL in order to play, patients with other serious injury to their knee, or those whose ACL tear causes their knee to buckle in basic, everyday tasks. In an ACL surgery, a surgeon will remove the damaged 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 likely 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 Holstein, MO to optimize your recovery and the success of 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:

• 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 mobility
• Perform strength exercises to increase strength
• Possibly employ electrical stimulation as a supplement to the exercises

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

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

Unfortunately, second ACL tears are common and they can have life-long repercussions. As part of our ACL tear physical therapy services in Holstein, MO, our Certified Athletic Trainers will educate you on how to avoid another ACL tear down the road. Some of the preventive methods you can take in order to prevent further injury are:

• Having a strong core
• Having strong hip and leg muscles
• Practice proper technique, for example landing evenly on both feet
• Maintain flexibility
• Increase your balance
• Perform warm-up exercises 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 continue doing them without being interrupted by another injury.

Some of the other services we offer in Holstein, 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 Holstein, 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 probably want to get back to your normal, active lifestyle as quickly as possible. Trust in the knowledgeable professionals of Axes Physical Therapy to work alongside you to design a proven, personalized physical therapy plan to get you back to the basketball court, gymnasts’ mat, or just back to your normal, pain-free daily activities. Contact us online or call the location are closest to you.