ACL Tear Greater Howell, MO. ACL tears can abruptly upset your active and daily routine. One second you’re running down the field, engaging in your favorite sport or playing with your children, and the next instant you’re don’t know if you’ll get to play or even go to work again. At Axes Physical Therapy in Howell, 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 design customize, evidence-based treatment plans. If you’ve suffered an ACL tear, or any other injury, in Howell, 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 breaking defender’s ankles on a Howell, MO basketball court, or carrying your children on your shoulders without any pain.

What is the ACL? | Howell, MO Physical Therapy

Ligaments are bands found in joints made of durable, pliable fibrous tissue that attach 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 in concert to control the forward and backward movement of your knee, and the ACL impedes the tibia from moving too far forward on the femur and provides rotational stability.

Most ACL tears are partial, but they can be completely torn as well. Depending on the grade of your ACL tear, your ability to bear weight and range of motion will be impacted. No Matter how serious your injury, trust in the Howell, MO licensed physical therapists of Axes to help you reach a complete recovery.

Causes of an ACL Tear | Howell, MO Physical Therapy

There are as many as 250,000 ACL injuries nationwide 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 reporting from the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, the vast majority 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 contribute to an ACL tear:

External Factors

These are when your motion is disrupted immediately before the injury. Some examples are:

• Landing on uneven ground or landing with improper form
• Being hit by something or someone
• A sudden reduction in speed or changing direction
• Swiveling with a firmly planted foot
• Sustaining a direct hit to the knee

Internal Factors

These are related to 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 because of anatomical differences.

Symptoms of an ACL Tear | Howell, MO Physical Therapy

When you suffer an ACL tear, you’ll likely feel pain at the center of the knee. You might not necessarily feel sever pain after an ACL tear except if other structural damage was done to the knee. Some signals that you may have sustained an ACL tear are:

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

If you think you’ve suffered an ACL tear, it’s critical to reach out to a physician or a licensed physical therapist in Howell, MO to diagnose your injury and get you the treatment you need. We offer complimentary, no strings attached injury screenings and work with many excellent physicians in Howell, MO that we can connect you with. Your Axes physical or occupational therapist, your doctor and medical providers, and you will form a close team and work together to ensure your recovery is safe and efficient.

How to Treat an ACL Tear | Howell, MO Physical Therapy

It is imperative to get prompt, effective, personalized treatment for your ACL tear. If you wait, or your treatment is ineffective, it can cause health conditions such as obesity or osteoarthritis, which can greatly affect your quality of life.

In the minutes after your ACL tear, it’s best to use over-the-counter pain medication and the R.I.C.E. method to alleviate pain and swelling. In an examination, a doctor will evaluate 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 cannot regenerate by itself. 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 the best option for younger people, athletes who need a fully healthy ACL in order to perform, patients whose ACL tears were accompanied by other serious injury to their knee, or those whose ACL tear causes pain or weakness when performing basic, everyday activities. 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 may 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 Howell, MO to optimize your recovery and the success of your surgery. Our ACL tear physical therapy experts will work with you throughout your recovery process with proven, customized physical therapy. As part of your treatment plan, we will:

• Reduce pain and swelling
• Educate you on your injury and the rehab process
• Gradually and effectively 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 increase range of motion
• Perform strength exercises to return you to full strength
• Potentially employ electrical stimulation as a supplement to the exercises

When you work with the knowledgeable Howell, MO area physical therapists of Axes and take an active role in your rehabilitation, you have the best chance of a complete and efficient recovery. Before you know it, we will get you back to dominating the local softball league, or just enjoying being able to to sit down and stand up without your knee buckling.

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

Unfortunately, second ACL tears are common and they can cause life-long consequences. As part of our ACL tear physical therapy services in Howell, 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 form, for example always landing with your feet directly over your knee
• Stretch consistently
• Increase your balance
• Always warm up before sports or other physical activities
• Make sure you are using appropriate footwear

Our physical therapists dedicate themselves not only to retuning you to the activities you love, but doing what we can to make sure that you stay off the sidelines.

Some of the other services we offer in Howell, 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 Howell, 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 create a proven, personalized physical therapy plan to return you 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.