ACL Tear Greater Innsbrook, MO. ACL tears can abruptly disrupt your active routine and daily life. One moment you’re flying down the court, engaging in your favorite sport or playing with your kids, 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 Innsbrook, 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 in concert with you as a team and put in place tailored, empirically-backed treatment plans. If you’ve suffered an ACL tear, or any other injury, in Innsbrook, 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 the things that matter most to you, whether that means running the bases in your local Innsbrook, MO league, or picking up your grandchildren without any pain.

What is the ACL? | Innsbrook, MO Physical Therapy

Ligaments are bands found in joints made of durable, pliable connective tissue that connect two bones. The ligaments in the knee work to 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 control the forward and backward 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 capacity to bear weight and range of motion will be lowered. However severe your injury, trust in the Innsbrook, MO licensed physical therapists of Axes to help you fully recover.

Why an ACL Tear Happens | Innsbrook, MO Physical Therapy

There are up to 250,000 ACL injuries in the United States every 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 rapid cutting and switching directions, such as football, baseball, soccer, and basketball. According to data from the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, almost three-quarters of ACL tears occur 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 be at play when you sustain an ACL tear:

External Factors

These are when your movement is obstructed just before the injury. Some examples are:

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

Internal Factors

These have to do with 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 differences

ACL tears don’t just transpire in sports, falls and work-related injuries can hurt they ACL too. They can become more common as we age and our bodies weaken. Women are 4-6 times more likely to suffer an ACL tear, likely owing to anatomical differences.

Symptoms of an ACL Tear | Innsbrook, MO Physical Therapy

Following an ACL tear, the pain will likely be in the middle of the knee. An ACL tear does not always cause significant pain except if other parts of the knee were also injured. Some indicators that you may have torn your ACL are:

• Feeling or hearing a pop in your knee
• Having to stop activity
• Rapid swelling
• Reduction of range of motion
• Not being able to put any weight on your knee

If you suspect you’ve suffered an ACL tear, it’s crucial to reach out to a physician or a licensed physical therapist in Innsbrook, MO to verify your injury and start the treatment you need to recover. We offer no-cost, no-obligation injury screenings and know many trusted doctors in Innsbrook, 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 | Innsbrook, MO Physical Therapy

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

Immediately after your ACL tear, it’s best to use over-the-counter pain medication and the R.I.C.E. method to manage pain and inflammation. In an examination, a doctor will evaluate your range of motion, and likely order an MRI to confirm the ACL tear and gauge the completeness and grade of your tear.

Because ligaments do not receive blood flow, a complete ACL tear will not be able to heal on its own. That is why the aid of a licensed professional physical therapist is necessary to return 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 their knee reconstructed 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 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, you still have a long way to go before you’ll feel fully back to normal. 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 Innsbrook, MO to get you a positive outcome for both your physical rehabilitation and your surgery. Our ACL tear physical therapy experts will work with you throughout your recovery process with proven, customized physical therapy. Our treatment methods will help to:

• Alleviate 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 mobility
• Do strength exercises to return you to full strength
• Potentially implement electrical stimulation to return strength and flexibility

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

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

Unfortunately, many people sustain a second ACL tear and they can lead to permanent consequences. Included in your treatment program in Innsbrook, MO, our Certified Athletic Trainers will help you understand the best practices that help to avoid another ACL tear in the future. We recommend some of the following steps to prevent further injury:

• Strengthen your core
• Strengthen your hip and leg muscles
• Practice correct form, for instance bending at the knees and hips when turning
• Maintain flexibility
• Perform balance exercises
• Perform warm-up exercises before sports or other physical activities
• Always wear appropriate footwear

Our physical therapists committed themselves not only to getting you back to the things you love to do, but doing what we can to ensure that you can carry on doing them without being disrupted by another injury.

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

It is normal to be nervous 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 knowledgeable professionals of Axes Physical Therapy to work in concert with you to implement a proven, personalized rehabilitation plan to return you to the football field, bowling alley, or just back to your normal, pain-free life. Contact us online or call the location are closest to you.