ACL Tear Greater Josephville, 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 Josephville, 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 with you as a team and design customize treatments plans that have been empirically proven to be effective. If you’ve suffered an ACL tear, or any other injury, in Josephville, MO, contact us online or find 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 burning corners in your local Josephville, MO flag football league, or picking up your grandchildren without any pain.

The Anterior Cruciate Ligament | Josephville, MO Physical Therapy

Ligaments are bands found in joints made of durable, pliable connective tissue that affix 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, 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 movement of your knee, and the ACL shields the tibia from moving 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 your movement will be affected. No Matter how severe your injury, trust in the Josephville, MO licensed physical therapists of Axes to help you fully recover.

Causes of an ACL Tear | Josephville, MO Physical Therapy

There are up to 250,000 ACL injuries in the United States annually, and it is one of the most frequent 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 reporting from the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, 70% of ACL tears happen in non-contact injuries, such as changing direction rapidly, and the rest are the result of direct blunt force trauma. External and internal factors could both contribute to an ACL tear:

External Factors

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

• Landing on uneven ground or landing awkwardly
• Something or someone knocking into you
• A sudden reduction in speed or switching direction
• Spinning with a firmly planted foot
• Receiving a direct blow to the knee

Internal Factors

These are related to the structure and anatomy of the knee and legs. Examples include:

• The differences in anatomy between men and women
• How flexible the hamstring and other surrounding muscles are
• Genetic differences

While many ACL tears transpire in sports, they are also common in falls and work-related injuries. The elderly are also at high risk, as our bodies degenerate as we age. Women are 4-6 times more likely to suffer an ACL tear, likely because of anatomical differences.

Symptoms of an ACL Tear | Josephville, MO Physical Therapy

After an ACL tear, the pain will likely be in the middle of the knee. An ACL tear does not always cause significant pain unless other constructive damage was done to the knee. Some indicators that you might have torn your ACL include:

• A “popping” sensation in your knee
• Inability to continue activity
• Your knee becoming inflamed quickly
• Reduction of range of motion
• Not being able to bear weight your knee

If you think you’ve suffered an ACL tear, it’s crucial to reach out to a physician or a licensed physical therapist in Josephville, MO to diagnose your injury and come up with the treatment plan you need to recover. We offer complimentary, no strings attached injury screenings and work with many excellent doctors in Josephville, MO that we can connect you with. 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 | Josephville, MO Physical Therapy

It is imperative to get effective and personalized treatment soon after your ACL tear. If you don’t, it can cause complications like obesity or osteoarthritis, which can significantly impact you for the remainder of your life.

In the minutes after your ACL tear, you should use over-the-counter pain medication and the R.I.C.E. method to manage pain and swelling. A doctor will then examine you, evaluate your mobility, and likely order an MRI to verify the ACL tear and assess the extent of the injury.

Because ligaments do not receive blood flow, a complete ACL tear cannot regenerate by itself. That is why the aid of a licensed professional physical therapist is necessary 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 perform, patients whose ACL tears were accompanied by other significant damage to other parts of 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, you still have a long way to go before you’ll feel fully back to normal. 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 Josephville, MO to optimize your recovery and the success of your operation. Our ACL tear physical therapy specialists will guide you through your recovery process with a personalized treatment plan that has been demonstrated to work. Our treatment methods will help to:

• Alleviate pain and swelling
• Provide patient education so you understand your injury and why our methods work
• 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 return mobility
• Perform strength exercises to return you to full strength
• Possibly employ 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 Josephville, MO area physical therapists of Axes. Before you know it, we will get you back to tearing up the local softball league, or just enjoying the ability to sit down and stand up without your knee buckling.

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

Unfortunately, second ACL tears are common and they can have life-long consequences. As part of our ACL tear physical therapy services in Josephville, MO, our Certified Athletic Trainers will educate you on how to avoid another ACL tear in the future. We recommend some of the following steps to prevent further injury:

• Strengthen your core
• Having strong hip and leg muscles
• Practice proper form, for instance bending at the knees and hips when turning
• Maintain flexibility
• Increase your balance
• Perform warm-up exercises before sports or other physical activities
• Make sure you are using appropriate footwear

Our physical therapists devote themselves not only to retuning you to the things you love to do, but doing everything possible to ensure that you stay off the sidelines.

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

It is normal to be apprehensive about your what your life will look like in the future after suffering a severe injury. 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 with you to create 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 daily activities. Contact us online or call the location are closest to you.