ACL Tear Greater Lakeshire, MO. ACL tears have an enormous effect on your active and daily routine. 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 Lakeshire, MO, we have devoted our practice to restoring our patients’ mobility and returning them to the activities they love. Our ACL tear rehabilitation specialists work in tandem with you as a team and develop customize, evidence-based treatment plans. If you’ve sustained an ACL tear, or any other injury, in Lakeshire, MO, contact us online or locate the most convenient Axes location for you. We dedicate ourselves to getting every patient a positive outcome and getting you back to the things that matter most to you, whether that means burning corners in your local Lakeshire, MO flag football league, or picking up your grandchildren without any pain.

What is the ACL? | Lakeshire, MO Physical Therapy

Ligaments are bands found in joints made of tough, flexible fibrous tissue that connect two bones. The ligaments in the knee work to maintain stability in your knee 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 front and back movement of your knee, and the ACL stops the tibia from slipping too far forward on the femur and provides rotational stability.

ACL tears can be either partial or complete. Depending on the grade of your ACL tear, your ability to put weight on your knee and range of motion will be reduced. However severe your injury, trust in the Lakeshire, MO licensed physical therapists of Axes to help you fully heal.

Why an ACL Tear Happens | Lakeshire, MO Physical Therapy

There are as many as 250,000 ACL injuries in the United States annually, 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 the most likely to get ACL tears. According to data from the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, the vast majority of ACL tears happen in non-contact injuries, such as cutting quickly, and the rest are because of direct blows to the knee. External and internal factors could both be at play when you suffer an ACL tear:

External Factors

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

• Landing on uneven footing or landing awkwardly
• Colliding with something or someone
• Suddenly decelerating or switching direction
• Pivoting with a firmly planted foot
• Suffering a direct hit to the knee

Internal Factors

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

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

While many ACL tears occur 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 sustain an ACL tear, likely because of anatomical differences.

Symptoms of an ACL Tear | Lakeshire, MO Physical Therapy

When you suffer an ACL tear, you’ll likely feel pain in the middle of the knee. You might not necessarily feel considerable pain after an ACL tear unless other structural damage was done to the knee. Some indicators that you might have torn your ACL are:

• A “popping” sensation in your knee
• Inability to continue activity
• Rapid swelling
• Loss of range of motion
• Not being able to bear weight your knee

If you suspect you’ve sustained an ACL tear, it’s critical to contact a doctor or a licensed physical therapist in Lakeshire, MO to verify your injury and get you the treatment you need. We offer complimentary, no strings attached injury screenings and know many excellent physicians in Lakeshire, MO that we can connect you with. 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 | Lakeshire, MO Physical Therapy

It is vital to get effective and personalized treatment soon after your ACL tear. If you delay, or your treatment is ineffective, it can lead to problems such as obesity or osteoarthritis, which can greatly affect your quality of life.

In the minutes after your ACL tear, you should use over-the-counter pain medication and the R.I.C.E. method to alleviate pain and inflammation. 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 blood does not flow to ligaments, a complete ACL tear cannot heal 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 advisable 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. ACL surgery is usually 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’ll probably 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 Lakeshire, 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 a personalized treatment plan that has been proven to work. Our treatment methods will help to:

• Alleviate pain and swelling
• Educate you on your injury and the rehab process
• Gradually and effectively get you back to bearing weight
• Provide you with a brace and teach you how to safely use it
• Do movement exercises and balance exercises to increase mobility
• Do strength exercises to return you to full strength
• Possibly use electrical stimulation as a supplement to the exercises

You have the best chance for a full recovery by actively participating in it and trusting the expert Lakeshire, MO area physical therapists of Axes. Before you know it, we will get you back to tearing up the local pick-up league, or just enjoying being able to to sit down and stand up without feeling any instability in your knee.

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

Unfortunately, many people sustain a second ACL tear and they can result in life-long consequences. As part of our ACL tear physical therapy services in Lakeshire, MO, our Certified Athletic Trainers will help you understand the best practices that help to avoid another ACL tear later on. 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 instance always landing with your feet directly over your knee
• Stretch consistently
• Increase your balance
• Always warm up before sports or other physical activities
• Always wear 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 can carry on doing them without being disrupted by another injury.

Some of the other services we offer in Lakeshire, 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 Lakeshire, 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 might be impatient to return to your active lifestyle and physical activities you value. Trust in the experienced professionals of Axes Physical Therapy to work in concert with you to implement a proven, personalized 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.