ACL Tear Greater Leadington, MO. ACL tears have an enormous effect on your active and daily routine. One moment you’re running down the field, engaging in your favorite sport or having fun 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 Leadington, 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 put in place personalized, empirically-backed treatment plans. If you’ve sustained an ACL tear, or any other injury, in Leadington, 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 Leadington, MO league, or carrying your children on your shoulders without any pain.

The Anterior Cruciate Ligament | Leadington, MO Physical Therapy

Ligaments are bands found in joints made of durable, pliable connective tissue that connect two bones. The ligaments in the knee help maintain stability in your knee by connecting 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 control the forward and backward movement of your knee, and the ACL safeguards the tibia from gliding 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 capacity to put weight on your knee and range of motion will be reduced. However severe your injury, trust in the Leadington, MO licensed physical therapists of Axes to help you fully heal.

Why an ACL Tear Happens | Leadington, 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. They are common in contact sports that demand frequent and fast cutting and switching directions, such as football, baseball, soccer, and basketball. According to reporting from the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, almost three-quarters of ACL tears happen in non-contact injuries, such as changing direction quickly, and the rest are caused by direct blunt force trauma. External and internal factors could both be at play when you suffer an ACL tear:

External Factors

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

• Landing on uneven ground or landing awkwardly
• Something or someone bumping into you
• Suddenly decelerating 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
• Flexibility of the hamstring
• Genetic variations

While many ACL tears transpire 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 suffer an ACL tear, likely owing to anatomical differences.

Symptoms of an ACL Tear | Leadington, MO Physical Therapy

When you suffer 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 parts of the knee were also injured. Some signals that you may have torn your ACL include:

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

If you suspect you’ve sustained an ACL tear, it’s crucial to visit a doctor or a licensed physical therapist in Leadington, MO to verify your injury and start the treatment you need to recover. We offer no-cost, no-obligation injury screenings and have a wide network of trusted physicians in Leadington, MO that we can refer you to. 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.

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

It is essential to get prompt, effective, personalized treatment for your ACL tear. If your injury does not heal properly, it can cause health conditions like obesity or osteoarthritis, which can significantly impact you for the remainder of your life.

Immediately after your ACL tear, it’s best to use over-the-counter pain medication and the R.I.C.E. method to mitigate pain and swelling. In an examination, a doctor will assess your range of motion, and likely order an MRI or other tests to verify the ACL tear and assess the severity of the injury.

As there is no blood flow to the ligament, a complete ACL tear will not be able to heal by itself. 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 pain or weakness when carrying out basic, everyday activities. In an ACL surgery, a surgeon will remove the injured 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 need crutches to move around, as your quadriceps muscles will weaken from disuse. Axes Physical Therapy offers both pre- and post-surgical rehabilitation for ACL tears in Leadington, MO to optimize your recovery and the success of your surgery. Our ACL tear physical therapy specialists will lead you through your recovery process with proven, customized physical therapy. As part of your treatment plan, we will:

• Mitigate 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
• Fit you for a brace and teach you how to safely use it
• Do movement exercises and balance exercises to return range of motion
• Do strength exercises to increase strength
• Possibly utilize 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 licensed Leadington, MO area physical therapists of Axes. Before you know it, we will get you back to dominating the local flag football league, or just enjoying being able to to sit down and stand up without your knee buckling.

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

Unfortunately, many people sustain a second ACL tear and they can lead to life-long repercussions. As part of our ACL tear physical therapy services in Leadington, 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:

• Having a strong core
• Strengthen your hip and leg muscles
• Practice correct form, for example always landing with your feet directly over your knee
• Stretch consistently
• 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 retuning you to the things you love to do, but doing everything possible to make certain that you stay off the sidelines.

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

It is normal to be nervous about your your 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 alongside you to produce a proven, tailor-made rehabilitation plan to get you back to the basketball court, bowling alley, or just back to your normal, pain-free daily activities. Contact us online or call the location are closest to you.