ACL Tear Greater Leadwood, MO. ACL tears can suddenly disrupt 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 back to your job again. At Axes Physical Therapy in Leadwood, 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 tandem with you as a team and create personalized treatments plans that have been empirically proven to be effective. If you’ve sustained an ACL tear, or any other injury, in Leadwood, MO, contact us online or locate 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 dominating your local Leadwood, MO pickleball league, or picking up your grandchildren without any pain.

What is the ACL? | Leadwood, MO Physical Therapy

Ligaments are bands found in joints made of tough, pliable fibrous tissue that attach two bones. The ligaments in the knee help 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 concert to stabilize the front and back movement of your knee, and the ACL safeguards the tibia from sliding too far forward on the femur and supplies 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 put weight on your knee and range of motion will be lowered. No Matter how severe your injury, trust in the Leadwood, MO licensed physical therapists of Axes to help you fully heal.

Why an ACL Tear Happens | Leadwood, MO Physical Therapy

There are up to 250,000 ACL injuries in the United States each year, and it is one of the most common 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 the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, almost three-quarters of ACL tears occur in non-contact injuries, such as cutting 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 motion is obstructed just before the injury. Some examples are:

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

Internal Factors

These concern 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 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 sustain an ACL tear, likely because of anatomical differences.

Symptoms of an ACL Tear | Leadwood, MO Physical Therapy

Following an ACL tear, you’ll likely feel pain at the center of the knee. An ACL tear does not always cause considerable pain unless other parts of the knee were also injured. Some signals that you may have sustained an ACL tear are:

• A “popping” sensation in your knee
• Having to stop activity
• Rapid swelling
• Reduction of range of motion
• Not being able to bear weight your knee

If you suspect you’ve sustained an ACL tear, it’s imperative to contact a physician or a licensed physical therapist in Leadwood, MO to confirm your injury and get you the treatment you need. We offer complimentary, no-obligation injury screenings and know many trusted physicians in Leadwood, MO that we can connect you with. Your Axes physical or occupational therapist is a fundamental 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 | Leadwood, MO Physical Therapy

It is imperative to get effective and personalized treatment soon after your ACL tear. If your injury does not heal don’t, it can lead to complications such as obesity or osteoarthritis, which can greatly affect how you live your life.

Directly following your ACL tear, you should use over-the-counter pain medication and the R.I.C.E. method to reduce pain and inflammation. A doctor will then examine you, assess your range of motion, and likely order an MRI or other tests to confirm 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 regenerate by itself. That is why the aid of a licensed professional physical therapist is necessary to get back to the activities you love. Surgery is the only means available to completely heal an ACL tear. So, surgery is often advisable for younger people, athletes who need their knee reconstructed in order to play, patients whose ACL tears were accompanied by other significant injury to other parts of their knee, or those whose ACL tear causes their knee to buckle in 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 in place, your journey back to normalcy and the activities you love is still a long way from over. After surgery, you’ll likely 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 Leadwood, MO to get you the best results for both your recovery and your surgery. Our ACL tear physical therapy professionals will guide you through 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 effectively 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 increase range of motion
• Perform strength exercises to return you to full strength
• Possibly implement electrical stimulation as a supplement to the exercises

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

How to Prevent an ACL Tear | Leadwood, 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 Leadwood, 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 proper form, for example always landing with your feet directly over your knee
• Stretch consistently
• Perform balance exercises
• Always warm up before sports or other physical activities
• Always wear appropriate footwear

Our physical therapists devote 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 Leadwood, 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 Leadwood, MO | Axes Physical Therapy

It is normal to be anxious about your prognosis and road to recovery 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 alongside you to create a proven, tailor-made physical therapy plan to return you to the football field, bowling alley, or just back to your normal, pain-free daily activities. Contact us online or call the location are closest to you.