ACL Tear Greater Leslie, MO. ACL tears have a tremendous 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 back to your job again. At Axes Physical Therapy in Leslie, MO, we have committed our practice to restoring our patients’ mobility and returning them to the activities they love. Our ACL tear rehabilitation specialists work in concert with you as a team and develop customize, empirically-backed treatment plans. If you’ve suffered an ACL tear, or any other injury, in Leslie, MO, contact us online or check out the most convenient Axes location for you. Our priority is getting every patient great results and getting you back to the things that matter most to you, whether that means breaking defender’s ankles on a Leslie, MO basketball court, or carrying your children on your shoulders without any pain.

What is the ACL? | Leslie, MO Physical Therapy

Ligaments are bands found in joints made of tough, pliable connective tissue that affix 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 forward and backward motion of your knee, and the ACL stops the tibia from sliding 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 your movement will be affected. However serious your injury, trust in the Leslie, MO licensed physical therapists of Axes to help you fully heal.

Why an ACL Tear Happens | Leslie, MO Physical Therapy

There are up to 250,000 ACL injuries in the United States each year, and it is one of the most frequent knee injuries and sports injuries. They are common in contact sports that entail frequent and rapid 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 cutting quickly, and the rest are because 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 immediately before the injury. Some examples are:

• Landing on uneven ground or landing awkwardly
• Colliding with something or someone
• A sudden reduction in speed or switching direction
• Swiveling 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. Examples include:

• The anatomical differences between men and women
• Flexibility of the hamstring
• Differences in genetics

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 due to anatomical differences.

Symptoms of an ACL Tear | Leslie, MO Physical Therapy

When you suffer an ACL tear, you’ll likely feel pain at the center of the knee. You might not necessarily feel considerable pain after an ACL tear unless other structural damage was done to the knee. Some signs that you may have sustained an ACL tear are:

• Feeling or hearing a pop in your knee
• Having to cease activity
• Your knee becoming inflamed quickly
• Reduction of range of motion
• Instability when bearing weight

If you think you’ve sustained an ACL tear, it’s vital to see a physician or a licensed physical therapist in Leslie, MO to confirm your injury and get you the treatment you need. We offer complimentary, no strings attached injury screenings and work with many trusted doctors in Leslie, 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 | Leslie, MO Physical Therapy

It is important to get effective and personalized treatment soon after your ACL tear. If you don’t, it can result in problems like 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 mitigate pain and inflammation. A doctor will then examine you, evaluate your range of motion, and likely order an MRI to confirm the ACL tear and assess the completeness and grade of your tear.

Because blood does not flow to ligaments, a complete ACL tear will not be able to regenerate on its own. That is why the aid of a licensed professional physical therapist is necessary to return 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 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 pain or weakness when carrying out basic, everyday activities. 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 have weakened. Axes Physical Therapy offers both pre- and post-surgical rehabilitation for ACL tears in Leslie, MO to get you the best results for both your physical rehabilitation and your operation. Our ACL tear physical therapy experts will lead you through your recovery process with proven, customized physical therapy. As part of your treatment plan, we will:

• Reduce pain and swelling
• Provide patient education so you understand your injury and why our methods work
• Gradually and effectively allow you to put weight on your knee again
• Fit you for 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

When you work with the experienced Leslie, MO area physical therapists of Axes and take an active role in your recovery, you have the best chance of a complete and timely recovery. Before you know it, we will return you to tearing up the local flag football league, or just enjoying being able to to climb stairs without any pain.

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

Unfortunately, second ACL tears are common and they can cause permanent consequences. As part of our ACL tear physical therapy services in Leslie, MO, our Certified Athletic Trainers will educate you on how to avoid another ACL tear down the line. We recommend some of the following steps to prevent further injury:

• Having a strong core
• Having strong hip and leg muscles
• Practice proper form, for instance landing evenly on both feet
• Stretch consistently
• Perform balance exercises
• Perform warm-up exercises before sports or other physical activities
• Always wear appropriate footwear

Our physical therapists devote themselves not only to getting you back to the activities you love, but doing what we can to make sure that you stay off the sidelines.

Some of the other services we offer in Leslie, MO are:

• Stroke Rehabilitation
• Hip Replacement Physical Therapy
• Workers Comp' Physical Therapy
• Migraine Relief
• Sprain and Strain Treatment
• Geriatric Physical Therapy
• Injury Rehabilitation
• Pain Management Services
• TMJ Treatment
• Herniated Disc Treatment

ACL Tear in Leslie, MO | Axes Physical Therapy

It is normal to experience anxieties about your prognosis and road to recovery after suffering a severe injury. 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 knowledgeable professionals of Axes Physical Therapy to work in concert with you to produce a proven, personalized rehabilitation plan to get you back to the football field, gymnasts’ mat, or just back to your normal, pain-free life. Contact us online or call the location are closest to you.