ACL Tear Mapaville, MO | Physical and Occupational Therapy

ACL Tear Greater Mapaville, MO. ACL tears can suddenly obstruct 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 Mapaville, 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 design personalized, empirically-backed treatment plans. If you’ve sustained an ACL tear, or any other injury, in Mapaville, MO, contact us online or check out the most convenient Axes location for you. We dedicate ourselves to getting every patient great results and getting you back to the things that matter most to you, whether that means dominating your local Mapaville, MO pickleball league, or picking up your grandchildren without any pain.

The Anterior Cruciate Ligament | Mapaville, MO Physical Therapy

Ligaments are bands found in joints made of durable, flexible 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 in concert to stabilize the front and back movement of your knee, and the ACL safeguards the tibia from gliding too far forward on the femur and provides stability when the joint rotates.

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 your movement will be affected. No Matter how severe your injury, trust in the Mapaville, MO licensed physical therapists of Axes to help you fully recover.

Why an ACL Tear Happens | Mapaville, MO Physical Therapy

There are up to 250,000 ACL injuries in the United States every year, 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 reporting from the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, almost three-quarters of ACL tears occur in non-contact injuries, such as cutting rapidly, and the rest are due to direct blunt force trauma. External and internal factors could both contribute to an ACL tear:

External Factors

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

Landing on uneven ground or landing with improper form
Colliding with something or someone
Suddenly decelerating or changing direction
Spinning with a firmly planted foot
Receiving a direct blow to the knee

Internal Factors

These have to do with 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
Differences in genetics

ACL tears don’t just occur in sports, falls and work-related injuries can damage they ACL as well. 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 owing to anatomical differences.

Symptoms of an ACL Tear | Mapaville, 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 sever pain after an ACL tear unless other constructive damage was done to the knee. Some signs that you may have sustained an ACL tear include:

Feeling or hearing a pop in your knee
Not being able 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 sustained an ACL tear, it’s necessary to see a physician or a licensed physical therapist in Mapaville, MO to confirm your injury and come up with the treatment plan you need to recover. We offer free, no-obligation injury screenings and know many trusted doctors in Mapaville, MO that we can connect you with. Your Axes physical or occupational therapist is an indispensable 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 Therapy Mapaville, MO | Physical and Occupational Therapy Near Mapaville

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

It is important to get effective and personalized treatment soon after your ACL tear. If you wait, or your treatment is ineffective, it can result in problems like obesity or osteoarthritis, which can greatly affect how you live 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 inflammation. In an examination, a doctor will assess your mobility, and likely order an MRI or other tests to verify the ACL tear and gauge the completeness and grade of your tear.

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 return to the activities you love. Surgery is the only means available to completely heal an ACL tear. So, surgery is often the best option for younger people, athletes who need their knee reconstructed in order to play, patients whose ACL tears were accompanied by other serious damage to their knee, or those whose ACL tear causes pain or weakness when carrying out basic, everyday tasks. ACL surgery is generally 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, you still have a long way to go before you’ll feel fully back to normal. After surgery, you’ll probably 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 Mapaville, MO to get you a positive outcome for both your physical rehabilitation and your operation. Our ACL tear physical therapy experts will be by your side throughout your recovery process with a personalized treatment plan that has been demonstrated to work. As part of your treatment plan, we will:

Mitigate 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
Perform movement exercises and balance exercises to increase range of motion
Perform strength exercises to return you to full strength
Potentially utilize 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 Mapaville, MO area physical therapists of Axes. Before you know it, we will return you to tearing up the local pick-up league, or just enjoying being able to to sit down and stand up without your knee buckling.

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

Unfortunately, second ACL tears are common and they can result in life-long repercussions. As part of our ACL tear physical therapy services in Mapaville, MO, our Certified Athletic Trainers will educate you on how to avoid another ACL tear down the line. 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 example always landing with your feet directly over your knee
Maintain flexibility
Increase your balance
Always warm up before sports or other physical activities
Always wear appropriate footwear

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

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

ACL Tear in Mapaville, MO | Axes Physical Therapy

It is normal to experience anxieties about your your future 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 experienced professionals of Axes Physical Therapy to work alongside you to produce a proven, customized physical therapy plan to get you back to the basketball court, gymnasts’ mat, or just back to your normal, pain-free daily activities. Contact us online or call the location are closest to you.