ACL Tear Greater Maryknoll, MO. ACL tears have a tremendous 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 back to your job again. At Axes Physical Therapy in Maryknoll, MO, we have dedicated 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 treatments plans that have been empirically proven to be effective. If you’ve sustained an ACL tear, or any other injury, in Maryknoll, MO, contact us online or check out the most convenient Axes location for you. We dedicate ourselves to getting every patient a positive outcome and getting you back to what’s most important to you, whether that means dominating your local Maryknoll, MO pickleball league, or carrying your children on your shoulders without any pain.
The Anterior Cruciate Ligament | Maryknoll, MO Physical Therapy
Ligaments are bands found in joints made of durable, flexible fibrous tissue that connect two bones. The ligaments in the knee help keep your knee stable 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 stabilize the front and back motion of your knee, and the ACL prevents the tibia from gliding too far forward on the femur and provides stability when the joint rotates.
ACL tears can be either partial or complete. Depending on the grade of your ACL tear, your ability to bear weight and range of motion will be reduced. No Matter how serious your injury, trust in the Maryknoll, MO licensed physical therapists of Axes to help you fully recover.
Why an ACL Tear Happens | Maryknoll, 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 at high risk for ACL tears. According to reporting from the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, 70% of ACL tears occur in non-contact injuries, such as changing direction quickly, and the rest are caused by direct blows to the knee. External and internal factors could both be at play when you sustain an ACL tear:
External Factors
These are when your coordination is disrupted just before the injury. Some examples are:
- Landing on uneven ground or landing awkwardly
- Colliding with something or someone
- A sudden reduction in speed or changing direction
- Swiveling with a firmly planted foot
- Suffering a direct blow to the knee
Internal Factors
These concern the structure and anatomy of the body. Examples include:
- The differences in anatomy between men and women
- Flexibility of the hamstring
- Differences in genetics
ACL tears don’t just happen in sports, falls and work-related injuries can harm they ACL as well. 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 | Maryknoll, MO Physical Therapy
Following an ACL tear, the pain will likely be at the center of the knee. An ACL tear does not always cause considerable pain except if other structural damage was done to the knee. Some signals that you may have torn your ACL include:
- A “popping” sensation in your knee
- Inability to continue activity
- Rapid swelling
- Loss of range of motion
- Instability when bearing weight
If you think you’ve suffered an ACL tear, it’s important to visit a doctor or a licensed physical therapist in Maryknoll, MO to diagnose your injury and get you the treatment you need. We offer no-cost, no-obligation injury screenings and know many trusted doctors in Maryknoll, 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 Treatments | Maryknoll, MO Physical Therapy
It is vital to get prompt, effective, personalized treatment for your ACL tear. If your injury does not heal don’t, it can result in complications such as obesity or osteoarthritis, which can significantly impact how you live your life.
Directly following your ACL tear, it’s best to use over-the-counter pain medication and the R.I.C.E. method to manage pain and inflammation. In an examination, a doctor will assess your mobility, and likely order an MRI to confirm the ACL tear and assess the severity of the injury.
Because blood does not flow to ligaments, 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 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 their knee reconstructed in order to perform, patients whose ACL tears were accompanied by other serious injury to other parts of their knee, or those whose ACL tear causes pain or weakness when performing 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 in place, your journey back to normalcy and the activities you love is still a long way from over. After surgery, you’ll probably 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 Maryknoll, MO to optimize your recovery and the success of 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:
- Mitigate 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
- Provide you with 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 increase strength
- Potentially use electrical stimulation to return strength and flexibility
When you work with the experienced Maryknoll, MO area physical therapists of Axes and take an active role in your rehabilitation, you have the best chance of a complete and timely recovery. Before you know it, we will return you to tearing up the local pick-up league, or just enjoying being able to to climb stairs without your knee buckling.
How to Prevent an ACL Tear | Maryknoll, MO Physical Therapy
Unfortunately, many people suffer a second ACL tear and they can cause permanent consequences. Included in your treatment program in Maryknoll, 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:
- Strengthen your core
- Having strong hip and leg muscles
- Practice proper form, for example keeping knees shoulder width apart while landing
- Maintain flexibility
- Perform balance exercises
- Always warm up before sports or other physical activities
- Make sure you are using appropriate footwear
Our physical therapists devote themselves not only to retuning you to the activities you love, but doing everything possible to make sure that you can continue doing them without being disrupted by another injury.
Some of the other services we offer in Maryknoll, MO are:
ACL Tear in Maryknoll, MO | Axes Physical Therapy
It is normal to be apprehensive 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 alongside you to create a proven, personalized rehabilitation 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.
