ACL Tear Greater Maryland Heights, MO. ACL tears can abruptly obstruct 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 to work again. At Axes Physical Therapy in Maryland Heights, 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 concert with you as a team and put in place customize treatments plans that have been empirically proven to be effective. If you’ve sustained an ACL tear, or any other injury, in Maryland Heights, MO, contact us online or find 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 breaking defender’s ankles on a Maryland Heights, MO basketball court, or carrying your children on your shoulders without any pain.

The Anterior Cruciate Ligament | Maryland Heights, MO Physical Therapy

Ligaments are bands found in joints made of durable, pliable fibrous tissue that affix 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 in tandem to stabilize the front and back motion of your knee, and the ACL impedes the tibia from slipping too far forward on the femur and provides stability when the knee 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. However serious your injury, trust in the Maryland Heights, MO licensed physical therapists of Axes to help you fully heal.

Why an ACL Tear Happens | Maryland Heights, MO Physical Therapy

There are as many as 250,000 ACL injuries nationwide 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, the vast majority of ACL tears occur in non-contact injuries, such as cutting quickly, and the rest are due to direct blows to the knee. External and internal factors could both contribute to an ACL tear:

External Factors

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

• Landing on uneven ground or landing awkwardly
• Something or someone knocking into you
• Instantly decelerating or switching direction
• Spinning 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 anatomical differences between men and women
• How flexible the hamstring and other surrounding muscles are
• 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 suffer an ACL tear, likely as a result of anatomical differences.

Symptoms of an ACL Tear | Maryland Heights, 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 sever pain except if other parts of the knee were also injured. Some signs that you might have sustained an ACL tear include:

• Feeling or hearing a pop in your knee
• Inability to continue activity
• Your knee becoming inflamed quickly
• Reduction of range of motion
• Not being able to put any weight on your knee

If you think you’ve sustained an ACL tear, it’s vital to visit a doctor or a licensed physical therapist in Maryland Heights, MO to confirm your injury and start the treatment you need to recover. We offer free, no strings attached injury screenings and know many excellent physicians in Maryland Heights, MO that we can refer you to. Your Axes physical or occupational therapist is an essential 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 | Maryland Heights, MO Physical Therapy

It is imperative to get prompt, effective, personalized treatment for your ACL tear. If you don’t, it can result in health conditions such as obesity or osteoarthritis, which can greatly affect you for the remainder of 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 mitigate pain and inflammation. A doctor will then examine you, evaluate your range of motion, and likely order an MRI to verify the ACL tear and evaluate the extent of the injury.

Because blood does not flow to ligaments, a complete ACL tear will not be able to regenerate on its own. This means that you will need the help of licensed professional physical therapists in order to get back to the activities you love. Surgery is the only means available to completely heal an ACL tear. 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 significant injury to other parts of their knee, or those whose ACL tear causes their knee to buckle in 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 attached, 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 have weakened. Axes Physical Therapy offers both pre- and post-surgical rehabilitation for ACL tears in Maryland Heights, MO to get you the best results for both your recovery and your surgery. Our ACL tear physical therapy specialists will be by your side throughout your recovery process with a personalized treatment plan that has been proven to work. Our treatment methods will help to:

• Alleviate pain and swelling
• Educate you on your injury and the rehab process
• 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
• Do movement exercises and balance exercises to increase mobility
• Perform strength exercises to increase strength
• Possibly use electrical stimulation as a supplement to the exercises

When you work with the knowledgeable Maryland Heights, 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 dominating the local flag football league, or just enjoying being able to to climb stairs without feeling any instability in your knee.

How to Prevent an ACL Tear | Maryland Heights, MO Physical Therapy

Unfortunately, many people suffer a second ACL tear and they can cause life-long repercussions. Included in your treatment program in Maryland Heights, MO, our Certified Athletic Trainers will educate you on how to avoid another ACL tear later on. Some of the preventive methods you can take in order to prevent further injury are:

• Having a strong core
• Having strong hip and leg muscles
• Practice correct form, for instance always landing with your feet directly over your knee
• Maintain flexibility
• Increase your balance
• Perform warm-up exercises before sports or other physical activities
• Make sure you are using appropriate footwear

Our physical therapists dedicate 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 Maryland Heights, 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 Maryland Heights, 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 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 design a proven, personalized physical therapy 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.