ACL Tear Greater Mechanicsville, MO. ACL tears can abruptly upset 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 to work again. At Axes Physical Therapy in Mechanicsville, 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 with you as a team and develop personalized treatments plans that have been empirically proven to be effective. If you’ve suffered an ACL tear, or any other injury, in Mechanicsville, MO, contact us online or check out the most convenient Axes location for you. Our mission is getting every patient a positive outcome and getting you back to what’s most important to you, whether that means running the bases in your local Mechanicsville, MO league, or carrying your children on your shoulders without any pain.

What is the ACL? | Mechanicsville, MO Physical Therapy

Ligaments are bands found in joints made of tough, flexible fibrous tissue that connect 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, 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 control the forward and backward movement of your knee, and the ACL impedes the tibia from slipping too far forward on the femur and supplies stability when the joint rotates.

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 range of motion will be reduced. No Matter how significant your injury, trust in the Mechanicsville, MO licensed physical therapists of Axes to help you fully heal.

Why an ACL Tear Happens | Mechanicsville, MO Physical Therapy

There are up to 250,000 ACL injuries nationwide annually, and it is one of the most frequent knee injuries and sports injuries. They are common in contact sports that call for frequent and rapid cutting and switching directions, such as football, baseball, soccer, and basketball. 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 because of direct blunt force trauma. External and internal factors could both be at play when you sustain 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 with improper form
• Colliding with something or someone
• A sudden reduction in speed or switching direction
• Swiveling with a firmly planted foot
• Suffering a direct blow to the knee

Internal Factors

These have to do with the structure and anatomy of the knee and legs. Some examples are:

• The differences in anatomy between men and women
• How flexible the hamstring and other surrounding muscles are
• Genetic differences

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 owing to anatomical differences.

Symptoms of an ACL Tear | Mechanicsville, MO Physical Therapy

After an ACL tear, the pain will likely be in the middle of the knee. You might not necessarily feel sever pain after an ACL tear except if other structural damage was done to the knee. Some signals that you may have torn your ACL are:

• Feeling or hearing a pop in your knee
• Inability to continue activity
• Rapid swelling
• Reduction of range of motion
• Not being able to bear weight your knee

If you suspect you’ve suffered an ACL tear, it’s necessary to reach out to a doctor or a licensed physical therapist in Mechanicsville, MO to verify your injury and get you the treatment you need. We offer free, no strings attached injury screenings and have a great network of trusted physicians in Mechanicsville, MO that we can refer you to. Your Axes physical or occupational therapist, your doctor and medical providers, and you will join forces and work together to ensure your recovery is safe and efficient.

ACL Tear Treatments | Mechanicsville, MO Physical Therapy

It is important to get effective and personalized treatment soon after your ACL tear. If you don’t, it can cause complications like obesity or osteoarthritis, which can greatly affect you for the remainder of 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 mobility, and likely order an MRI to confirm the ACL tear and assess the extent of the injury.

Because blood does not flow to ligaments, a complete ACL tear will not be able to heal on its own. 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 the best option for younger people, athletes who need their knee reconstructed in order to play, patients with other significant damage to 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 torn 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, 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 Mechanicsville, MO to optimize your recovery and the success of 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:

• Reduce pain and swelling
• Educate you on your injury and the rehab process
• Gradually and successfully 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 mobility
• Do strength exercises to increase strength
• Possibly use electrical stimulation to return strength and flexibility

When you work with the knowledgeable Mechanicsville, MO area physical therapists of Axes and take an active role in your recovery, you have the greatest chance of a complete and quick recovery. Before you know it, we will get you back 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 | Mechanicsville, MO Physical Therapy

Unfortunately, second ACL tears are common and they can cause permanent repercussions. As part of our ACL tear physical therapy services in Mechanicsville, MO, our Certified Athletic Trainers will help you understand the best practices that help to avoid another ACL tear down the line. 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 bending at the knees and hips when turning
• Stretch consistently
• Perform balance exercises
• Always warm up 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 certain that you stay off the sidelines.

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

• 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
• Hip Replacement Physical Therapy

ACL Tear in Mechanicsville, MO | Axes Physical Therapy

It is normal to be apprehensive about your what your life will look like in the future after being seriously injured. 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 experienced professionals of Axes Physical Therapy to work with you to implement a proven, personalized rehabilitation 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.