ACL Tear Greater Mehlville, 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 Mehlville, 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 create personalized, empirically-backed treatment plans. If you’ve sustained an ACL tear, or any other injury, in Mehlville, MO, contact us online or locate the most convenient Axes location for you. We focus on getting every patient great results and getting you back to the things that matter most to you, whether that means burning corners in your local Mehlville, MO flag football league, or picking up your grandchildren without any pain.

The Anterior Cruciate Ligament | Mehlville, MO Physical Therapy

Ligaments are bands found in joints made of durable, pliable 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, runs down the center of your knee and forms an “X” with the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL). The ACL and PCL work together to control the forward and backward movement of your knee, and the ACL impedes the tibia from gliding 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 motion will be affected. No Matter how serious your injury, trust in the Mehlville, MO licensed physical therapists of Axes to help you achieve a complete recovery.

Why an ACL Tear Happens | Mehlville, MO Physical Therapy

There are as many as 250,000 ACL injuries in the United States every year, and it is one of the most common knee injuries and sports injuries. They are common in contact sports that entail frequent and fast cutting and switching directions, such as football, baseball, soccer, and basketball. According to data from the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, 70% of ACL tears happen in non-contact injuries, such as changing direction quickly, and the rest are the result of direct blows to the knee. 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 footing or landing with improper form
• Something or someone knocking into you
• Suddenly decelerating or switching direction
• Pivoting 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. Some examples are:

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

While many ACL tears occur 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 as a result of anatomical differences.

Symptoms of an ACL Tear | Mehlville, MO Physical Therapy

Following an ACL tear, you’ll likely feel pain at the center of the knee. You might not necessarily feel significant pain after an ACL tear except if other parts of the knee were also injured. Some signals that you may have suffered an ACL tear are:

• Feeling or hearing a pop in your knee
• Having to stop activity
• Your knee becoming inflamed quickly
• 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 Mehlville, MO to diagnose your injury and get you the treatment you need. We offer free, no-obligation injury screenings and have a great network of excellent doctors in Mehlville, MO that we can refer you to. Your Axes physical or occupational therapist, your doctor and medical providers, and you will form a close team and work together to ensure your recovery is safe and efficient.

ACL Tear Treatments | Mehlville, MO Physical Therapy

It is essential to get prompt, effective, personalized treatment for your ACL tear. If you delay, or your treatment is ineffective, it can lead to problems such as obesity or osteoarthritis, which can significantly impact you for the remainder of your life.

Immediately after your ACL tear, you should use over-the-counter pain medication and the R.I.C.E. method to mitigate pain and swelling. In an examination, a doctor will assess your range of motion, and likely order an MRI or other tests to verify the ACL tear and judge the completeness and grade of your tear.

Because blood does not flow to ligaments, a complete ACL tear cannot heal 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. The only way to fully repair an ACL tear is through surgery. So, surgery is often advisable for younger people, athletes who need a fully healthy ACL in order to play, patients with other serious damage to other parts of their knee, or those whose ACL tear causes pain or weakness when performing 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 probably need crutches to move around, as your quadriceps muscles will have weakened. Axes Physical Therapy offers both pre- and post-surgical rehabilitation for ACL tears in Mehlville, MO to get you a positive outcome for both your physical rehabilitation and your surgery. Our ACL tear physical therapy specialists will work with you throughout your recovery process with a personalized treatment plan that has been proven to work. As part of your treatment plan, we will:

• Alleviate pain and swelling
• Provide patient education so you understand your injury and why our methods work
• Gradually and effectively get you back to bearing weight
• Provide you with a brace and teach you how to safely use it
• Do movement exercises and balance exercises to increase range of motion
• Do strength exercises to increase strength
• Potentially implement electrical stimulation as a supplement to the exercises

You have the best chance for a full recovery by actively participating in it and trusting the licensed Mehlville, MO area physical therapists of Axes. Before you know it, we will get you back to tearing up the local softball league, or just enjoying being able to to climb stairs without your knee buckling.

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

Unfortunately, many people suffer a second ACL tear and they can lead to life-long repercussions. Included in your treatment program in Mehlville, MO, our Certified Athletic Trainers will help you understand the best practices that help to avoid another ACL tear in the future. We recommend some of the following steps to prevent further injury:

• Strengthen your core
• Strengthen your hip and leg muscles
• Practice proper technique, for example always landing with your feet directly over your knee
• Maintain flexibility
• Perform balance exercises
• Always warm up before sports or other physical activities
• Always wear appropriate footwear

Our physical therapists dedicate themselves not only to getting you back to the things you love to do, but doing everything possible to make sure that you stay off the sidelines.

Some of the other services we offer in Mehlville, 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 Mehlville, MO | Axes Physical Therapy

It is normal to be apprehensive about your what your life will look like in the future 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 with you to create a proven, tailor-made rehabilitation plan to return you to the basketball court, bowling alley, or just back to your normal, pain-free life. Contact us online or call the location are closest to you.