ACL Tear Greater New Town, MO. ACL tears have an enormous 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 New Town, 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 with you as a team and create personalized treatments plans that have been empirically proven to be effective. If you’ve sustained an ACL tear, or any other injury, in New Town, MO, contact us online or check out the most convenient Axes location for you. Our priority is getting every patient great results and getting you back to what’s most important to you, whether that means burning corners in your local New Town, MO flag football league, or picking up your grandchildren without any pain.

What is the ACL? | New Town, 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 maintain stability in your knee 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 concert to stabilize the forward and backward motion of your knee, and the ACL impedes the tibia from moving too far forward on the femur and supplies rotational stability.

Most ACL tears are partial, but they can be completely torn as well. Depending on the grade of your ACL tear, your ability to bear weight and your motion will be affected. No Matter how severe your injury, trust in the New Town, MO licensed physical therapists of Axes to help you fully recover.

Causes of an ACL Tear | New Town, MO Physical Therapy

There are up to 250,000 ACL injuries nationwide every year, and it is one of the most common 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 the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, almost three-quarters of ACL tears happen in non-contact injuries, such as changing direction quickly, 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 coordination is interrupted immediately before the injury. Some examples are:

• Landing on uneven footing or landing with improper form
• Being hit by something or someone
• Suddenly decelerating or changing direction
• Swiveling with a firmly planted foot
• Receiving a direct hit to the knee

Internal Factors

These concern the structure and anatomy of the knee and legs. Examples include:

• The anatomical differences between men and women
• Flexibility of the hamstring
• 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 sustain an ACL tear, likely due to anatomical differences.

Symptoms of an ACL Tear | New Town, MO Physical Therapy

After an ACL tear, the pain will likely be in the middle of the knee. You might not necessarily feel significant pain after an ACL tear unless other parts of the knee were also injured. Some indicators that you might have torn your ACL are:

• Feeling or hearing a pop in your knee
• Having to stop activity
• Rapid swelling
• Reduction of range of motion
• Not being able to put any weight on your knee

If you think you’ve suffered an ACL tear, it’s necessary to contact a physician or a licensed physical therapist in New Town, 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 physicians in New Town, 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 | New Town, MO Physical Therapy

It is imperative to get prompt, effective, personalized treatment for your ACL tear. If you delay, or your treatment is ineffective, it can cause problems like obesity or osteoarthritis, which can significantly impact your quality of life.

In the minutes after your ACL tear, it’s best to 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 range of motion, and likely order an MRI or other tests to confirm the ACL tear and assess the extent of the injury.

Because blood does not flow to ligaments, a complete ACL tear cannot heal on its own. That is why the aid of a licensed professional physical therapist is necessary to return to the activities you love. The only way to fully repair an ACL tear is through surgery. So, surgery is often necessary for younger people, athletes who need a fully healthy ACL in order to perform, patients with 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 usually 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 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 New Town, MO to optimize your recovery and the success of your operation. Our ACL tear physical therapy specialists will guide you through your recovery process with a personalized treatment plan that has been proven to work. As part of your treatment plan, we will:

• Reduce pain and swelling
• Educate you on your injury and the rehab process
• Gradually and successfully allow you to put weight on your knee again
• Fit you for a brace and teach you how to safely use it
• Do movement exercises and balance exercises to return mobility
• Do strength exercises to increase strength
• Possibly implement electrical stimulation to return strength and flexibility

You have the best chance for a full recovery by actively participating in it and trusting the licensed New Town, MO area physical therapists of Axes. Before you know it, we will get you back to dominating the local pick-up league, or just enjoying the ability to sit down and stand up without your knee buckling.

How to Prevent an ACL Tear | New Town, MO Physical Therapy

Unfortunately, second ACL tears are common and they can cause life-long repercussions. As part of our ACL tear physical therapy services in New Town, 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:

• Having a strong core
• Having strong hip and leg muscles
• Practice proper form, for example landing evenly on both feet
• Stretch consistently
• Perform balance exercises
• Always warm up before sports or other physical activities
• Always wear appropriate footwear

Our physical therapists committed themselves not only to retuning you to the things you love to do, but doing everything possible to ensure that you can carry on doing them without being disrupted by another injury.

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

It is normal to be nervous about your your 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 knowledgeable professionals of Axes Physical Therapy to work in concert with you to implement a proven, personalized physical therapy plan to get you back to the football field, bowling alley, or just back to your normal, pain-free daily activities. Contact us online or call the location are closest to you.