ACL Tear Greater Old Monroe, MO. ACL tears can abruptly disrupt 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 Old Monroe, MO, we have devoted 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 customize, empirically-backed treatment plans. If you’ve suffered an ACL tear, or any other injury, in Old Monroe, MO, contact us online or find the most convenient Axes location for you. Our mission is getting every patient positive results and getting you back to what’s most important to you, whether that means burning corners in your local Old Monroe, MO flag football league, or carrying your children on your shoulders without any pain.

The Anterior Cruciate Ligament | Old Monroe, MO Physical Therapy

Ligaments are bands found in joints made of tough, flexible connective 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 control the front and back motion of your knee, and the ACL shields the tibia from sliding 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 capacity to put weight on your knee and range of motion will be lowered. No Matter how severe your injury, trust in the Old Monroe, MO licensed physical therapists of Axes to help you fully recover.

Causes of an ACL Tear | Old Monroe, MO Physical Therapy

There are as many as 250,000 ACL injuries nationwide each year, 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 happen in non-contact injuries, such as changing direction quickly, and the rest are the result 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 motion is interrupted just before the injury. Some examples are:

• Landing on uneven ground or landing awkwardly
• Something or someone bumping into you
• Instantly decelerating or changing direction
• Swiveling 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. Examples include:

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

While many ACL tears happen 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 due to anatomical differences.

Symptoms of an ACL Tear | Old Monroe, MO Physical Therapy

When you suffer an ACL tear, the pain will likely be in the middle of the knee. An ACL tear does not always cause significant pain except if other structural damage was done to the knee. Some signals that you might have torn your ACL include:

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

If you think you’ve sustained an ACL tear, it’s important to visit a doctor or a licensed physical therapist in Old Monroe, MO to verify your injury and come up with the treatment plan you need to recover. We offer no-cost, no-obligation injury screenings and know many excellent physicians in Old Monroe, 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 | Old Monroe, MO Physical Therapy

It is vital to get effective and personalized treatment soon after your ACL tear. If your injury does not heal don’t, it can result in problems like obesity or osteoarthritis, which can significantly impact how you live your life.

Immediately after 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 range of motion, and likely order an MRI or other tests to verify the ACL tear and judge the severity of the injury.

Because blood does not flow to ligaments, a complete ACL tear will not be able to heal by itself. This means that you will need the help of licensed professional physical therapists in order to return to the activities you love. The only way to fully repair an ACL tear is through surgery. So, surgery is often the best option for younger people, athletes who need a fully functioning ACL in order to play, patients whose ACL tears were accompanied by other significant injury to their knee, or those whose ACL tear causes their knee to buckle in basic, everyday activities. ACL surgery is typically 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, you still have a long way to go before you’ll feel fully back to normal. After surgery, you’ll likely 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 Old Monroe, MO to get you the best results for both your physical rehabilitation and 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:

• 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
• Fit you for a brace and teach you how to safely use it
• Perform movement exercises and balance exercises to increase mobility
• Perform strength exercises to return you to full strength
• Potentially use electrical stimulation as a supplement to the exercises

When you work with the experienced Old Monroe, MO area physical therapists of Axes and take an active role in your recovery, you have the greatest chance of a complete and timely recovery. Before you know it, we will get you back to tearing up the local softball league, or just enjoying the ability to climb stairs without your knee buckling.

How to Prevent an ACL Tear | Old Monroe, MO Physical Therapy

Unfortunately, many people sustain a second ACL tear and they can lead to permanent consequences. Included in your treatment program in Old Monroe, MO, our Certified Athletic Trainers will educate you on how to avoid another ACL tear later on. 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 instance bending at the knees and hips when turning
• Stretch consistently
• Perform balance exercises
• Always warm up before sports or other physical activities
• Always wear appropriate footwear

Our physical therapists devote themselves not only to retuning you to the things you love to do, but doing everything possible to make certain that you can continue doing them without being disrupted by another injury.

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

It is normal to be nervous 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 knowledgeable professionals of Axes Physical Therapy to work in concert with you to design a proven, tailor-made rehabilitation plan to get you back to the football field, gymnasts’ mat, or just back to your normal, pain-free life. Contact us online or call the location are closest to you.