ACL Tear Greater Olympian Village, MO. ACL tears can suddenly 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 to work again. At Axes Physical Therapy in Olympian Village, 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 tandem with you as a team and put in place customize, evidence-based treatment plans. If you’ve sustained an ACL tear, or any other injury, in Olympian Village, MO, contact us online or find the most convenient Axes location for you. Our priority is getting every patient positive results and getting you back to what’s most important to you, whether that means dominating your local Olympian Village, MO pickleball league, or picking up your grandchildren without any pain.

The Anterior Cruciate Ligament | Olympian Village, MO Physical Therapy

Ligaments are bands found in joints made of tough, pliable connective tissue that attach two bones. The ligaments in the knee help keep your knee stable by attaching 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 front and back motion of your knee, and the ACL impedes the tibia from moving 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 ability to bear weight and range of motion will be lowered. No Matter how serious your injury, trust in the Olympian Village, MO licensed physical therapists of Axes to help you fully heal.

Causes of an ACL Tear | Olympian Village, MO Physical Therapy

There are as many as 250,000 ACL injuries in the United States each year, and it is one of the most common knee injuries and sports injuries. They are common in contact sports that entail frequent and rapid cutting and switching directions, such as football, baseball, soccer, and basketball. According to reporting from the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, 70% of ACL tears happen in non-contact injuries, such as cutting quickly, and the rest are because of direct blows to the knee. External and internal factors could both be at play when you suffer an ACL tear:

External Factors

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

• Landing on uneven ground or landing with improper form
• Colliding with something or someone
• Instantly decelerating or switching direction
• Swiveling with a firmly planted foot
• Receiving a direct hit to the knee

Internal Factors

These have to do with the structure and anatomy of the knee and legs. Examples include:

• The anatomical differences between men and women
• Flexibility of the hamstring
• Genetic differences

ACL tears don’t just transpire in sports, falls and work-related injuries can hurt they ACL as well. They can become more common as we age and our bodies weaken. Women are 4-6 times more likely to sustain an ACL tear, likely because of anatomical differences.

Symptoms of an ACL Tear | Olympian Village, MO Physical Therapy

After an ACL tear, you’ll likely feel pain in the middle of the knee. An ACL tear does not always cause significant pain except if other parts of the knee were also injured. Some signals that you may have torn your ACL are:

• A “popping” sensation in your knee
• Not being able to continue activity
• Your knee becoming inflamed quickly
• Loss of range of motion
• Not being able to bear weight your knee

If you think you’ve suffered an ACL tear, it’s necessary to reach out to a physician or a licensed physical therapist in Olympian Village, MO to verify your injury and get you the treatment you need. We offer complimentary, no-obligation injury screenings and work with many trusted doctors in Olympian Village, MO that we can refer you to. Your Axes physical or occupational therapist is an indispensable 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 | Olympian Village, MO Physical Therapy

It is imperative to get prompt, effective, personalized treatment for your ACL tear. If your injury does not heal properly, it can cause problems like obesity or osteoarthritis, which can significantly impact how you live your life.

In the minutes after your ACL tear, you should use over-the-counter pain medication and the R.I.C.E. method to mitigate pain and inflammation. In an examination, a doctor will assess your range of motion, and likely order an MRI to verify the ACL tear and assess the extent of the injury.

As there is no blood flow to the ligament, a complete ACL tear will not be able to regenerate 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 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 pain or weakness when carrying out basic, everyday activities. In an ACL surgery, a surgeon will remove the injured 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 may 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 Olympian Village, MO to optimize your recovery and the success of your operation. Our ACL tear physical therapy professionals will lead you through your recovery process with a personalized treatment plan that has been demonstrated to work. Our treatment methods will help to:

• Reduce pain and swelling
• Provide patient education so you understand your injury and why our methods work
• 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
• Perform movement exercises and balance exercises to return range of motion
• Do strength exercises to increase strength
• Potentially employ electrical stimulation as a supplement to the exercises

When you work with the knowledgeable Olympian Village, MO area physical therapists of Axes and take an active role in your rehabilitation, you have the best chance of a complete and quick recovery. Before you know it, we will get you back to tearing up the local pickleball league, or just enjoying being able to to climb stairs without feeling any instability in your knee.

How to Prevent an ACL Tear | Olympian Village, MO Physical Therapy

Unfortunately, second ACL tears are common and they can have life-long repercussions. As part of our ACL tear physical therapy services in Olympian Village, MO, our Certified Athletic Trainers will help you understand the best practices that help to avoid another ACL tear in the future. Some of the preventive methods you can take in order to prevent further injury are:

• Strengthen your core
• Having strong hip and leg muscles
• Practice proper technique, for instance 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 getting you back to the activities you love, 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 Olympian Village, 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 Olympian Village, MO | Axes Physical Therapy

It is normal to be anxious about your your 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 in concert with you to produce a proven, customized rehabilitation plan to return you 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.