ACL Tear Greater Parkdale, MO. ACL tears have a tremendous effect on your active routine and daily life. One instant you’re flying down the field, engaging in your favorite sport or playing with your kids, and the next instant you’re don’t know if you’ll get to play or even go to work again. At Axes Physical Therapy in Parkdale, 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 in tandem with you as a team and create customize treatments plans that have been empirically proven to be effective. If you’ve sustained an ACL tear, or any other injury, in Parkdale, MO, contact us online or locate 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 running the bases in your local Parkdale, MO league, or carrying your children on your shoulders without any pain.

The Anterior Cruciate Ligament | Parkdale, MO Physical Therapy

Ligaments are bands found in joints made of tough, pliable connective tissue that attach 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, 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 motion of your knee, and the ACL prevents the tibia from gliding too far forward on the femur and supplies rotational stability.

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 impacted. However severe your injury, trust in the Parkdale, MO licensed physical therapists of Axes to help you accomplish a complete recovery.

Why an ACL Tear Happens | Parkdale, MO Physical Therapy

There are up to 250,000 ACL injuries nationwide each 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, 70% of ACL tears occur in non-contact injuries, such as cutting rapidly, and the rest are caused by direct blunt force trauma. External and internal factors could both contribute to an ACL tear:

External Factors

These are when your movement is disrupted just before the injury. Some examples are:

• Landing on uneven ground or landing awkwardly
• Colliding with something or someone
• A sudden reduction in speed or changing direction
• Pivoting with a firmly planted foot
• Suffering a direct hit to the knee

Internal Factors

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

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

ACL tears don’t just occur 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 suffer an ACL tear, likely because of anatomical differences.

Symptoms of an ACL Tear | Parkdale, MO Physical Therapy

After an ACL tear, you’ll likely feel pain at the center of the knee. You might not necessarily feel sever pain after an ACL tear except if other parts of the knee were also injured. Some signs that you might have suffered an ACL tear include:

• Feeling or hearing a pop in your knee
• Having to cease activity
• Your knee becoming inflamed quickly
• Reduction of range of motion
• Not being able to bear weight your knee

If you suspect you’ve sustained an ACL tear, it’s imperative to contact a physician or a licensed physical therapist in Parkdale, MO to confirm your injury and start the treatment you need to recover. We offer complimentary, no strings attached injury screenings and have a wide network of excellent physicians in Parkdale, MO that we can connect you with. 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 | Parkdale, MO Physical Therapy

It is imperative to get prompt, effective, personalized treatment for your ACL tear. If you wait, or your treatment is ineffective, it can cause problems such as obesity or osteoarthritis, which can significantly impact how you live your 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 manage 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 completeness and grade of your tear.

As there is no blood flow to the ligament, a complete ACL tear will not be able to regenerate on its own. 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 necessary for younger people, athletes who need a fully functioning ACL in order to play, patients whose ACL tears were accompanied by other serious injury to other parts of their knee, or those whose ACL tear causes their knee to buckle in basic, everyday tasks. 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 attached, your journey back to normalcy and the activities you love is still a long way from over. After surgery, you’ll probably 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 Parkdale, 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:

• 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
• Provide you with 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 return you to full strength
• Possibly use electrical stimulation as a supplement to the exercises

When you work with the experienced Parkdale, MO area physical therapists of Axes and take an active role in your recovery, you have the best chance of a complete and quick recovery. Before you know it, we will get you back to dominating the local pick-up league, or just enjoying the ability to climb stairs without any pain.

How to Prevent an ACL Tear | Parkdale, 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 Parkdale, MO, our Certified Athletic Trainers will help you understand the best practices that help to avoid another ACL tear later on. 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 technique, for example always landing with your feet directly over your knee
• Maintain flexibility
• Perform balance exercises
• Perform warm-up exercises before sports or other physical activities
• Always wear appropriate footwear

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

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

It is normal to be apprehensive about your prognosis and road to recovery after suffering a severe injury. 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 create a proven, tailor-made rehabilitation plan to get you back to the football field, bowling alley, or just back to your normal, pain-free life. Contact us online or call the location are closest to you.