ACL Tear Greater Ranken, MO. ACL tears can suddenly disrupt your active and daily routine. 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 Ranken, 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 design personalized, empirically-backed treatment plans. If you’ve suffered an ACL tear, or any other injury, in Ranken, 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 the things that matter most to you, whether that means burning corners in your local Ranken, MO flag football league, or carrying your children on your shoulders without any pain.

The Anterior Cruciate Ligament | Ranken, MO Physical Therapy

Ligaments are bands found in joints made of durable, flexible fibrous tissue that connect 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 together to stabilize the forward and backward movement of your knee, and the ACL safeguards the tibia from gliding too far forward on the femur and supplies 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 your movement will be affected. However significant your injury, trust in the Ranken, MO licensed physical therapists of Axes to help you fully heal.

Why an ACL Tear Happens | Ranken, MO Physical Therapy

There are as many as 250,000 ACL injuries nationwide every year, and it is one of the most frequent knee injuries and sports injuries. They are common in contact sports that call for 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 because of direct blunt force trauma. External and internal factors could both contribute to an ACL tear:

External Factors

These are when your movement is obstructed immediately before the injury. Some examples are:

• Landing on uneven footing or landing with improper form
• Being hit by something or someone
• A sudden reduction in speed or switching direction
• Spinning with a firmly planted foot
• Sustaining a direct blow to the knee

Internal Factors

These concern the structure and anatomy of the body. Some examples are:

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

ACL tears don’t just occur in sports, falls and work-related injuries can hurt they ACL as well. 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 owing to anatomical differences.

Symptoms of an ACL Tear | Ranken, MO Physical Therapy

After an ACL tear, the pain will likely be at the center of the knee. You might not necessarily feel considerable pain after an ACL tear except if other constructive damage was done to the knee. Some signals that you might have suffered an ACL tear include:

• A “popping” sensation in your knee
• Having to cease activity
• Rapid swelling
• Reduction of range of motion
• Not being able to bear weight your knee

If you think you’ve suffered an ACL tear, it’s important to contact a physician or a licensed physical therapist in Ranken, MO to confirm your injury and get you the treatment you need. We offer no-cost, no-obligation injury screenings and have a wide network of excellent physicians in Ranken, 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.

How to Treat an ACL Tear | Ranken, MO Physical Therapy

It is important to get effective and personalized treatment soon after your ACL tear. If you delay, or your treatment is ineffective, it can lead to health conditions like obesity or osteoarthritis, which can greatly affect 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 reduce pain and swelling. A doctor will then examine you, evaluate your range of motion, and likely order an MRI to confirm the ACL tear and evaluate 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. 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 necessary for younger people, athletes who need their knee reconstructed in order to perform, patients with other serious damage 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 damaged 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 Ranken, MO to optimize your recovery and the success of your operation. Our ACL tear physical therapy professionals will work with you throughout your recovery process with a personalized treatment plan that has been demonstrated to work. Our treatment methods will help to:

• 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
• Perform movement exercises and balance exercises to return range of motion
• Do strength exercises to increase strength
• Possibly use electrical stimulation to return strength and flexibility

You have the best chance for a full recovery by actively participating in it and trusting the professional Ranken, MO area physical therapists of Axes. Before you know it, we will return you to tearing up the local pick-up league, or just enjoying the ability to climb stairs without any pain.

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

Unfortunately, many people suffer a second ACL tear and they can have life-long consequences. Included in your treatment program in Ranken, 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:

• 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
• Increase your balance
• Perform warm-up exercises before sports or other physical activities
• Always wear appropriate footwear

Our physical therapists devote themselves not only to getting you back to the activities you love, but doing what we can to make sure that you stay off the sidelines.

Some of the other services we offer in Ranken, 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 Ranken, 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 experienced professionals of Axes Physical Therapy to work in concert with you to create a proven, personalized physical therapy plan to get you back to the basketball court, gymnasts’ mat, or just back to your normal, pain-free life. Contact us online or call the location are closest to you.