ACL Tear Greater Saint Paul, MO. ACL tears have a tremendous 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 to work again. At Axes Physical Therapy in Saint Paul, MO, we have dedicated our practice to helping our patients regain their strength and mobility, and getting them back to the activities they love. Our ACL tear rehabilitation specialists work in concert with you as a team and put in place customize treatments plans that have been empirically proven to be effective. If you’ve sustained an ACL tear, or any other injury, in Saint Paul, MO, contact us online or check out 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 running the bases in your local Saint Paul, MO league, or picking up your grandchildren without any pain.

What is the ACL? | Saint Paul, MO Physical Therapy

Ligaments are bands found in joints made of durable, pliable fibrous tissue that connect 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 tandem to control the front and back movement of your knee, and the ACL prevents the tibia from moving 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 lowered. Regardless of how serious your injury, trust in the Saint Paul, MO licensed physical therapists of Axes to help you fully recover.

Causes of an ACL Tear | Saint Paul, MO Physical Therapy

There are up to 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 demand frequent and fast cutting and changing directions, such as football, baseball, soccer, and basketball. According to the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, the vast majority of ACL tears happen in non-contact injuries, such as changing direction rapidly, 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 movement is disrupted immediately before the injury. Some examples are:

• Landing on uneven ground or landing with improper form
• Something or someone knocking into you
• A sudden reduction in speed or changing direction
• Swiveling with a firmly planted foot
• Receiving a direct blow to the knee

Internal Factors

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

• 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. 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 | Saint Paul, MO Physical Therapy

After an ACL tear, the pain will likely be in the middle of the knee. You might not necessarily feel considerable pain after an ACL tear unless other constructive damage was done to the knee. Some signals that you may have torn your ACL 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 put any weight on your knee

If you think you’ve suffered an ACL tear, it’s crucial to visit a physician or a licensed physical therapist in Saint Paul, MO to confirm your injury and start the treatment you need to recover. We offer complimentary, no-obligation injury screenings and know many excellent doctors in Saint Paul, 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 | Saint Paul, MO Physical Therapy

It is important to get effective and personalized treatment soon after your ACL tear. If you don’t, it can result in problems such as obesity or osteoarthritis, which can greatly affect 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 alleviate pain and inflammation. In an examination, a doctor will evaluate your mobility, and likely order an MRI to confirm the ACL tear and gauge the extent 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 get back 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 serious damage to other parts of their knee, or those whose ACL tear causes their knee to buckle in basic, everyday activities. 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 may 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 Saint Paul, MO to optimize your recovery and the success of your surgery. Our ACL tear physical therapy professionals will lead you through your recovery process with proven, customized physical therapy. As part of your treatment plan, we will:

• Alleviate 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
• Perform strength exercises to return you to full strength
• Potentially implement electrical stimulation to return strength and flexibility

When you work with the knowledgeable Saint Paul, MO area physical therapists of Axes and take an active role in your rehabilitation, you have the greatest chance of a complete and timely recovery. Before you know it, we will return you to dominating the local flag football league, or just enjoying being able to to climb stairs without feeling any instability in your knee.

How to Prevent an ACL Tear | Saint Paul, MO Physical Therapy

Unfortunately, second ACL tears are common and they can have life-long repercussions. Included in your treatment program in Saint Paul, MO, our Certified Athletic Trainers will help you understand the best practices that help to avoid another ACL tear down the line. 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 proper technique, for instance bending at the knees and hips when turning
• Stretch consistently
• Perform balance exercises
• Perform warm-up exercises 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 what we can to make certain that you stay off the sidelines.

Some of the other services we offer in Saint Paul, MO are:

• Stroke Rehabilitation
• Hip Replacement Physical Therapy
• Workers Comp' Physical Therapy
• Migraine Relief
• Sprain and Strain Treatment
• Geriatric Physical Therapy
• Injury Rehabilitation
• Pain Management Services
• TMJ Treatment
• Herniated Disc Treatment

ACL Tear in Saint Paul, MO | Axes Physical Therapy

It is normal to be anxious about your prognosis and road to recovery after being seriously injured. 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 alongside you to design a proven, tailor-made physical therapy plan to return you 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.