ACL Tear Greater Sappington, MO. ACL tears have a tremendous effect on your active and daily routine. One second you’re running down the court, taking part in your favorite sport or having fun with your children, 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 Sappington, MO, we have dedicated 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 personalized, empirically-backed treatment plans. If you’ve sustained an ACL tear, or any other injury, in Sappington, 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 breaking defender’s ankles on a Sappington, MO basketball court, or carrying your children on your shoulders without any pain.

The Anterior Cruciate Ligament | Sappington, MO Physical Therapy

Ligaments are bands found in joints made of tough, pliable connective tissue that affix two bones. The ligaments in the knee help keep your knee stable by affixing your tibia (shinbone) to your femur (thigh bone). The ACL, or anterior cruciate ligament, runs down the center of your knee and forms an “X” with the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL). The ACL and PCL work in concert to stabilize the front and back motion of your knee, and the ACL shields the tibia from slipping too far forward on the femur and provides rotational stability.

ACL tears can be either partial or complete. Depending on the grade of your ACL tear, your ability to put weight on your knee and your motion will be affected. However serious your injury, trust in the Sappington, MO licensed physical therapists of Axes to help you accomplish a complete recovery.

Causes of an ACL Tear | Sappington, MO Physical Therapy

There are up to 250,000 ACL injuries nationwide every 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 changing directions, such as football, baseball, soccer, and basketball. According to data from the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, the vast majority of ACL tears happen in non-contact injuries, such as cutting rapidly, and the rest are due to 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 obstructed immediately before the injury. Some examples are:

• Landing on uneven footing or landing with improper form
• Being hit by something or someone
• Suddenly decelerating or changing direction
• Spinning with a firmly planted foot
• Sustaining a direct blow to the knee

Internal Factors

These are related to the structure and anatomy of the body. Examples include:

• The anatomical differences 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 sustain an ACL tear, likely owing to anatomical differences.

Symptoms of an ACL Tear | Sappington, MO Physical Therapy

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

• Feeling or hearing a pop in your knee
• Having to cease activity
• Rapid swelling
• Reduction of range of motion
• Instability when bearing weight

If you think you’ve suffered an ACL tear, it’s crucial to visit a physician or a licensed physical therapist in Sappington, MO to confirm your injury and come up with the treatment plan you need to recover. We offer free, no strings attached injury screenings and know many trusted physicians in Sappington, MO that we can refer you to. Your Axes physical or occupational therapist, your doctor and medical providers, and you will join forces and work together to ensure your recovery is safe and efficient.

ACL Tear Treatments | Sappington, MO Physical Therapy

It is imperative to get effective and personalized treatment soon after your ACL tear. If you delay, or your treatment is ineffective, it can result in complications like obesity or osteoarthritis, which can greatly affect 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 manage pain and swelling. In an examination, a doctor will assess your range of motion, and likely order an MRI to verify the ACL tear and assess the completeness and grade of your tear.

Because blood does not flow to ligaments, 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 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 perform, patients whose ACL tears were accompanied by other significant damage to other parts of their knee, or those whose ACL tear causes pain or weakness when carrying out 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 in place, you still have a long way to go before you’ll feel fully back to normal. After surgery, you’ll likely 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 Sappington, MO to optimize your recovery and the success of your operation. Our ACL tear physical therapy experts will be by your side throughout your recovery process with proven, customized physical therapy. 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 effectively get you back to bearing weight
• Provide you with a brace and teach you how to safely use it
• Perform movement exercises and balance exercises to return range of motion
• Perform strength exercises to increase strength
• Potentially employ electrical stimulation as a supplement to the exercises

When you work with the knowledgeable Sappington, MO area physical therapists of Axes and take an active role in your recovery, you have the greatest chance of a complete and efficient recovery. Before you know it, we will return you to dominating the local flag football league, or just enjoying the ability to sit down and stand up without feeling any instability in your knee.

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

Unfortunately, many people suffer a second ACL tear and they can lead to permanent repercussions. As part of our ACL tear physical therapy services in Sappington, MO, our Certified Athletic Trainers will educate you on how to avoid another ACL tear down the line. We recommend some of the following steps to prevent further injury:

• Having a strong core
• Having strong hip and leg muscles
• Practice correct form, for example landing evenly on both feet
• Stretch consistently
• Perform balance exercises
• Perform warm-up exercises before sports or other physical activities
• Make sure you are using appropriate footwear

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

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

It is normal to be apprehensive 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 with you to produce a proven, customized rehabilitation plan to return you to the basketball court, bowling alley, or just back to your normal, pain-free daily activities. Contact us online or call the location are closest to you.