ACL Tear Greater St. Peters, MO. ACL tears have a tremendous effect on your active routine and daily life. One moment you’re running down the field, playing your favorite sport or having fun with your children, and the next second you’re thinking about whether you’ll get to play or even go to work again. At Axes Physical Therapy in St. Peters, MO, we have devoted 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 develop tailored, evidence-based treatment plans. If you’ve suffered an ACL tear, or any other injury, in St. Peters, MO, contact us online or locate the most convenient Axes location for you. We focus on getting every patient great results and getting you back to the things that matter most to you, whether that means breaking defender’s ankles on a St. Peters, MO basketball court, or carrying your children on your shoulders without any pain.

What is the ACL? | St. Peters, MO Physical Therapy

Ligaments are bands found in joints made of durable, pliable fibrous tissue that connect two bones. The ligaments in the knee help keep your knee stable by connecting 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 together to control the front and back movement of your knee, and the ACL prevents the tibia from sliding 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 put weight on your knee and your motion will be affected. However significant your injury, trust in the St. Peters, MO licensed physical therapists of Axes to help you fully recover.

Causes of an ACL Tear | St. Peters, MO Physical Therapy

There are up to 250,000 ACL injuries nationwide annually, and it is one of the most frequent knee injuries and sports injuries. They are common in contact sports that entail frequent and fast cutting and changing directions, such as football, baseball, soccer, and basketball. According to reporting 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 the result of direct blows to the knee. External and internal factors could both contribute to an ACL tear:

External Factors

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

• Landing on uneven footing or landing with improper form
• Colliding with something or someone
• A sudden reduction in speed or changing direction
• Swiveling with a firmly planted foot
• Suffering a direct blow to the knee

Internal Factors

These have to do with the structure and anatomy of the body. Some examples are:

• The differences in anatomy between men and women
• Flexibility of the hamstring
• Differences in genetics

ACL tears don’t just transpire in sports, falls and work-related injuries can damage 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 sustain an ACL tear, likely as a result of anatomical differences.

Symptoms of an ACL Tear | St. Peters, MO Physical Therapy

When you sustain an ACL tear, you’ll likely feel pain at the center of the knee. An ACL tear does not always cause sever pain except if other constructive damage was done to the knee. Some indicators that you might have sustained an ACL tear are:

• A “popping” sensation or sound in your knee
• Not being able to continue activity
• Your knee becoming inflamed quickly
• Reduction of range of motion
• Instability when bearing weight

If you think you’ve suffered an ACL tear, it’s critical to contact a physician or a licensed physical therapist in St. Peters, MO to diagnose your injury and get you the treatment you need. We offer complimentary, no-obligation injury screenings and have a wide network of trusted physicians in St. Peters, 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.

How to Treat an ACL Tear | St. Peters, MO Physical Therapy

It is imperative to get prompt, effective, personalized treatment for your ACL tear. If your injury does not heal don’t, it can lead to health conditions such as obesity or osteoarthritis, which can greatly affect you for the remainder of your life.

Immediately 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 swelling. In an examination, a doctor will assess your range of motion, and likely order an MRI to verify the ACL tear and evaluate the extent of the injury.

Because ligaments do not receive blood flow, a complete ACL tear cannot regenerate by itself. That is why the aid of a licensed professional physical therapist is necessary to return 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 play, patients whose ACL tears were accompanied by other serious injury to other parts of their knee, or those whose ACL tear causes pain or weakness when performing basic, everyday tasks. ACL surgery is usually done by taking a graft from another tendon — either one of yours or a deceased donor’s — and then using small incisions to attach the graft to the femur and tibia.

Once the new ligament is in place, your journey back to normalcy and the activities you love is still a long way from over. 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 St. Peters, MO to optimize your recovery and the success of your surgery. 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
• Provide patient education so you understand your injury and why our methods work
• Gradually and effectively get you back to bearing weight
• Fit you for a brace and teach you how to safely use it
• Perform movement exercises and balance exercises to return mobility
• Do strength exercises to increase strength
• Potentially implement electrical stimulation to return strength and flexibility

When you work with the experienced St. Peters, MO area physical therapists of Axes and take an active role in your recovery, you have the greatest chance of a complete and quick recovery. Before you know it, we will return you to dominating the local pick-up league, or just enjoying being able to to climb stairs without feeling any instability in your knee.

How to Prevent an ACL Tear | St. Peters, MO Physical Therapy

Unfortunately, many people sustain a second ACL tear and they can result in life-long consequences. As part of our ACL tear physical therapy services in St. Peters, 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
• Having strong hip and leg muscles
• Practice correct form, for instance bending at the knees and hips when turning
• Stretch consistently
• Increase your balance
• Always warm up before sports or other physical activities
• Make sure you are using appropriate footwear

Our physical therapists committed themselves not only to retuning you to the activities you love, but doing what we can to ensure that you stay off the sidelines.

Some of the other services we offer in St. Peters, 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 St. Peters, MO | Axes Physical Therapy

It is normal to experience anxieties 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 knowledgeable professionals of Axes Physical Therapy to work in concert with you to design a proven, customized physical therapy 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.