ACL Tear Sunset Hills, MO | Physical and Occupational Therapy

ACL Tear Greater Sunset Hills, MO. ACL tears can suddenly upend your active and daily routine. One second you’re running down the court, taking part in your favorite sport or playing with your children, and the next instant you’re thinking about whether you’ll get to play or even go back to your job again. At Axes Physical Therapy in Sunset Hills, MO, we have committed 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 tandem with you as a team and design personalized treatments plans that have been empirically proven to be effective. If you’ve suffered an ACL tear, or any other injury, in Sunset Hills, MO, contact us online or check out the most convenient Axes location for you. We focus on getting every patient positive results and getting you back to the things that matter most to you, whether that means dominating your local Sunset Hills, MO pickleball league, or picking up your grandchildren without any pain.

The Anterior Cruciate Ligament | Sunset Hills, MO Physical Therapy

Ligaments are bands found in joints made of durable, pliable fibrous tissue that attach two bones. The ligaments in the knee help maintain stability in your knee by attaching 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 stabilize the front and back movement of your knee, and the ACL prevents the tibia from gliding too far forward on the femur and provides stability when the joint rotates.

Most ACL tears are partial, but they can be completely torn as well. Depending on the grade of your ACL tear, your ability to bear weight and your movement will be affected. However serious your injury, trust in the Sunset Hills, MO licensed physical therapists of Axes to help you attain a complete recovery.

Why an ACL Tear Happens | Sunset Hills, MO Physical Therapy

There are as many as 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 demand frequent and fast cutting and changing 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 cutting 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 motion is obstructed immediately before the injury. Some examples are:

Landing on uneven footing or landing awkwardly
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 have to do with the structure and anatomy of the knee and legs. Some examples are:

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

ACL tears don’t just happen in sports, falls and work-related injuries can harm they ACL too. 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 due to anatomical differences.

Symptoms of an ACL Tear | Sunset Hills, MO Physical Therapy

Following 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 parts of the knee were also injured. Some indicators that you might have suffered an ACL tear are:

A “popping” sensation in your knee
Not being able to continue activity
Rapid swelling
Loss of range of motion
Not being able to bear weight your knee

If you think you’ve sustained an ACL tear, it’s imperative to reach out to a doctor or a licensed physical therapist in Sunset Hills, MO to diagnose your injury and come up with the treatment plan you need to recover. We offer complimentary, no strings attached injury screenings and work with many trusted physicians in Sunset Hills, 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 Therapy Sunset Hills, MO | Physical and Occupational Therapy Near Sunset Hills

ACL Tear Treatments | Sunset Hills, MO Physical Therapy

It is essential to get effective and personalized treatment soon after your ACL tear. If you wait, or your treatment is ineffective, it can lead to health conditions like obesity or osteoarthritis, which can significantly impact your quality of life.

In the minutes after your ACL tear, you should use over-the-counter pain medication and the R.I.C.E. method to alleviate pain and swelling. In an examination, a doctor will evaluate your range of motion, and likely order an MRI to confirm the ACL tear and evaluate the completeness and grade of your tear.

Because blood does not flow to ligaments, a complete ACL tear cannot regenerate on its own. 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 the best option for younger people, athletes who need their knee reconstructed in order to perform, patients whose ACL tears were accompanied by other significant injury 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 injured 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 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 Sunset Hills, MO to get you the best results for both your recovery and your surgery. Our ACL tear physical therapy professionals will be by your side throughout your recovery process with proven, customized physical therapy. 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
Provide you with 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
Possibly utilize electrical stimulation to return strength and flexibility

When you work with the knowledgeable Sunset Hills, MO area physical therapists of Axes and take an active role in your rehabilitation, you have the best chance of a complete and efficient recovery. Before you know it, we will return you to tearing up the local pickleball league, or just enjoying the ability to climb stairs without any pain.

How to Prevent an ACL Tear | Sunset Hills, MO Physical Therapy

Unfortunately, second ACL tears are common and they can cause life-long consequences. As part of our ACL tear physical therapy services in Sunset Hills, MO, our Certified Athletic Trainers will educate you on how to avoid another ACL tear down the line. 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 technique, for example bending at the knees and hips when turning
Maintain flexibility
Increase your balance
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 getting you back to the things you love to do, but doing everything possible to make sure that you stay off the sidelines.

Some of the other services we offer in Sunset Hills, MO are:

ACL Tear in Sunset Hills, MO | Axes Physical Therapy

It is normal to experience anxieties about your what your life will look like in the future 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 design a proven, tailor-made rehabilitation plan to return you to the football field, gymnasts’ mat, or just back to your normal, pain-free daily activities. Contact us online or call the location are closest to you.