ACL Tear Greater Town and Country, MO. ACL tears have an enormous effect on your active routine and daily life. One second you’re flying down the field, taking part in your favorite sport or having fun with your kids, 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 Town and Country, 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 concert with you as a team and put in place tailored, evidence-based treatment plans. If you’ve sustained an ACL tear, or any other injury, in Town and Country, 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 what’s most important to you, whether that means running the bases in your local Town and Country, MO league, or picking up your grandchildren without any pain.

What is the ACL? | Town and Country, MO Physical Therapy

Ligaments are bands found in joints made of tough, 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 forward and backward movement of your knee, and the ACL shields the tibia from gliding too far forward on the femur and provides stability when the knee rotates.

ACL tears can be either partial or complete. Depending on the grade of your ACL tear, your capacity to put weight on your knee and range of motion will be reduced. Regardless of how significant your injury, trust in the Town and Country, MO licensed physical therapists of Axes to help you fully recover.

Why an ACL Tear Happens | Town and Country, 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. Athletes who play contact sports and/or sports where there is a lot of cutting and changing direction are the most likely to get ACL tears. According to the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, almost three-quarters of ACL tears occur in non-contact injuries, such as cutting quickly, and the rest are caused by direct blows to the knee. External and internal factors could both contribute to an ACL tear:

External Factors

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

• Landing on uneven footing or landing with improper form
• Something or someone knocking into you
• Suddenly decelerating or switching direction
• Swiveling with a firmly planted foot
• Receiving a direct hit to the knee

Internal Factors

These have to do with the structure and anatomy of the knee and legs. 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. They can become more common as we age and our bodies weaken. Women are 4-6 times more likely to suffer an ACL tear, likely owing to anatomical differences.

Symptoms of an ACL Tear | Town and Country, MO Physical Therapy

When you suffer an ACL tear, the pain will likely be in the middle of the knee. An ACL tear does not always cause sever pain unless other constructive damage was done to the knee. Some indicators that you may have suffered an ACL tear are:

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

If you think you’ve sustained an ACL tear, it’s necessary to see a physician or a licensed physical therapist in Town and Country, MO to confirm your injury and get you the treatment you need. We offer no-cost, no strings attached injury screenings and know many trusted physicians in Town and Country, 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 | Town and Country, MO Physical Therapy

It is imperative to get prompt, effective, personalized treatment for your ACL tear. If you delay, or your treatment is ineffective, it can cause health conditions like obesity or osteoarthritis, which can significantly impact 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 inflammation. A doctor will then examine you, assess your mobility, and likely order an MRI or other tests to verify the ACL tear and judge the completeness and grade of your tear.

Because ligaments do not receive blood flow, a complete ACL tear cannot regenerate by itself. This means that you will need the help of licensed professional physical therapists in order to return to the activities you love. The only way to fully repair an ACL tear is through surgery. So, surgery is often advisable for younger people, athletes who need a fully functioning ACL in order to perform, patients with other significant injury to other parts of their knee, or those whose ACL tear causes their knee to buckle in basic, everyday activities. 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 be given crutches so you can get around for the next few weeks, as your quadriceps muscles will have weakened. Axes Physical Therapy offers both pre- and post-surgical rehabilitation for ACL tears in Town and Country, MO to optimize your recovery and the success of your operation. Our ACL tear physical therapy specialists 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
• Provide you with a brace and teach you how to safely use it
• Perform movement exercises and balance exercises to return mobility
• Do strength exercises to return you to full strength
• Potentially use electrical stimulation as a supplement to the exercises

You have the best chance for a full recovery by actively participating in it and trusting the professional Town and Country, MO area physical therapists of Axes. Before you know it, we will get you back to dominating the local pick-up league, or just enjoying being able to to sit down and stand up without feeling any instability in your knee.

How to Prevent an ACL Tear | Town and Country, MO Physical Therapy

Unfortunately, second ACL tears are common and they can cause life-long repercussions. Included in your treatment program in Town and Country, MO, our Certified Athletic Trainers will educate you on how to avoid another ACL tear later on. We recommend some of the following steps to prevent further injury:

• Strengthen your core
• Strengthen your hip and leg muscles
• Practice proper technique, for instance keeping knees shoulder width apart while landing
• Maintain flexibility
• Perform balance exercises
• Perform warm-up exercises before sports or other physical activities
• Make sure you are using appropriate footwear

Our physical therapists dedicate themselves not only to getting you back to the things you love to do, but doing what we can to make certain that you can carry on doing them without being upended by another injury.

Some of the other services we offer in Town and Country, MO are:

• Back Pain Treatment
• 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

ACL Tear in Town and Country, MO | Axes Physical Therapy

It is normal to be nervous about your your 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 in concert with you to design a proven, customized physical therapy plan to return you to the basketball court, bowling alley, or just back to your normal, pain-free life. Contact us online or call the location are closest to you.