ACL Tear Greater Warrenton, MO. ACL tears have a tremendous effect on your active routine and daily life. One instant you’re flying down the field, competing in your favorite sport or playing with your children, and the next instant you’re don’t know if you’ll get to play or even go back to your job again. At Axes Physical Therapy in Warrenton, MO, we have devoted our practice to restoring our patients’ mobility and returning them to the activities they love. Our ACL tear rehabilitation specialists work with you as a team and develop personalized treatments plans that have been empirically proven to be effective. If you’ve suffered an ACL tear, or any other injury, in Warrenton, MO, contact us online or check out the most convenient Axes location for you. We dedicate ourselves to getting every patient a positive outcome and getting you back to what’s most important to you, whether that means dominating your local Warrenton, MO pickleball league, or picking up your grandchildren without any pain.
What is the ACL? | Warrenton, 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, runs down the center of your knee and forms an “X” with the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL). The ACL and PCL work together to stabilize the forward and backward movement of your knee, and the ACL shields the tibia from gliding 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 capacity to put weight on your knee and your motion will be affected. No Matter how significant your injury, trust in the Warrenton, MO licensed physical therapists of Axes to help you fully recover.
Causes of an ACL Tear | Warrenton, MO Physical Therapy
There are as many as 250,000 ACL injuries in the United States every year, and it is one of the most common knee injuries and sports injuries. Athletes who play contact sports and/or sports where there is a lot of cutting and changing direction are at high risk for ACL tears. According to the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, 70% of ACL tears happen in non-contact injuries, such as cutting quickly, and the rest are caused by direct blunt force trauma. External and internal factors could both contribute to an ACL tear:
External Factors
These are when your motion is disrupted immediately before the injury. Some examples are:
- Landing on uneven ground or landing awkwardly
- Something or someone knocking into you
- Instantly decelerating or switching direction
- Pivoting with a firmly planted foot
- Sustaining a direct hit to the knee
Internal Factors
These are related to 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
- Genetic differences
While many ACL tears occur 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 suffer an ACL tear, likely due to anatomical differences.
Symptoms of an ACL Tear | Warrenton, MO Physical Therapy
When you suffer an ACL tear, you’ll likely feel pain in the middle 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 may have torn your ACL include:
- A “popping” sensation 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 imperative to see a physician or a licensed physical therapist in Warrenton, MO to confirm your injury and start the treatment you need to recover. We offer free, no-obligation injury screenings and work with many trusted physicians in Warrenton, MO that we can connect you with. 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 | Warrenton, MO Physical Therapy
It is essential to get prompt, effective, personalized treatment for your ACL tear. If your injury does not heal properly, it can cause complications like obesity or osteoarthritis, which can significantly impact how you live your life.
Immediately after your ACL tear, you should use over-the-counter pain medication and the R.I.C.E. method to alleviate pain and inflammation. In an examination, a doctor will assess your range of motion, and likely order an MRI to verify the ACL tear and gauge the completeness and grade of your tear.
As there is no blood flow to the ligament, a complete ACL tear will not be able to 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 recommended for younger people, athletes who need their knee reconstructed in order to perform, patients with 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 generally 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 attached, your journey back to normalcy and the activities you love is still a long way from over. 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 Warrenton, 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 proven, customized physical therapy. As part of your treatment plan, we will:
- Reduce pain and swelling
- Educate you on your injury and the rehab process
- Gradually and successfully get you back to bearing weight
- Fit you for a brace and teach you how to safely use it
- Do movement exercises and balance exercises to increase mobility
- Do strength exercises to return you to full strength
- Possibly 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 expert Warrenton, MO area physical therapists of Axes. Before you know it, we will return you to dominating the local pickleball league, or just enjoying being able to to climb stairs without your knee buckling.
How to Prevent an ACL Tear | Warrenton, MO Physical Therapy
Unfortunately, second ACL tears are common and they can have permanent consequences. Included in your treatment program in Warrenton, MO, our Certified Athletic Trainers will help you understand the best practices that help to avoid another ACL tear in the future. We recommend some of the following steps to prevent further injury:
- Having a strong core
- Strengthen your hip and leg muscles
- Practice correct form, for example always landing with your feet directly over your knee
- Maintain flexibility
- Increase your balance
- Perform warm-up exercises before sports or other physical activities
- Always wear 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 Warrenton, MO are:
- Pain Management
- Rotator Cuff Tear
- Arthritis Treatment
- Sports Injury
- Knee Injuries
- Work Injury Rehabilitation
- Physical Therapist Near Me
- Neck Pain
ACL Tear in Warrenton, MO | Axes Physical Therapy
It is normal to be anxious about your prognosis and road to recovery 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, personalized rehabilitation plan to get you back 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.
