ACL Tear Greater Webster Groves, MO. ACL tears have an enormous effect on your active routine and daily life. One second you’re running down the court, competing in your favorite sport or playing with your kids, and the next second you’re wondering if you’ll get to play or even go to work again. At Axes Physical Therapy in Webster Groves, MO, we have dedicated 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 with you as a team and design personalized treatments plans that have been empirically proven to be effective. If you’ve sustained an ACL tear, or any other injury, in Webster Groves, MO, contact us online or locate the most convenient Axes location for you. Our priority is getting every patient a positive outcome and getting you back to what’s most important to you, whether that means dominating your local Webster Groves, MO pickleball league, or picking up your grandchildren without any pain.

What is the ACL? | Webster Groves, MO Physical Therapy

Ligaments are bands found in joints made of tough, flexible fibrous tissue that affix two bones. The ligaments in the knee work to 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 safeguards the tibia from slipping too far forward on the femur and supplies rotational stability.

Most ACL tears are partial, but they can be completely torn as well. Depending on the grade of your ACL tear, your capacity to bear weight and range of motion will be reduced. However severe your injury, trust in the Webster Groves, MO licensed physical therapists of Axes to help you fully recover.

Why an ACL Tear Happens | Webster Groves, 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 entail frequent and fast cutting and switching directions, such as football, baseball, soccer, and basketball. According to reporting from the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, the vast majority of ACL tears occur in non-contact injuries, such as cutting rapidly, and the rest are due to direct blunt force trauma. External and internal factors could both contribute to an ACL tear:

External Factors

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

• Landing on uneven ground or landing awkwardly
• Colliding with something or someone
• A sudden reduction in speed or changing direction
• Swiveling with a firmly planted foot
• Suffering a direct hit to the knee

Internal Factors

These concern 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
• Genetic differences

ACL tears don’t just happen in sports, falls and work-related injuries can damage they ACL as well. 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 as a result of anatomical differences.

Symptoms of an ACL Tear | Webster Groves, MO Physical Therapy

After an ACL tear, the pain will likely be at the center of the knee. You might not necessarily feel considerable pain after an ACL tear except if other structural damage was done to the knee. Some indicators that you may have suffered an ACL tear are:

• A “popping” sensation or sound in your knee
• Inability to continue activity
• Rapid swelling
• Loss of range of motion
• Instability when bearing weight

If you think you’ve sustained an ACL tear, it’s crucial to contact a physician or a licensed physical therapist in Webster Groves, MO to verify your injury and come up with the treatment plan you need to recover. We offer free, no-obligation injury screenings and work with many excellent physicians in Webster Groves, MO that we can refer you to. Your Axes physical or occupational therapist is a fundamental part of your recovery team, working closely with you and your doctors and medical providers to collaborate on your safe and efficient recovery.

ACL Tear Treatments | Webster Groves, MO Physical Therapy

It is important to get effective and personalized treatment soon after your ACL tear. If your injury does not heal properly, it can result in problems such as obesity or osteoarthritis, which can greatly affect your quality of life.

Directly following your ACL tear, you should use over-the-counter pain medication and the R.I.C.E. method to reduce 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 severity of the injury.

As there is no blood flow to the ligament, a complete ACL tear will not be able to heal by itself. 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 recommended for younger people, athletes who need a fully functioning ACL in order to play, patients with other significant injury to their knee, or those whose ACL tear causes pain or weakness when performing basic, everyday activities. 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 in place, your journey back to normalcy and the activities you love is still a long way from over. After surgery, you’ll probably 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 Webster Groves, 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 a personalized treatment plan that has been proven to work. As part of your treatment plan, we will:

• 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 increase mobility
• Do strength exercises to return you to full strength
• Possibly utilize electrical stimulation to return strength and flexibility

When you work with the knowledgeable Webster Groves, MO area physical therapists of Axes and take an active role in your rehabilitation, you have the best chance of a complete and timely recovery. Before you know it, we will get you back to tearing up the local flag football league, or just enjoying being able to to climb stairs without your knee buckling.

How to Prevent an ACL Tear | Webster Groves, MO Physical Therapy

Unfortunately, second ACL tears are common and they can have life-long consequences. Included in your treatment program in Webster Groves, MO, our Certified Athletic Trainers will help you understand the best practices that help to avoid another ACL tear down the line. We recommend some of the following steps to prevent further injury:

• Strengthen your core
• Having strong hip and leg muscles
• Practice correct technique, for example bending at the knees and hips when turning
• Stretch consistently
• Increase your balance
• Always warm up before sports or other physical activities
• Always wear appropriate footwear

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

Some of the other services we offer in Webster Groves, MO are:

• Stroke Rehabilitation
• Hip Replacement Physical Therapy
• Workers Comp' Physical Therapy
• Migraine Relief
• Sprain and Strain Treatment
• Geriatric Physical Therapy
• Injury Rehabilitation
• Pain Management Services
• TMJ Treatment
• Herniated Disc Treatment

ACL Tear in Webster Groves, 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 probably want to get back to your normal, active lifestyle as quickly as possible. Trust in the experienced professionals of Axes Physical Therapy to work with you to design a proven, personalized physical therapy 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.