ACL Tear Greater Weldon Spring Heights, MO. ACL tears can abruptly disrupt your active routine and daily life. You go from having a blast in a sport or playing with your kids, to suddenly wondering whether you’ll get to play or even go to work again. At Axes Physical Therapy in Weldon Spring Heights, 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 design customize, empirically-backed treatment plans. If you’ve sustained an ACL tear, or any other injury, in Weldon Spring Heights, MO, contact us online or check out 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 running the bases in your local Weldon Spring Heights, MO league, or picking up your grandchildren without any pain.

What is the ACL? | Weldon Spring Heights, MO Physical Therapy

Ligaments are bands found in joints made of durable, flexible fibrous tissue that affix 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 in tandem to stabilize the front and back motion of your knee, and the ACL prevents the tibia from gliding 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 ability to put weight on your knee and your movement will be affected. Regardless of how significant your injury, trust in the Weldon Spring Heights, MO licensed physical therapists of Axes to help you fully recover.

Causes of an ACL Tear | Weldon Spring Heights, MO Physical Therapy

There are up to 250,000 ACL injuries nationwide each year, 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 at high risk for ACL tears. According to the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, almost three-quarters 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 contribute to an ACL tear:

External Factors

These are when your movement is disrupted just before the injury. Some examples are:

• Landing on uneven ground or landing with improper form
• Something or someone knocking into you
• A sudden reduction in speed or changing direction
• Spinning 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 knee and legs. Examples include:

• The differences in anatomy between men and women
• How flexible the hamstring and other surrounding muscles are
• Differences in genetics

ACL tears don’t just occur in sports, falls and work-related injuries can damage they ACL too. 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 because of anatomical differences.

Symptoms of an ACL Tear | Weldon Spring Heights, MO Physical Therapy

When you sustain 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 signs that you may have torn your ACL are:

• Feeling or hearing a pop in your knee
• Having to cease activity
• Your knee becoming inflamed quickly
• Reduction of range of motion
• Not being able to put any weight on your knee

If you think you’ve suffered an ACL tear, it’s imperative to reach out to a doctor or a licensed physical therapist in Weldon Spring Heights, MO to verify your injury and get you the treatment you need. We offer complimentary, no strings attached injury screenings and work with many excellent physicians in Weldon Spring Heights, 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.

How to Treat an ACL Tear | Weldon Spring Heights, MO Physical Therapy

It is important to get prompt, effective, personalized treatment for your ACL tear. If your injury does not heal don’t, it can result in problems like 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 reduce pain and swelling. A doctor will then examine you, evaluate your range of motion, and likely order an MRI to confirm the ACL tear and judge the severity of the injury.

Because ligaments do not receive blood flow, 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. The only way to fully repair an ACL tear is through surgery. So, surgery is often the best option for younger people, athletes who need their knee reconstructed in order to play, patients whose ACL tears were accompanied by other significant damage to other parts of their knee, or those whose ACL tear causes their knee to buckle in 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 attached, you still have a long way to go before you’ll feel fully back to normal. After surgery, you’ll probably 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 Weldon Spring Heights, MO to optimize your recovery and the success of your operation. Our ACL tear physical therapy specialists will guide you through your recovery process with a personalized treatment plan that has been proven to work. As part of your treatment plan, we will:

• Mitigate 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 increase mobility
• Do strength exercises to increase strength
• Possibly implement electrical stimulation as a supplement to the exercises

When you work with the knowledgeable Weldon Spring Heights, MO area physical therapists of Axes and take an active role in your rehabilitation, you have the best chance of a complete and quick recovery. 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 | Weldon Spring Heights, MO Physical Therapy

Unfortunately, second ACL tears are common and they can cause permanent consequences. Included in your treatment program in Weldon Spring Heights, MO, our Certified Athletic Trainers will help you understand the best practices that help to avoid another ACL tear down the line. Some of the preventive methods you can take in order to prevent further injury are:

• Having a strong core
• Having strong hip and leg muscles
• Practice proper form, for instance always landing with your feet directly over your knee
• Maintain flexibility
• Perform balance exercises
• Always warm up before sports or other physical activities
• Make sure you are using appropriate footwear

Our physical therapists dedicate 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 Weldon Spring Heights, 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 Weldon Spring Heights, 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 knowledgeable professionals of Axes Physical Therapy to work in concert with you to produce a proven, personalized 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.