ACL Tear Greater Weldon Spring Heights, MO. ACL tears can abruptly upset your active and daily routine. One second you’re sprinting down the court, competing in your favorite sport or playing with your kids, and the next second you’re don’t know if 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 restoring our patients’ mobility and returning them to the activities they love. Our ACL tear rehabilitation specialists work with you as a team and create customize, evidence-based 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 dedicate ourselves to getting every patient positive results and getting you back to what’s most important to you, whether that means dominating your local Weldon Spring Heights, MO pickleball league, or carrying your children on your shoulders without any pain.
The Anterior Cruciate Ligament | Weldon Spring Heights, 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 keep your knee stable 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 control the front and back motion of your knee, and the ACL stops the tibia from slipping 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 ability to put weight on your knee and range of motion will be reduced. No Matter how severe your injury, trust in the Weldon Spring Heights, MO licensed physical therapists of Axes to help you reach a complete recovery.
Causes of an ACL Tear | Weldon Spring Heights, MO Physical Therapy
There are up to 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 require frequent and fast cutting and changing directions, such as football, baseball, soccer, and basketball. According to reporting from the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, 70% of ACL tears happen in non-contact injuries, such as cutting quickly, and the rest are the result of direct blows to the knee. External and internal factors could both contribute to an ACL tear:
External Factors
These are when your coordination is interrupted just before the injury. Some examples are:
- Landing on uneven ground or landing awkwardly
- Something or someone knocking into you
- Suddenly decelerating or changing direction
- Swiveling with a firmly planted foot
- Receiving a direct blow to the knee
Internal Factors
These are related to 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 transpire 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 as a result of anatomical differences.
Symptoms of an ACL Tear | Weldon Spring Heights, MO Physical Therapy
Following an ACL tear, the pain will likely be at the center of the knee. An ACL tear does not always cause sever pain unless other parts of the knee were also injured. Some signs that you may have sustained an ACL tear include:
- A “popping” sensation in your knee
- Having to cease activity
- Your knee becoming inflamed quickly
- Reduction of range of motion
- Not being able to bear weight your knee
If you think you’ve suffered an ACL tear, it’s necessary to contact a doctor or a licensed physical therapist in Weldon Spring Heights, MO to confirm your injury and start the treatment you need to recover. We offer no-cost, no strings attached injury screenings and have a great network of excellent physicians in Weldon Spring Heights, MO that we can connect you with. Your Axes physical or occupational therapist is an indispensable 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 | Weldon Spring Heights, MO Physical Therapy
It is vital to get effective and personalized treatment soon after your ACL tear. If you don’t, 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 mitigate pain and swelling. A doctor will then examine you, evaluate your range of motion, and likely order an MRI to verify the ACL tear and gauge the completeness and grade of your tear.
Because ligaments do not receive blood flow, a complete ACL tear will not be able to regenerate by itself. 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 necessary for younger people, athletes who need a fully healthy ACL 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 activities. ACL surgery is typically 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 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 Weldon Spring Heights, MO to get you a positive outcome for both your physical rehabilitation and your operation. 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
- Fit you for a brace and teach you how to safely use it
- Do movement exercises and balance exercises to return range of motion
- Do strength exercises to increase strength
- Potentially use electrical stimulation as a supplement to the exercises
When you work with the experienced Weldon Spring Heights, MO area physical therapists of Axes and take an active role in your recovery, you have the greatest chance of a complete and efficient recovery. Before you know it, we will get you back to dominating the local flag football league, or just enjoying being able to to climb stairs without feeling any instability in your knee.
How to Prevent an ACL Tear | Weldon Spring Heights, MO Physical Therapy
Unfortunately, many people sustain a second ACL tear and they can cause permanent repercussions. Included in your treatment program in Weldon Spring Heights, 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:
- Having a strong core
- Strengthen your hip and leg muscles
- Practice correct form, for instance landing evenly on both feet
- Stretch consistently
- Perform balance exercises
- Perform warm-up exercises before sports or other physical activities
- Make sure you are using appropriate footwear
Our physical therapists committed 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:
- Pain Management
- Rotator Cuff Tear
- Arthritis Treatment
- Sports Injury
- Knee Injuries
- Work Injury Rehabilitation
- Physical Therapist Near Me
- Neck Pain
ACL Tear in Weldon Spring Heights, MO | Axes Physical Therapy
It is normal to be nervous 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 with you to create a proven, tailor-made rehabilitation plan to return you to the basketball court, gymnasts’ mat, or just back to your normal, pain-free daily activities. Contact us online or call the location are closest to you.
