ACL Tear Greater Weldon Spring, MO. ACL tears have an enormous effect on 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 back to your job again. At Axes Physical Therapy in Weldon Spring, MO, we have committed our practice to restoring our patients’ mobility and returning them to the activities they love. Our ACL tear rehabilitation specialists work in concert with you as a team and create tailored, evidence-based treatment plans. If you’ve sustained an ACL tear, or any other injury, in Weldon Spring, 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 running the bases in your local Weldon Spring, MO league, or picking up your grandchildren without any pain.

The Anterior Cruciate Ligament | Weldon Spring, MO Physical Therapy

Ligaments are bands found in joints made of durable, pliable connective tissue that affix 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 in concert to stabilize the forward and backward movement of your knee, and the ACL impedes the tibia from moving too far forward on the femur and supplies rotational stability.

ACL tears can be either partial or complete. Depending on the grade of your ACL tear, your capacity to bear weight and range of motion will be impacted. No Matter how significant your injury, trust in the Weldon Spring, MO licensed physical therapists of Axes to help you fully heal.

Causes of an ACL Tear | Weldon Spring, 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 data from the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, almost three-quarters of ACL tears occur 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 be at play when you suffer an ACL tear:

External Factors

These are when your coordination is disrupted immediately before the injury. Some examples are:

• Landing on uneven ground or landing with improper form
• Something or someone bumping into you
• A sudden reduction in speed or changing direction
• Pivoting with a firmly planted foot
• Suffering a direct hit to the knee

Internal Factors

These are related to the structure and anatomy of the body. Some examples are:

• The anatomical differences between men and women
• Flexibility of the hamstring
• Genetic variations

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

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

After an ACL tear, you’ll likely feel pain at the center of the knee. You might not necessarily feel significant pain after an ACL tear unless other structural damage was done to the knee. Some signs that you might have sustained an ACL tear are:

• Feeling or hearing a pop in your knee
• Not being able to continue activity
• Your knee becoming inflamed quickly
• Reduction of range of motion
• Instability when putting weight on your knee

If you suspect you’ve sustained an ACL tear, it’s imperative to contact a physician or a licensed physical therapist in Weldon Spring, MO to confirm your injury and start the treatment you need to recover. We offer complimentary, no strings attached injury screenings and know many trusted physicians in Weldon Spring, MO that we can refer you to. Your Axes physical or occupational therapist is an essential part of your recovery team, working closely with you and your doctors and medical providers to collaborate on your safe and efficient recovery.

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

It is essential to get effective and personalized treatment soon after your ACL tear. If you don’t, it can result in health conditions such as 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 alleviate pain and inflammation. In an examination, a doctor will assess your range of motion, and likely order an MRI to confirm the ACL tear and judge the completeness and grade of your tear.

As there is no blood flow to the ligament, a complete ACL tear cannot heal by itself. This means that you will need the help of licensed professional physical therapists in order to get back 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 significant injury to 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, you still have a long way to go before you’ll feel fully back to normal. After surgery, you’ll probably need crutches to move around, as your quadriceps muscles will have weakened. Axes Physical Therapy offers both pre- and post-surgical rehabilitation for ACL tears in Weldon Spring, MO to optimize your recovery and the success of your surgery. Our ACL tear physical therapy experts will work with you throughout your recovery process with a personalized treatment plan that has been proven to work. Our treatment methods will help to:

• Reduce pain and swelling
• Educate you on your injury and the rehab process
• Gradually and effectively get you back to bearing weight
• 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 return you to full strength
• Potentially employ electrical stimulation as a supplement to the exercises

When you work with the experienced Weldon Spring, 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 tearing up the local pick-up league, or just enjoying being able to to climb stairs without your knee buckling.

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

Unfortunately, many people suffer a second ACL tear and they can result in life-long consequences. As part of our ACL tear physical therapy services in Weldon Spring, MO, our Certified Athletic Trainers will educate you on how to avoid another ACL tear in the future. Some of the preventive methods you can take in order to prevent further injury are:

• Having a strong core
• Strengthen your hip and leg muscles
• Practice proper technique, for example always landing with your feet directly over your knee
• Stretch consistently
• 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 everything possible to make certain that you can continue doing them without being interrupted by another injury.

Some of the other services we offer in Weldon Spring, MO are:

• Dry Needling
• Pain Management
• Rotator Cuff Tear
• Arthritis Treatment
• Sports Injury
• Knee Injuries
• Work Injury Rehabilitation
• Physical Therapist Near Me

ACL Tear in Weldon Spring, MO | Axes Physical Therapy

It is normal to be nervous 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 alongside you to implement a proven, personalized physical therapy plan to get you back 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.