ACL Tear Greater Wickes, MO. ACL tears have an enormous effect on your active and daily routine. 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 Wickes, 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 suffered an ACL tear, or any other injury, in Wickes, MO, contact us online or find the most convenient Axes location for you. We dedicate ourselves to getting every patient great results and getting you back to what’s most important to you, whether that means running the bases in your local Wickes, MO league, or carrying your children on your shoulders without any pain.
What is the ACL? | Wickes, 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 affixing your tibia (shinbone) to your femur (thigh bone). The ACL, or anterior cruciate ligament, is in the center of your knee and crosses the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) so they make an “x”. The ACL and PCL work in concert to stabilize the front and back movement of your knee, and the ACL shields the tibia from slipping too far forward on the femur and provides stability when the knee rotates.
Most ACL tears are partial, but they can be completely torn as well. Depending on the grade of your ACL tear, your ability to bear weight and your movement will be affected. No Matter how serious your injury, trust in the Wickes, MO licensed physical therapists of Axes to help you fully heal.
Causes of an ACL Tear | Wickes, MO Physical Therapy
There are up to 250,000 ACL injuries in the United States each year, and it is one of the most common knee injuries and sports injuries. They are common in contact sports that demand 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 occur in non-contact injuries, such as changing direction quickly, and the rest are because of direct blunt force trauma. External and internal factors could both be at play when you sustain an ACL tear:
External Factors
These are when your movement is obstructed immediately before the injury. Some examples are:
- Landing on uneven ground or landing awkwardly
- Colliding with something or someone
- Instantly decelerating or switching 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. Some examples are:
- The differences in anatomy between men and women
- Flexibility of the hamstring
- Differences in genetics
ACL tears don’t just happen in sports, falls and work-related injuries can harm 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 sustain an ACL tear, likely because of anatomical differences.
Symptoms of an ACL Tear | Wickes, MO Physical Therapy
When you suffer an ACL tear, you’ll likely feel pain in the middle of the knee. You might not necessarily feel significant pain after an ACL tear except if other structural damage was done to the knee. Some signs that you might have suffered an ACL tear include:
- Feeling or hearing a pop in your knee
- Inability to continue activity
- Rapid swelling
- Loss of range of motion
- Not being able to bear weight your knee
If you think you’ve sustained an ACL tear, it’s crucial to contact a doctor or a licensed physical therapist in Wickes, MO to confirm your injury and get you the treatment you need. We offer free, no-obligation injury screenings and know many excellent doctors in Wickes, MO that we can refer you to. Your Axes physical or occupational therapist is an integral 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 | Wickes, MO Physical Therapy
It is important to get effective and personalized treatment soon after your ACL tear. If you don’t, it can lead to health conditions such as obesity or osteoarthritis, which can significantly impact you for the remainder of your life.
In the minutes 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 inflammation. In an examination, a doctor will evaluate your mobility, and likely order an MRI or other tests to confirm the ACL tear and judge the severity of the injury.
Because blood does not flow to ligaments, a complete ACL tear will not be able to regenerate on its own. 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 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. In an ACL surgery, a surgeon will remove the damaged ACL, take a graft from another one of your or a donors tendons, and use small incisions to attach it to the bones.
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 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 Wickes, MO to optimize your recovery and the success of your operation. Our ACL tear physical therapy specialists will be by your side 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
- Provide patient education so you understand your injury and why our methods work
- 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
- Perform movement exercises and balance exercises to increase mobility
- Perform strength exercises to increase strength
- Potentially implement electrical stimulation as a supplement to the exercises
When you work with the knowledgeable Wickes, MO area physical therapists of Axes and take an active role in your recovery, you have the greatest chance of a complete and timely recovery. Before you know it, we will get you back to dominating the local softball league, or just enjoying being able to to climb stairs without any pain.
How to Prevent an ACL Tear | Wickes, MO Physical Therapy
Unfortunately, many people sustain a second ACL tear and they can lead to life-long repercussions. Included in your treatment program in Wickes, MO, our Certified Athletic Trainers will help you understand the best practices that help to avoid another ACL tear later on. Some of the preventive methods you can take in order to prevent further injury are:
- Strengthen your core
- Strengthen your hip and leg muscles
- Practice proper technique, for instance keeping knees shoulder width apart while landing
- Stretch consistently
- Perform balance exercises
- Perform warm-up exercises before sports or other physical activities
- Always wear appropriate footwear
Our physical therapists dedicate themselves not only to getting you back to the things you love to do, but doing everything possible to make certain that you stay off the sidelines.
Some of the other services we offer in Wickes, MO are:
- Physical Therapy Clinic
- Carpal Tunnel Syndrome Treatment
- Sciatica Treatment
- Sports Medicine
- Hand Pain Physical Therapy
- Foot & Ankle Pain Treatment
- Hip Pain Treatment
- Plantar Fasciitis Treatment
- Stroke Rehabilitation
- Hip Replacement Physical Therapy
ACL Tear in Wickes, MO | Axes Physical Therapy
It is normal to be apprehensive about your your 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 rehabilitation plan to return you to the basketball court, gymnasts’ mat, or just back to your normal, pain-free life. Contact us online or call the location are closest to you.
