ACL Tear Greater Wilbur Park, MO. ACL tears have a tremendous effect on your active routine and daily life. One second you’re sprinting down the field, competing in your favorite sport or playing with your children, and the next second you’re thinking about whether you’ll get to play or even go back to your job again. At Axes Physical Therapy in Wilbur Park, 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 tandem with you as a team and design tailored, empirically-backed treatment plans. If you’ve sustained an ACL tear, or any other injury, in Wilbur Park, MO, contact us online or check out the most convenient Axes location for you. Our mission is getting every patient great results and getting you back to the things that matter most to you, whether that means breaking defender’s ankles on a Wilbur Park, MO basketball court, or carrying your children on your shoulders without any pain.

The Anterior Cruciate Ligament | Wilbur Park, MO Physical Therapy

Ligaments are bands found in joints made of tough, flexible fibrous tissue that attach two bones. The ligaments in the knee help 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 in tandem to stabilize the forward and backward motion of your knee, and the ACL safeguards the tibia from sliding too far forward on the femur and supplies 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 put weight on your knee and range of motion will be impacted. However significant your injury, trust in the Wilbur Park, MO licensed physical therapists of Axes to help you fully heal.

Causes of an ACL Tear | Wilbur Park, 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. Athletes who play contact sports and/or sports where there is a lot of cutting and changing direction are the most likely to get ACL tears. According to data from the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, 70% of ACL tears happen 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 suffer an ACL tear:

External Factors

These are when your coordination is obstructed just before the injury. Some examples are:

• Landing on uneven ground or landing awkwardly
• Colliding with something or someone
• Instantly decelerating or changing direction
• Spinning with a firmly planted foot
• Receiving a direct blow to the knee

Internal Factors

These concern the structure and anatomy of the knee and legs. Examples include:

• The anatomical differences between men and women
• Flexibility of the hamstring
• Differences in genetics

While many ACL tears happen 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 owing to anatomical differences.

Symptoms of an ACL Tear | Wilbur Park, MO Physical Therapy

When you sustain an ACL tear, you’ll likely feel pain at the center of the knee. An ACL tear does not always cause sever pain unless other structural damage was done to the knee. Some signs that you might have torn your ACL include:

• 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 suspect you’ve sustained an ACL tear, it’s vital to visit a doctor or a licensed physical therapist in Wilbur Park, MO to diagnose your injury and get you the treatment you need. We offer no-cost, no strings attached injury screenings and have a wide network of trusted doctors in Wilbur Park, MO that we can connect you with. 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.

ACL Tear Treatments | Wilbur Park, MO Physical Therapy

It is important to get effective and personalized treatment soon after your ACL tear. If your injury does not heal don’t, it can cause health conditions like 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 inflammation. A doctor will then examine you, assess your mobility, and likely order an MRI to verify the ACL tear and assess the severity of the injury.

As there is no blood flow to the ligament, 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 get back 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 a fully functioning ACL in order to play, patients with other serious injury to their knee, or those whose ACL tear causes pain or weakness when performing basic, everyday activities. 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 in place, you still have a long way to go before you’ll feel fully back to normal. 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 Wilbur Park, MO to get you the best results for both your physical rehabilitation and your surgery. Our ACL tear physical therapy specialists will guide you through your recovery process with a personalized treatment plan that has been proven to work. Our treatment methods will help to:

• Alleviate pain and swelling
• Provide patient education so you understand your injury and why our methods work
• Gradually and effectively get you back to bearing weight
• Fit you for a brace and teach you how to safely use it
• Perform movement exercises and balance exercises to return range of motion
• Perform strength exercises to return you to full strength
• Possibly employ electrical stimulation as a supplement to the exercises

You have the best chance for a full recovery by actively participating in it and trusting the expert Wilbur Park, MO area physical therapists of Axes. Before you know it, we will get you back to tearing up the local flag football league, or just enjoying being able to to sit down and stand up without feeling any instability in your knee.

How to Prevent an ACL Tear | Wilbur Park, MO Physical Therapy

Unfortunately, second ACL tears are common and they can have permanent repercussions. As part of our ACL tear physical therapy services in Wilbur Park, MO, our Certified Athletic Trainers will help you understand the best practices that help 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
• Always wear appropriate footwear

Our physical therapists committed themselves not only to retuning you to the activities you love, but doing everything possible to make certain that you stay off the sidelines.

Some of the other services we offer in Wilbur Park, 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 Wilbur Park, MO | Axes Physical Therapy

It is normal to be apprehensive about your what your life will look like in the future after suffering a severe injury. 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 knowledgeable professionals of Axes Physical Therapy to work alongside you to design a proven, tailor-made rehabilitation plan to return you to the basketball court, bowling alley, or just back to your normal, pain-free daily activities. Contact us online or call the location are closest to you.