ACL Tear Greater Woodhine 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 back to your job again. At Axes Physical Therapy in Woodhine 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 Woodhine Heights, MO, contact us online or find the most convenient Axes location for you. We focus on getting every patient a positive outcome and getting you back to what’s most important to you, whether that means burning corners in your local Woodhine Heights, MO flag football league, or carrying your children on your shoulders without any pain.

The Anterior Cruciate Ligament | Woodhine Heights, MO Physical Therapy

Ligaments are bands found in joints made of durable, flexible connective tissue that connect 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 concert to stabilize the front and back motion of your knee, and the ACL impedes the tibia from slipping 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 ability to put weight on your knee and range of motion will be reduced. No Matter how serious your injury, trust in the Woodhine Heights, MO licensed physical therapists of Axes to help you accomplish a complete recovery.

Causes of an ACL Tear | Woodhine Heights, MO Physical Therapy

There are up to 250,000 ACL injuries nationwide annually, 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 the most likely to get ACL tears. According to reporting from the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, almost three-quarters of ACL tears occur in non-contact injuries, such as changing direction rapidly, and the rest are the result of direct blunt force trauma. External and internal factors could both contribute to an ACL tear:

External Factors

These are when your movement is interrupted immediately before the injury. Some examples are:

• Landing on uneven ground or landing awkwardly
• Being hit by something or someone
• Instantly decelerating or changing direction
• Spinning with a firmly planted foot
• Sustaining 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 due to anatomical differences.

Symptoms of an ACL Tear | Woodhine Heights, MO Physical Therapy

After an ACL tear, the pain will likely be in the middle of the knee. You might not necessarily feel sever pain after an ACL tear unless other constructive damage was done to the knee. Some signals that you might have torn your ACL are:

• Feeling or hearing a pop in your knee
• Inability to continue activity
• Your knee becoming inflamed quickly
• Reduction of range of motion
• Instability when bearing weight

If you suspect you’ve suffered an ACL tear, it’s critical to visit a physician or a licensed physical therapist in Woodhine Heights, MO to confirm your injury and start the treatment you need to recover. We offer free, no-obligation injury screenings and work with many excellent physicians in Woodhine Heights, 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 | Woodhine Heights, MO Physical Therapy

It is vital to get prompt, effective, personalized treatment for your ACL tear. If you delay, or your treatment is ineffective, it can lead to health conditions such as obesity or osteoarthritis, which can significantly impact your quality of life.

In the minutes after your ACL tear, you should use over-the-counter pain medication and the R.I.C.E. method to reduce pain and inflammation. In an examination, a doctor will assess your mobility, and likely order an MRI or other tests to verify the ACL tear and gauge the severity of the injury.

As there is no blood flow to the ligament, a complete ACL tear cannot heal 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 recommended for younger people, athletes who need their knee reconstructed in order to play, patients with other significant injury to other parts of their knee, or those whose ACL tear causes their knee to buckle in basic, everyday tasks. 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 attached, your journey back to normalcy and the activities you love is still a long way from over. 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 Woodhine Heights, MO to optimize your recovery and the success of your surgery. 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:

• Mitigate 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
• Do movement exercises and balance exercises to increase mobility
• Do strength exercises to increase strength
• Possibly use 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 professional Woodhine Heights, MO area physical therapists of Axes. Before you know it, we will return you to tearing up the local softball league, or just enjoying the ability to climb stairs without any pain.

How to Prevent an ACL Tear | Woodhine Heights, MO Physical Therapy

Unfortunately, many people suffer a second ACL tear and they can lead to life-long consequences. Included in your treatment program in Woodhine Heights, MO, our Certified Athletic Trainers will help you understand the best practices that help 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 form, for example landing evenly on both feet
• Stretch consistently
• Increase your balance
• Always warm up before sports or other physical activities
• Always wear appropriate footwear

Our physical therapists committed themselves not only to getting you back to the things you love to do, but doing everything possible to make sure that you can carry on doing them without being interrupted by another injury.

Some of the other services we offer in Woodhine Heights, 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 Woodhine Heights, MO | Axes Physical Therapy

It is normal to experience anxieties 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 experienced professionals of Axes Physical Therapy to work in concert with you to design a proven, personalized physical therapy plan to return you to the football field, gymnasts’ mat, or just back to your normal, pain-free life. Contact us online or call the location are closest to you.