ACL Tear Greater Woodson Terrace, MO. ACL tears can unexpectedly disrupt 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 Woodson Terrace, 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 in concert with you as a team and put in place personalized treatments plans that have been empirically proven to be effective. If you’ve sustained an ACL tear, or any other injury, in Woodson Terrace, MO, contact us online or check out the most convenient Axes location for you. Our priority is 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 Woodson Terrace, MO league, or carrying your children on your shoulders without any pain.

What is the ACL? | Woodson Terrace, MO Physical Therapy

Ligaments are bands found in joints made of durable, pliable fibrous tissue that connect two bones. The ligaments in the knee work to maintain stability in your knee by connecting 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 tandem to stabilize the front and back movement of your knee, and the ACL shields the tibia from sliding 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 bear weight and range of motion will be lowered. No Matter how severe your injury, trust in the Woodson Terrace, MO licensed physical therapists of Axes to help you fully recover.

Why an ACL Tear Happens | Woodson Terrace, 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 at high risk for ACL tears. According to the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, 70% of ACL tears occur in non-contact injuries, such as cutting rapidly, and the rest are caused by 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 movement is interrupted immediately before the injury. Some examples are:

• Landing on uneven ground or landing awkwardly
• Being hit by something or someone
• A sudden reduction in speed or switching direction
• Spinning with a firmly planted foot
• Receiving a direct blow 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
• Genetic variations

While many ACL tears happen in sports, they are also common in falls and work-related injuries. They can become more common as we age and our bodies weaken. Women are 4-6 times more likely to sustain an ACL tear, likely owing to anatomical differences.

Symptoms of an ACL Tear | Woodson Terrace, MO Physical Therapy

After an ACL tear, the pain will likely be at the center of the knee. An ACL tear does not always cause significant pain except if other constructive damage was done to the knee. Some signs that you might have suffered an ACL tear are:

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

If you suspect you’ve sustained an ACL tear, it’s critical to see a doctor or a licensed physical therapist in Woodson Terrace, MO to confirm your injury and get you the treatment you need. We offer free, no-obligation injury screenings and work with many excellent physicians in Woodson Terrace, 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.

How to Treat an ACL Tear | Woodson Terrace, 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 result in complications such as obesity or osteoarthritis, which can greatly affect how you live your life.

Immediately after your ACL tear, you should use over-the-counter pain medication and the R.I.C.E. method to manage pain and inflammation. A doctor will then examine you, evaluate your range of motion, and likely order an MRI or other tests to verify the ACL tear and judge the completeness and grade of your tear.

Because blood does not flow to ligaments, a complete ACL tear will not be able to 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. 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 perform, patients with other significant injury 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 injured 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 Woodson Terrace, MO to get you a positive outcome for both your physical rehabilitation and your operation. Our ACL tear physical therapy experts will guide you through 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
• 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 implement electrical stimulation to return strength and flexibility

When you work with the knowledgeable Woodson Terrace, 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 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 | Woodson Terrace, MO Physical Therapy

Unfortunately, many people sustain a second ACL tear and they can result in permanent repercussions. As part of our ACL tear physical therapy services in Woodson Terrace, MO, our Certified Athletic Trainers will educate you on how to avoid another ACL tear down the road. 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 correct form, for example landing evenly on both feet
• Stretch consistently
• Perform balance exercises
• Always warm up before sports or other physical activities
• Always wear appropriate footwear

Our physical therapists devote themselves not only to retuning you to the things you love to do, but doing what we can to ensure that you can carry on doing them without being disrupted by another injury.

Some of the other services we offer in Woodson Terrace, 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 Woodson Terrace, MO | Axes Physical Therapy

It is normal to be anxious 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 experienced professionals of Axes Physical Therapy to work alongside you to produce a proven, customized physical therapy plan to get you back to the basketball court, bowling alley, or just back to your normal, pain-free life. Contact us online or call the location are closest to you.