Knee injuries Farmington, MO. The knee is a versatile joint that lets our bodies perform a wide array of functional activities such as sitting, standing, lifting, walking, running, jumping and more. Experiencing a knee injury makes walking and a lot of other daily tasks painful or even impossible. If you’ve recently sustained a knee injury or are affected by chronic knee pain, it is vital to find top-notch physical therapy with licensed physical therapists in the Farmington, MO area. At Axes Physical Therapy, we provide safe and effective therapy to hundreds of Farmington, MO residents. Contact us today to find out more or schedule your first appointment.

Axes Physical Therapy provides customized, evidence-based evaluation and treatment for people with knee injuries in Farmington, MO. Our knee injury experts specialize in personalized treatment plans made specifically for your injury, needs and movement goals. Axes Physical Therapy is a network of physical therapy experts at various locations, each owned and operated by physical therapists. We are dedicated to serving the individual needs of each Farmington, MO resident we treat.

The Human Knee

The knee is one of the biggest and most complex joints in the body. It connects the tibia (shin bone) to the femur (thigh bone). The fibula (the small bone that runs adjacent to the tibia) and patella (kneecap) are the other bones that comprise the knee joint. Encircling the knee are leg muscles, which are responsible for the knee’s movements, and tendons and ligaments that join the knee bones to the leg muscles or ligaments which help stabilize the knee. These ligaments include the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and posterior cruciate ligament (PCL), which provide stability in front of and behind the knee, and the medial and lateral collateral ligaments (MCL and LCL), which stabilize sideways movement. The medial and lateral menisci are shock absorbers between the tibia and femur.

Because of the complexity of the joint and the pressure placed on the knee, with parts that can be torn, fractured, sprained, or dislocated, knee injuries are one of the most typical musculoskeletal injuries that are suffered. If you’ve experienced a knee injury or are dealing with chronic knee pain, you need the care and careful treatment of Farmington, MO area physical therapists. Our team of professional therapists who are highly knowledgeable when treating knee injuries will lead you in your recuperation and help you regain complete mobility of your injured knee.

Types of Knee Injuries and Common Causes

Knee sprains are knee injuries that can hurt a lot, and they occur when ligaments in the knee are torn or overstretched. Knee sprains are painful, and if untreated or cared for incorrectly can lead to chronic problems, including arthritis. Knee sprains are commonly the result of acute twisting injuries, or injuries the result of outside forces that stretch or tear a ligament. It is usually a sports related injury that comes from force, such as a blow to the front or outside of the knee. Furthermore, non contact knee sprains are very common and result from weakness, muscle fatigue or incorrect mechanics. Symptoms include:

• Swelling
• Weakness or tenderness
• Pain and stiffness
• Popping
• Muscle Spasms

Torn cartilage can frequently happen take place at the same time as sprains, and take place when trauma to the knee tears the menisci. It’s most frequently caused by forcefully twisting or rotating your knee and is common in contact sports such as football, as well as sports like soccer or baseball with repeated leaping and rotating/pivoting. In older adults, a cartilage tear in the knee can occur with little or no trauma as the knee cartilage loses flexibility and pliability with age. Symptoms include:

• Soreness when working out or exercising
• Buckling or locking of the knee joint
• Crunching or popping noises when walking
• Difficulty bearing weight
• Inability to bend or extend the knee

Patellar Tendonitis, also referred to as “jumper’s knee,” is a result of swelling of the tendons in the knee, specifically the quadriceps tendon. Anterior knee pain is typically the main symptom of this variety of knee injury, and at the start it may only occur when working out or exercising. It is also commonly an overuse injury. Over time, the pain increases and starts to make exercising or playing sports more difficult. If untreated, after a while you could have trouble climbing stairs or even rising from a chair. For that reason, it’s important to receive physical therapy for knee injuries.

Patellofemoral pain syndrome is a knee injury marked by pain that is generally felt in the front of the knee and worsens as time goes on. The pain is caused by tracking and alignment problems between the patella and femur and is commonly felt when climbing stairs or getting up from a chair. The specific cause is not understood yet; however, most doctors and physical and occupational therapists suspect these knee injuries happen because of general overuse and weakness of the quadriceps muscle and inflexibility of other hip and knee musculature.

Fractures are an extremely painful of of knee injuries and require urgent medical treatment. More destructive fractures can require surgery to repair the knee and allow it to function normally again. There are three common knee injuries associated with fractures:

• Patellar: a fracture of the kneecap that often occurs when you fall precisely on your knee, hit the dashboard in a auto accident or experience another kind of extreme external force to the knee. Symptoms include:
  • Pain, inflammation, and bruising
  • Inability to extend the knee or keep it keep it
  • Inability to walk
• Distal Femur: happens where the thigh bone and knee connect. The bone can shatter or can suffer a clean break. Because distal femoral knee injuries can hurt the cartilage in the knee, they can sometimes be more difficult to treat. They most often occur in the elderly whose bones have become weaker, or to people in high energy impact collisions. Symptoms include:
  • Pain when putting weight on the knee
  • Swelling, bruising, and tenderness
  • The leg may look shorter and crooked
• Proximal Tibia: frequently damage the soft tissue of the knee as well. The top of the tibia, where it connects to the knee, is softer than the rest of the bone. These knee injuries frequently take place when the femur is forced by trauma into the soft bone at the top of the tibia. Proximal tibia knee injuries are sometimes minor breaks that occur from too much activity, but most are the result of trauma from falling, sports injuries or auto crashes. Symptoms include:
  • inflammation surrounding the knee
  • Visually apparent deformity or misalignment
  • Lack of feeling or warmth in the foot, as the flow of blood to the foot could be restricted

Dislocation of the knee or kneecap can either occur when the femur and tibia are forced out of alignment, or when the patella is forced out of place. These are most often caused by extreme force from sports, car accidents or falls. People with a somewhat atypical structure of the knee are at a heightened risk of patellar dislocation knee injuries. While a Farmington, MO doctor can put the knee or kneecap back in place, treatment by a physical therapist will be an essential aspect of the rehabilitation process to reduce swelling, slowly improve movement and improve strength in the hip and leg musculature.

ACL, PCL, MCL, and LCL Injuries can be both tears or sprains. ACL injuries can often occur in high-action sports where players are landing after jumping or changing direction quickly. The PCL can often be torn when force is applied to the front of the knee as it is bent. Symptoms of these knee injuries include inflammation and lack of stability. While ACL tears are frequently accompanied by harm to other parts of the knee, by themselves they are not always painful. MCL and LCL tears occur when there is blunt force that pushes the knee sideways.

Diagnoses and Tests

It is important to receive appropriate urgent and long-term care after suffering a knee injury. The treatment you receive can be the difference between a swift and strong recovery or a lifetime of chronic, debilitating pain. In regards to knee injuries that cause obvious and serious trauma, such as a dislocated patella, tests may not be necessary and a Farmington, MO ER doctor will endeavor to stabilize the knee as quickly as possible. Other methods of diagnosis for knee injuries are:

• A physical examination. A Farmington, MO medical professional can evaluate the appearance and movement of your knee while looking for swelling or tenderness. Our physical therapists are professionals in human movement and carry out free, no obligation injury screenings for your knee injuries and other injuries.
• X-Rays can detect broken bones and degenerative joint disease.
• CT scans combine X-rays from different angles to make cross-sectional images of your knee. They can help detect knee injuries such as subtle fractures.
• Ultrasounds use sound waves to build images of the soft tissue in your knee. Your doctor may move your knee into different positions to look for specific issues.
• MRIs create 3D images of the inside of your knee. This test is frequently implemented to detect soft tissue injuries, such as ACL tears or patellar tendonitis.

If you are experiencing pain caused by a knee injury, contact Axes Physical Therapy to work with a Farmington, MO physical therapist who specializes in knee injuries. Your knee injury therapist will evaluate your motion, your mobility, and will also examine how strong and stable your knee is. After diagnosis, your Axes physical therapist in Farmington, MO County will recommend a individually tailored treatment plan, which might include follow-up with a Farmington, MO orthopedic or sports physician.

Treatments and Therapy

Less significant knee injuries can be treated using the RICE Method: rest, ice, gentle compression, and elevation. If you feel pain, you need to rest and to temporarily cease any activity you think may have led to your injury. Seek medical attention if you hear a popping noise or feel loss of stability when your injury first occurs, if you experience severe pain or swelling, cannot move the knee, or cannot bear weight without pain. With some severe knee injuries, such as ACL tears or broken bones, surgery is needed to correct the structure of the knee and return functionality. Physical therapy will then be part of your preoperative and postoperative treatment plan. A Farmington, MO physical therapist who treats knee injuries will put you on the path to safely restore movement and strength in your knee as your injury heals. Typical therapies for knee injuries are (depending on your injury):

• Stretches and strengthening exercises of the entire lower extremity
• Core strengthening
• Ice and heat
• Soft tissue mobilization
• Electrical stimulation
• Proprioceptive exercises
• Functional return to sports, activity, and exercises

At Axes Physical Therapy, our treatment plans are designed from proven treatment strategies and are tailored specifically for each patient. We lead you in your recovery to safely get you back to the activities you love.

We treat a wide variety of conditions and complaints and have a team of specialists ready to help you. Some of our other services 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

Receive Physical Therapy for Knee Injuries

If you are living with knee pain or have recently sustained a knee injury, you require the professional advice of Farmington, MO physical therapists to eliminate your pain and get you back to full mobility. Axes Physical Therapy will help you get back to the sports and activities you love with the committed, individualized care of your Axes physical therapist. Contact us today to schedule an appointment or discover the knee injury treatment location nearest you.