Knee injuries Josephville, MO. The knee is a versatile joint that lets our bodies carry out a wide scope of motions like sitting, standing, lifting, walking, running, jumping and more. Experiencing a knee injury makes walking and many other daily tasks painful or even impossible. If you’ve recently sustained a knee injury or experience chronic knee pain, it is important to find quality physical therapy with licensed physical therapists in the Josephville, MO area. At Axes Physical Therapy, we provide safe and effective therapy to hundreds of patients in the Josephville, MO area. Contact us today to find out more or schedule your first appointment.

Axes Physical Therapy provides bespoke, evidence-based evaluation and treatment for people with knee injuries in Josephville, MO. Our knee injury experts specialize in customized treatment plans created 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 committed to serving the specifical needs of each Josephville, MO patient we see.

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 on the side of the tibia) and patella (kneecap) are the other bones that comprise the knee joint. Around the knee the knee are leg muscles, which drive the knee’s movements, and tendons and ligaments that attach the knee bones to the leg muscles or ligaments which provide support and stability. These ligaments include the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and posterior cruciate ligament (PCL), which give stability to the front and back of the knee, and the medial and lateral collateral ligaments (MCL and LCL), which stabilize side-to-side movement. The medial and lateral menisci act as shock absorbers between the tibia and femur.

Due to the intricacy of the joint and the strain placed on the knee, with structures that can be torn, fractured, sprained, or dislocated, knee injuries are one of the most commonly seen musculoskeletal injuries that are suffered. If you’ve suffered a knee injury or are living with chronic knee pain, you need the attention and careful treatment of Josephville, MO area physical therapists. Our team of qualified therapists who specialize in treating knee injuries will lead you in your rehabilitation and restore complete mobility of your injured knee.

Types of Knee Injuries and Common Causes

Knee sprains can be painful knee injuries that take place when ligaments in the knee are torn or overstretched. Knee sprains are painful, and if untreated or cared for poorly can cause continued issues, including arthritis. Knee sprains are often 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 occur because of weakness, muscle fatigue or incorrect technique. Symptoms include:

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

Torn cartilage can often happen in tandem with sprains, and take place when trauma to the knee tears the menisci. It’s most often the result of forcefully twisting or rotating your knee and is often sustained in contact sports such as football, as well as sports like soccer or baseball with repeated jumping and rotating/pivoting. In older adults, a cartilage tear in the knee can take place with little or no trauma as the knee cartilage loses flexibility and pliability with age. Symptoms include:

• Dull pain when working out or exercising
• Buckling or locking of the knee joint
• Crunching or popping noises when walking
• Difficulty bearing weight
• Inability to flex or straighten the knee

Patellar Tendonitis, also referred to as “jumper’s knee,” is caused by inflammation of the tendons in the knee, specifically the quadriceps tendon. Anterior knee pain is usually the main symptom of this category of knee injury, and at first it may only occur when working out or exercising. It is also often an overuse injury. Over time, the pain increases and starts to make exercising or playing sports more difficult. If unattended, eventually you could have trouble climbing stairs or even getting up from a chair. For that reason, it’s essential to receive physical therapy for knee injuries.

Patellofemoral pain syndrome is a knee injury that worsens with time and causes pain felt in the front of the knee. The pain is caused by tracking and alignment issues between the patella and femur and is typically felt when climbing stairs or rising from a chair. The exact cause is still unknown; however, most physicians and physical and occupational therapists think 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 incredibly painful category of knee injuries and require urgent medical treatment. More complex fractures can need 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 happens when you fall directly on your knee, hit the dashboard in a car crash or suffer another kind of extreme external force to the knee. Symptoms include:
  • Pain, inflammation, and bruising
  • Inability to straighten the knee or keep it straight
  • Inability to walk
• Distal Femur: takes place where the thigh bone and knee meet. The bone may shatter or can suffer a clean fracture. Distal femoral knee injuries often also hurt the cartilage in the knee, which makes them difficult to treat. They typically occur in the elderly as their bones weaken, or to people in high energy impact collisions. Symptoms include:
  • Pain when putting weight on the knee
  • Inflammation, bruising, and tenderness
  • The leg may look shorter and contorted
• Proximal Tibia: frequently harm the soft tissue of the knee as well. The top of the tibia, where it meets the knee, is softer than the rest of the bone. These knee injuries frequently occur 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 happen because of falling, sports injuries or auto accidents. Symptoms include:
  • inflammation around the knee
  • Visually obvious deformity or misalignment
  • Lack of feeling or warmth in the foot, as the flow of blood to the foot could be affected

Dislocation of the knee or kneecap can either occur when the femur and tibia are forced out of alignment, or when the patella is pushed out of place. These are frequently caused by extreme force from sports, car accidents or falls. People with a slightly abnormal structure of the knee are at a higher risk of patellar dislocation knee injuries. While a Josephville, MO doctor can correct the dislocation, treatment by a physical therapist will be an important part of the recovery process to reduce swelling, gradually improve movement and increase strength in the hip and leg musculature.

ACL, PCL, MCL, and LCL Injuries can be either tears or sprains. ACL injuries can often take place in high-energy sports where players are landing after jumping or switching direction rapidly. The PCL can often be torn when there is trauma to the front of the knee as it is bent. Symptoms of these knee injuries include swelling and lack of stability. While ACL tears are often accompanied by harm to other parts of the knee, by themselves they are often not 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 treatment after sustaining a knee injury. The treatment you receive can account for either quick and effective recovery or a lifetime of chronic, debilitating pain. In regards to knee injuries involving obvious and severe trauma, such as a dislocated patella, tests may not be required and a Josephville, 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 Josephville, MO medical professional can evaluate the appearance and movement of your knee while looking for swelling or tenderness. Our physical therapists are specialists in human motion and provide free, no obligation injury screenings for your knee injuries and other injuries.
• X-Rays can detect bone fractures and degenerative joint disease.
• CT scans combine X-rays from various angles to create 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 rotate and extend your knee at different angles to look for specific issues.
• MRIs create 3D images of the inside of your knee. This test is often utilized 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 Josephville, MO physical therapist who is an expert in knee injuries. Your knee injury therapist will evaluate your motion, your mobility, and will also monitor how strong and stable your knee is. After diagnosis, your Axes physical therapist in Josephville, MO County will recommend a personalized treatment plan, which could include an appointment with a Josephville, MO orthopedic or sports physician.

Treatments and Therapy

Small knee injuries can often heal with the RICE Method: rest, ice, gentle compression, and elevation. If you are experiencing pain, you need to rest and to momentarily cease any activity you think may have led to your injury. Get 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 are unable to bear weight without pain. With some serious knee injuries, such as ACL tears or broken bones, surgery is required to correct the structure of the knee and return functionality. Physical therapy will then be part of your preoperative and postoperative treatment plan. A Josephville, 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 include (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 founded on proven treatment strategies and are tailored specifically for each patient. We guide you in your recuperation 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:

• Back Pain Treatment
• Neck Pain Treatment
• 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

Receive Physical Therapy for Knee Injuries

If you are suffering from knee pain or have recently experienced a knee injury, you need the expert advice of Josephville, MO physical therapists to eliminate your pain and get you back to full motion. Axes Physical Therapy will help you get back to the sports and activities you love with the dedicated, customized care of your Axes physical therapist. Contact us today to schedule an appointment or find out the knee injury treatment location nearest you.