Knee injuries St. Charles, MO. The knee is a multifaceted joint that permits our bodies to perform a vast array of movements like sitting, standing, lifting, walking, running, jumping and more. Experiencing a knee injury makes walking and many other basic activities painful or even impossible. If you’ve recently experienced a knee injury or experience chronic knee pain, it is important to find top-notch physical therapy with licensed physical therapists in the St. Charles, MO area. At Axes Physical Therapy, we offer safe and effective care to hundreds of St. Charles, MO residents. Contact us today to find out more or schedule your first appointment.

Axes Physical Therapy provides bespoke, evidence-based analysis and therapy for people with knee injuries in St. Charles, MO. Our knee injury experts specialize in custom tailored treatment plans implemented 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 St. Charles, MO patient we treat.

The Human Knee

The knee is one of the biggest and most complex joints in the body. It attaches 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. Encircling the knee are leg muscles, which help move the knee, and tendons and ligaments that connect 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 to the front and back of the knee, and the medial and lateral collateral ligaments (MCL and LCL), which stabilize sideways movement. The medial and lateral menisci act as shock absorbers between the tibia and femur.

Due to the intricacy of the joint and the forces placed on the knee, with elements that can be torn, fractured, sprained, or dislocated, knee injuries are one of the most common musculoskeletal injuries that one can sustain. If you’ve sustained a knee injury or are experiencing chronic knee pain, you need the care and careful treatment of St. Charles, MO area physical therapists. Our team of professional therapists who specialize in treating knee injuries will guide you in your recuperation and restore complete mobility of your injured knee.

Types of Knee Injuries and Common Causes

Knee sprains are knee injuries that can cause a lot of pain, and they happen when ligaments in the knee are torn or overstretched. Knee sprains are painful, and if left unattended or treated incorrectly can result in continued problems, including arthritis. Knee sprains are usually the result of acute twisting injuries, or occur when an outside force stretches or tears a ligament. It is usually a sports related injury that comes from force, such as a knock to the front or outside of the knee. Additionally, non contact knee sprains are very common and result from weakness, muscle fatigue or poor mechanics. Symptoms include:

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

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

• Dull pain when training 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 called “jumper’s knee,” is a result of inflammation of the tendons in the knee, specifically the quadriceps tendon. Anterior knee pain is almost always the main symptom of this category of knee injury, and at the start it may only occur when training or exercising. It commonly stems from overuse. Over time, the pain increases and starts to make exercising or playing sports more difficult. If unattended, after a while you could find it difficult to climb stairs or even rise from a chair. That’s why 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 problems between the patella and femur and is often felt when climbing stairs or getting up from a chair. The specific cause is not understood yet; however, most physicians and physical and occupational therapists presume these knee injuries occur when the knee is overused, or there is weakness of the quadriceps muscle and inflexibility of other hip and knee musculature.

Fractures are an exceptionally painful of of knee injuries and require emergency medical attention. More complex fractures can need surgery to repair the knee and allow it to function normally again. There are three common knee injuries related to fractures:

• Patellar: a fracture of the kneecap that frequently occurs when you land exactly on your knee, hit the dashboard in a motor vehicle crash or suffer another kind of heavy blow to the knee. Symptoms include:
  • Pain, inflammation, and bruising
  • Inability to straighten the knee or keep it straight
  • Inability to walk
• Distal Femur: happens where the thigh bone and knee connect. The bone may shatter or may break straight across. Because distal femoral knee injuries can damage the cartilage in the knee, they can sometimes be harder to treat. They most often occur in the elderly as their bones weaken, or to people in high energy impact collisions. Symptoms include:
  • Pain when placing weight on the knee
  • Inflammation, bruising, and aching
  • The leg may look shorter and bent
• Proximal Tibia: often harm 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 often occur when the femur is forced by trauma into the soft bone at the top of the tibia. Proximal tibia knee injuries are occasionally minor breaks that occur from excessive activity, but most are the result of trauma from falling, sports injuries or auto crashes. Symptoms include:
  • inflammation surrounding the knee
  • Visually evident deformity or misalignment
  • Numb, pale, or cold feet, as the flow of blood to the foot could be affected

Dislocation of the knee or kneecap can either take place when the femur and tibia are pushed out of alignment, or when the patella is pushed out of place. These are frequently caused by high energy trauma from sports, car accidents or falls. People with a somewhat abnormal structure of the knee are at a higher risk of patellar dislocation knee injuries. While a St. Charles, MO doctor can put the knee or kneecap back in place, treatment by a physical therapist will be an important aspect of the rehabilitation process to reduce swelling, gradually increase motion 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-energy 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 swelling and knee instability. While ACL tears are often accompanied by injury to other parts of the knee, by themselves they are not always painful. MCL and LCL tears occur when there is a blow that pushes the knee sideways.

Diagnoses and Tests

It is important to receive the correct immediate and long-term treatment after suffering a knee injury. The care you receive can account for either quick and effective recovery or a lifetime of chronic, debilitating pain. In the event of knee injuries involving apparent and major trauma, such as a dislocated patella, tests may not be required and a St. Charles, MO ER doctor will work to stabilize the knee as quickly as possible. Other methods of diagnosis for knee injuries are:

• A physical examination. A St. Charles, MO medical professional can analyze the appearance and mobility of your knee while looking for inflammation or tenderness. Our physical therapists are experts in human movement and offer free, no obligation injury evaluations for your knee injuries and other injuries.
• X-Rays can show broken bones and degenerative joint disease.
• CT scans combine X-rays from different angles to produce cross-sectional pictures of the inside of your knee. They can help detect knee injuries such as subtle fractures.
• Ultrasounds use sound waves to create images of the soft tissue in your knee. Your doctor may rotate and extend your knee into different positions 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 suffering from pain caused by a knee injury, contact Axes Physical Therapy to work with a St. Charles, MO physical therapist who is an expert in knee injuries. Your knee injury therapist will evaluate your movement, your mobility, and will also examine the strength of your knee and its stability. After diagnosis, your Axes physical therapist in St. Charles, MO County will recommend a customized treatment plan, which may include an appointment with a St. Charles, 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, it’s important to rest and to momentarily stop any activity you think may have caused your injury. Seek medical attention if you hear a popping noise or feel loss of stability at the time of your injury, if you experience severe pain or swelling, are unable to move the knee, or cannot bear weight without pain. With some serious knee injuries, such as ACL tears or broken bones, surgery is necessary to correct the structure of the knee and make the knee functional again. Physical therapy will then be part of your preoperative and postoperative treatment plan. A St. Charles, MO physical therapist who treats knee injuries will put you on the path to safely restore motion 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 recovery to safely return you 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:

• 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
• Stroke Rehabilitation

Receive Physical Therapy for Knee Injuries

If you are dealing with knee pain or have recently experienced a knee injury, you require the professional advice of St. Charles, MO physical therapists to eliminate your pain and return you to full motion. Axes Physical Therapy will help you get back to the sports and activities you love with the dedicated, personalized care of your Axes physical therapist. Contact us today to schedule an appointment or find out the knee injury treatment location nearest you.