Knee injuries St. Clair, MO. The knee is a versatile joint that lets our bodies execute a vast range of motions like sitting, standing, lifting, walking, running, jumping and more. Suffering a knee injury makes walking and many other basic tasks painful or even impossible. If you’ve recently had a knee injury or are impacted by chronic knee pain, it is essential to find first-rate physical therapy with licensed physical therapists in the St. Clair, MO area. At Axes Physical Therapy, we provide safe and effective care to hundreds of patients in the St. Clair, MO area. Contact us today to find out more or schedule your first appointment.

Axes Physical Therapy provides personalized, evidence-based evaluation and treatment for those with knee injuries in St. Clair, MO. Our knee injury experts specialize in custom tailored treatment plans made specifically for your condition, 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 specifical needs of each St. Clair, MO patient 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 constitute the knee joint. Surrounding 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 give 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 are shock absorbers between the tibia and femur.

Due to the complexity of the joint and the stresses 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 one can sustain. If you’ve suffered a knee injury or are living with chronic knee pain, you need the care and careful treatment of St. Clair, MO area physical therapists. Our team of qualified therapists who are highly knowledgeable when treating knee injuries will lead you in your recuperation and restore full 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 inadequately can result in continued problems, including arthritis. Knee sprains are usually the result of acute twisting injuries, or injuries the result of external forces that stretch or tear a ligament. It is usually a sports related injury that comes from force, such as a hit to the front or outside of the knee. Additionally, non contact knee sprains are very typical and occur because of weakness, muscle fatigue or poor mechanics. Symptoms include:

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

Torn cartilage can frequently take place take place at the same time as 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 leaping and rotating/pivoting. In older adults, a cartilage tear in the knee can happen with little or no trauma 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 bend or extend 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 typically the main symptom of this sort of knee injury, and at the start it might only occur when training 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 untreated, eventually you could have trouble climbing stairs or even rising from a chair. That’s why it’s essential 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 a result of tracking and alignment issues between the patella and femur and is often felt when climbing stairs or rising from a chair. The specific cause is still unknown; however, most physicians and physical and occupational therapists think these knee injuries happen when the knee is overused, or there is weakness of the quadriceps muscle and inflexibility of other hip and knee musculature.

Fractures are an especially painful type of knee injuries and need emergency medical treatment. More complex fractures can require surgery to repair the knee and return functionality. There are three common knee injuries associated with fractures:

• Patellar: a fracture of the kneecap that often occurs when you land precisely on your knee, hit the dashboard in a car accident or suffer another type of heavy blow to the knee. Symptoms include:
  • Pain, inflammation, and bruising
  • Inability to straighten the knee or keep it keep it
  • Inability to walk
• Distal Femur: happens where the thigh bone and knee touch. The bone can shatter or might suffer a clean fracture. Distal femoral knee injuries frequently also injure the cartilage in the knee, which makes them hard 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: frequently injure the soft tissue of the knee as well. The top of the tibia, where it meets the knee, is not as hard as the rest of the bone. These knee injuries often happen 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 excessive activity, but most happen because of falling, sports injuries or auto crashes. Symptoms include:
  • Swelling around the knee
  • Visually evident deformity or misalignment
  • Numb, pale, or cold feet, as the flow of blood to the foot could be restricted

Dislocation of the knee or kneecap can either happen when the femur and tibia are pushed out of alignment, or when the patella is forced out of place. These are most often caused by high energy trauma 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 St. Clair, MO doctor can put the knee or kneecap back in place, treatment by a physical therapist will be an essential facet of the recuperation process to reduce swelling, gradually increase motion and increase 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 frequently be torn when force is applied 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 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 the correct urgent and long-term care after suffering a knee injury. The care you receive can be the difference between a swift and strong recovery or a lifetime of chronic, debilitating pain. In the event of knee injuries that cause noticeable and major trauma, such as a dislocated patella, tests may not be necessary and a St. Clair, MO ER doctor will endeavor to stabilize the knee as quickly as possible. Other means of diagnosis for knee injuries are:

• A physical examination. A St. Clair, MO medical professional can analyze the appearance and movement of your knee while looking for inflammation or tenderness. Our physical therapists are professionals in human movement and offer free, no obligation injury screenings for your knee injuries and other injuries.
• X-Rays can show bone fractures and degenerative joint disease.
• CT scans combine X-rays from different angles to create cross-sectional images 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 at different angles to look for specific issues.
• MRIs create 3D pictures of the inside of your knee. This test is frequently used to show soft tissue injuries, such as ACL tears or patellar tendonitis.

If you are dealing with pain caused by a knee injury, contact Axes Physical Therapy to work with a St. Clair, MO physical therapist who specializes in knee injuries. Your knee injury therapist will evaluate your motion, your mobility, and will also monitor the strength of your knee and its stability. After diagnosis, your Axes physical therapist in St. Clair, MO County will recommend a individually tailored treatment plan, which might include follow-up with a St. Clair, MO orthopedic or sports physician.

Treatments and Therapy

Minor knee injuries can often heal with the RICE Method: rest, ice, gentle compression, and elevation. If you feel pain, you need to rest and to temporarily stop any activity you think may have led to 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, cannot move the knee, or are unable to bear weight without pain. With some serious knee injuries, such as ACL tears or bone fractures, surgery is required 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. Clair, MO physical therapist who treats knee injuries will put you on the path to safely restore movement and strength in your knee as you recover. Common therapies for knee injuries include (depending on your injury):

• Stretches and strengthening exercises of the entire leg and hip
• 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 rehabilitation 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:

• Mobility
• Knee Injury
• Joint Pain
• Sciatica
• Dry Needling
• ACL Tear
• Pain Management
• Rotator Cuff Tear
• Arthritis Treatment
• Sports Injury

Receive Physical Therapy for Knee Injuries

If you are managing knee pain or have recently suffered a knee injury, you need the professional advice of St. Clair, 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 devoted, personalized care of your Axes physical therapist. Contact us today to schedule an appointment or find out the knee injury treatment location nearest you.