Knee Injury in O'Fallon, MO | Treatment for Knee Injuries near O'Fallon, MO

Knee Injury in O’Fallon, MO

Knee Injury in O’Fallon, MO. Suffering a knee injury can wreak havoc on your daily life, and is likely to cause long-term symptoms. A knee injury can happen to anyone in O’Fallon, MO. A knee injury can happen in a variety of ways — often when you least expect it. However, the majority of knee injury victims experience damage due to age-related deterioration, exposure to repetitive motions (such as in certain occupations), and sudden movement or trauma that can happen in accidents and when engaging in physical activities.

Do you have knee pain, buckling, stiffness, swelling, or other symptoms related to the knee? You may have a knee injury, whether or not you can identify a specific moment of trauma that could explain the injury. For your swift and successful recovery, contact the movement experts at Axes Physical Therapy for help with your knee injury in the O’Fallon, MO area. The experienced staff of physical and occupational therapists will help you heal fully and safely.

knee injury O'Fallon, MO | O'Fallon physical therapy for knee injury

What Do I Need to Know About Knee Injuries?

The knee is the largest joint in the human body and is pivotal to executing so many of the actions, motions, and functions that are unique to humans and allow us to accomplishing the complicated tasks we use every day to go about our lives. This joint consists of four types of structures, none of which are immune to injury. The knee contains bones, cartilage, ligaments, and tendons.

The bones of the knee include the tibia, femur, and patella. The three bones are held in place by groups of muscles, tendons, and ligaments that make it possible for us to stand, sit, walk, and move. In addition to joining the separate bones together within the joint, the ligaments act to provide stability and limit movement in certain directions. Within the joint, the end of each bone is capped by a layer of cartilage. The cartilage tissue cushions the hard bones where they meet and absorbs the shock of movement and weight that introduce pressure to the joint.

All parts that make up the knee, whether soft tissue or bone, are critical to the knee’s ability to function as a strong and healthy joint, and damage to any one or more of these areas can result in a knee injury. If you or a family member recently experienced any kind of trauma in or around your knee or suffer from a chronic condition that could lead to damage to the knee, contact Axes Physical Therapy to discuss your knee injury treatment options in O’Fallon, MO today or book an appointment online now.

Knee Injury Statistics in in O’Fallon, MO and the US

The knee is a complex part of the human body — an impeccably designed joint that makes it possible for us to move and act in ways that are unique to humans. However, along with the intricate design comes an inherent susceptibility to a variety of injuries. In fact, knee injuries account for the most common type of sports injury, contributing to 41 percent of all sports injuries. But sports injuries are just one type of knee injury that people in O’Fallon, MO and throughout the US can suffer. While young people more often get knee injuries from sports and other physical activities, older adults more often get knee injuries after falling or due to the development of a chronic condition like osteoarthritis.

Learn more about knee injuries through the following facts and statistics from Society for Academic Emergency Medicine:

Teens and young adults (patients ranging in age from 15 years old to their late 20’s) are the most likely to experience a knee injury
Men are more likely to have a knee injury than women, making up 68% of all knee injury sufferers
Nearly half (49.5%) of all knee injuries occur in sports accidents
Among sports-related knee injuries, soccer and skiing are the most dangerous sports and activities, each responsible for over a quarter of all sports-related knee injuries
Other top causes of knee injuries are related to home structures (30.2%), and home furnishings (13.6%)
By far the most common type of knee injury is a strain or sprain, making up 42.1% of all knee injury cases, followed by contusions and abrasions at 27.1% and cuts and puncture wounds at 10.5%

Common Types of Knee Injuries in O’Fallon, MO

Sprains and Strains. When you sprain or strain your knee, a muscle or ligament within the joint is damaged. These injuries are caused by sudden force to the knee or a sudden or unintended motion of the knee (for example, suddenly stopping to change directions or twisting).
Fractures. A fracture is another word for a broken bone, which can be anything from a small, partial crack like a hairline fracture to something much more devastating such as a comminuted fracture when a bone shatters into several fragments. Even the kneecap bone, called the patella, can be broken during a knee injury, especially in car accidents, hard falls against solid objects, assaults and other catastrophic events.
Cartilage or Ligament Tears. Blows to the knee from different directions can lead to a number of different knee injuries involving ligaments surrounding the joint. Twisting, pivoting, and other sudden changes in direction can also cause a meniscus tear — the cartilage padding the knee where the bones meet — and/or anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear injuries. You can learn more about our treatment and therapy services for O’Fallon, MO ACL tears near you.
Arthritis. There are countless variations of arthritis and each patient has their own unique experience of their condition. However, if you suffer from a chronic condition like arthritis and experience knee injury symptoms like pain and limited mobility, your arthritis may be causing a knee injury and can even lead to the potential development of bone spurs. Arthritis can result in rapid and irreversible damage of the cartilage and in your knee joint. The right care that targets the underlying cause of your pain can prevent further damage
Tendonitis and Other Forms of Inflammation. When under constant stress or overuse, tendons in the knee can become inflamed. This is common in individuals who engage in frequent running, jumping, or cycling activities. One of the most common types of tendonitis knee injuries is what is known as jumper’s knee. This condition is caused by the severe force of hitting the ground when landing a jump.

Knee Injury Risk Factors in O’Fallon, MO

Being overweight. Being overweight or obese introduces inordinate stress on your knee joints, even during ordinary activities such as walking or going up and down stairs. Being at an unhealthy excessive weight is also a risk factor for developing osteoarthritis by accelerating the breakdown of joint cartilage.
Weakness or stiffness. A lack of strength and flexibility can increase the risk of succumbing to a knee injury. Strong muscles protect your joints and keep them properly aligned, while adequately flexible muscles make it possible to safely enjoy full range of motion.
Certain activities and occupations. Some sports put greater stress on your knees than do others. Alpine snowboarding and skiing involve rigid boots and potential for falls, the near constant and rapid change of direction in basketball, and the repeated pounding your knees take when you run or jog all involve a risk of knee injury in O’Fallon, MO. Occupations that involve activities that put stress on the knees like maintenance or farming put you at an increased risk as well.
History of previous injury. Being injured in the past puts you at a higher risk of injuring your knee again.
Advanced age. As we age, our tissues start to wear down. The knee is no exception. The protective cartilage cushioning the bones in your knee can wear thin, and diseases like osteoporosis make your bones weak and susceptible to injury.

Do I Need Knee Injury Treatment in O’Fallon, MO?

As always, each case is unique and it is important that you speak with a licensed healthcare professional any time you experience a condition such as a knee injury that makes it difficult or impossible for you to function as normal or causes you serious pain. After all, who wants to go through life with chronic pain or any sort of physical limitation, especially in a part of the body as critical to movement and daily life as the knee?

While your experience as a patient is unique, there are certain times that immediate medical care is necessary. Specifically, when you suffer an acute knee injury, noticeable swelling is a warning sign that you need emergency medical attention. According to Yale Medicine, swelling after a knee injury is a hallmark sign that the injury is serious and medical care is warranted. Immediate, significant swelling that occurs in the three to four hours after an acute trauma impacts the knee is typically a sign that blood is trapped in the joint.

What To Do After a Knee Injury in O’Fallon, MO

When in doubt, err on the side of caution and seek out medical care right away after you notice a potential knee injury. Especially in the case of an acute or sudden injury, the commonly known RICE method can help mitigate the damage and support your knee injury recovery with a swift response to the trauma.

The RICE method refers to:

Rest. If you experience pain or suspect a knee injury, do not force any activity or introduce any additional undue stress to the joint. If possible, avoid putting weight on the affected knee and minimize movement.
Ice. The application of ice or a cold compress after an injury like a knee injury can help temporarily ease the pain and reduce swelling. When using ice on an injury, do not apply the ice directly on bare skin and remember to follow an alternating schedule of 20 minutes on and 20 minutes off.
Compression. It may be helpful to wrap the injured knee with a soft, elastic bandage or ace wrap. Take care not to wrap the area so tight that it causes pain or cuts off blood and oxygen circulation to the injured area.
Elevate. During the initial resting time after the occurrence of your knee injury, you can use pillows, a stool, or another prop or structure to help keep your injured knee elevated higher than your heart. This elevation can stimulate reparative blood flow to the injury, reduce pressure and throbbing, and encourage the removal of waste from the area.

Getting Physical Therapy for your Knee Injury in O’Fallon, MO

When you come to Axes Physical Therapy for knee injury treatment near you in the O’Fallon, MO area, you will be assigned a dedicated physical therapist who will lead your knee injury recovery for the entirety of your knee injury physical therapy treatment plan in O’Fallon, MO. With years of clinical experience restoring knee injury patients back to full performance, your physical therapist will put their advanced education and the latest empirical data on the most up-to-date treatment practices to use to treat the cause of your O’Fallon, MO knee injury at the source, successfully returning you to all the activities you value so you can go about your regular life at home, at work, and in your personal time.

During your first O’Fallon, MO appointment with Axes for your knee injury, your physical therapist will perform an evaluation of your overall condition, health history, and an injury screening. From ensuring that your physical therapist is operating with a complete picture of your condition and overall health to consistently engaging in the prescribed exercises, you are a critical piece in your knee injury treatment puzzle. It is imperative that you take an active role in your physical therapy treatment of your knee injury.

Your physical therapist will devise a custom treatment plan to eliminate pain and other symptoms, repair damaged tissue, and restore your mobility. To this end, your physical therapist may employ a number of treatments to target the source of your knee injury.

Therapeutic exercises and stretches
Gait and posture training
Heat and ice therapies
Ultrasound
Electric stimulation
Kinesiology taping
Soft tissue massages or knee joint mobilization

The experts in movement health and the musculoskeletal system at Axes Physical Therapy in the O’Fallon, MO area have successfully treated hundreds of patients with pain, injuries, and chronic conditions and have restored their ability to do the activities they care about. Learn more about our treatment capabilities and the types of conditions we specialize in for patients in the O’Fallon, MO area, such as:

Recover from your Knee Injury in O’Fallon, MO Now

If you recently experienced a knee injury while being active or are suffering from symptoms of any type of knee injury, it is important to consult a experienced medical professional as soon as possible. As musculoskeletal specialists with expertise in movement and the human body, the physical therapists of Axes Physical Therapy in O’Fallon, MO will guide you in your recovery by creating a personalized treatment plan based on the latest proven practices in movement health. Contact our O’Fallon, MO treatment professionals or find our facility that is most convenient for you to restore your mobility and acheive relief from your knee injury.