Treating an ACL Tear With Physical Therapy in Huntington

An ACL tear is something that can affect many athletes and has the possibility of taking months to recover from. An ACL tear happens when the ligament in the knee is subject to a rapid or sudden change in movement, especially if one’s foot is planted while the knee is in motion. This accounts for why so many football and soccer players usually suffer from ACL tears and other leg related injuries. Physical therapy in Huntington, East Northport, Nesconset, Coram, East Meadow, and Glen Cove is not only able to treat ACL injuries with the utmost care, but they can build leg-strength back to its full potential.

While an ACL tear can affect ligaments and may take time to recover from, there’s also other types of damage that the injury can cause, such as damage to articular cartilage, meniscus and other ligaments. Since ACL injuries are so important to treat, there’s a severity scale for injured ligaments:

• Grade 1 Sprains: while the ligament is slightly stretched, it still able to keep the knee joint stable.
• Grade 2 Sprains: the ligament stretches far enough that it becomes loose and is usually correlated with a partial ligament tear.
• Grade 3 Sprains: the most serious tear that can be sustained, a Grade 3 sprain is the complete tear of the ligament, where it’s been split into separate pieces, and the knee joint isn’t stable.

After suffering an ACL tear, recovering properly can not only help your knee rehabilitation process but can build the strength of your knee to reduce the chance of future ligament damage. Island Sports Physical Therapy in Huntington have countless treatments that will help you retain confidence in your road to recovery.

• Bracing – After an operation for an ACL tear, a brace is usually given in order to reduce the knee movement following the surgery. This is helpful in assuring the knee doesn’t retain any new damage.
• Icing – cold applications, such as an ice sleeve, around your knee will reduce the swelling around the injury.
• Movement exercise – following surgery, a physical therapist will begin to help you with your knees range of motion and regaining the full movement of your knee. These exercises help increase blood flow around the injured area, reducing swelling as a result.
• Strength Exercises – around a month after the injury, a physical therapist will use weight exercises to build your ability to put weight on your knee and build the strength of the injured knee.

Treatment for an ACL tear is vital for recuperating from the injury. Physical therapy in Huntington will work with patients every step of the way to get them back to doing what they enjoy. However, it’s important to be patient with the healing process, so that re-tearing a ligament doesn’t happen.

Island Sports Physical Therapy in Huntington has the ability to help with all leg injuries and uses various treatments by any means to help people recover. Contact them today for more information.