Benefits of torn meniscus physical therapy in St. Louis, MO

Torn Meniscus Physical Therapy

You might not be aware that you have a suction cup-like structure in your knee. This structure is called the meniscus. Your meniscus helps cushion the ends of the thighbone and shinbone, and it also plays a role in helping stabilize your knee. 

Sudden stops and changes of direction can cause a meniscus to tear. Such an injury is much more likely if you play a sport like soccer or football, and it can also be caused by an impact to your knee during a fall. Physical therapists in St. Louis, Missouri, can build a treatment plan for your meniscus tear that offers many benefits. 

Some benefits torn meniscus physical therapy can offer

Physical therapists in your area will strive to help you get the best possible treatment for your meniscus tear, and they can build individualized treatment plans that use multiple therapy methods. The combination of the therapy techniques in such a plan can offer benefits like: 

  • Decreasing pain — Meniscus tears tend to cause pain when you rotate or twist your knee. Some patients might also feel pain when bending their knee. Physical therapy can help decrease your pain by reducing knee inflammation. Therapists can also show you how to avoid doing movements that lead to pain while you heal. 
  • Stabilizing the knee — It takes many structures to keep your knee stable, including your meniscus. When one of these is injured, your knee could lose stability, and this can make it harder to move around. Physical therapists can counter knee instability by showing you therapeutic strengthening exercises. Such exercises are designed to increase the strength of knee muscles, which can increase knee support. 
  • Increasing range of motion — Healing knees can often become stiff and hard to bend. Especially if you aren’t moving around enough. Meniscus tear therapy can use techniques like manual therapy, which involves therapists using their hands to manipulate your knee and the soft tissue around it. The goal of this therapy method is to reduce tension in soft tissue, which can help improve range of motion. 

Excel Sports & Physical Therapy in St. Louis offers high-quality torn meniscus physical therapy 

You won’t have to search for long to find effective physical therapy for your meniscus tear. Our Excel Sports & Physical Therapy team has a clinic right here in St. Louis that’s ready to help you. Our local clinic offers free screenings. The information we gather during your screening will also be used to build your personalized therapy plan, and your plan could include therapy techniques such as: 

Contact our team today for more information about how we can treat your knee injury or to schedule an initial appointment.