The first thing to do if you hear a loud pop in your knee followed by pain is stop doing your activity immediately. These symptoms are common to knee ligament injuries. Typically, continuing the activity you were doing will cause these injuries to worsen.
Knee ligament injuries are a common problem, especially for athletes. One 10-year study found that 20.3% of the sports injuries reported were anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries. Physical therapists can help you after you hear the loud pop in your knee followed by pain. First, they can identify underlying causes of an ACL injury. Second, they can provide effective treatment for your knee injury.
Common underlying causes of ACL injuries
The loud pop in your knee followed by pain might not have been the first sign that you were at risk of an ACL injury. In fact, there are many underlying issues that could have contributed to your injury. Some of the issues that your physical therapist might discover include:
- Weak muscles in your thighs and calves.
- Previous knee injuries.
- Knee osteoarthritis.
- Meniscus tears.
- Abnormal gait.
How can physical therapists treat ACL injuries?
Developing a treatment plan for ACL injuries starts with understanding what caused your injury. That means your physical therapist will evaluate you to see if you have any of the above issues. Then, they will build you a treatment plan to deal with the aftermath of the loud pop in your knee followed by pain. Such a treatment plan can include therapy methods like:
- Blood flow moderation training designed to more quickly boost strength in the thigh and calf muscles.
- Functional dry needling intended to promote a local twitch response that breaks down knots in soft tissue.
- Aquatic therapy that can help reduce stress on your knee while it heals.
- Joint mobilization that focuses on returning normal range of motion to your healing knee joint.
Border Therapy Services offers treatment for ACL injuries
Not sure where to find treatment for the ACL injury that caused the loud pop in your knee followed by pain? Our specialists at Border Therapy Services can help you find the effective treatment you need for your injury.
We’ll start by doing a free screening of your knee to gather information about your injury. Then, our physical therapists will build you a personalized therapy plan designed to reduce your pain and speed up your healing. Even better, we offer at-home care and virtual therapy services that allow you to work with your physical therapist in your own home.
Contact us today for more information about our ACL injury treatment services or to schedule your initial appointment.