Knee Pain Treatment
Knee pain has a huge affect on your life, whether you have chronic arthritis, an acute injury, or pain has come on for no apparent reason.
Here at The Reinge Clinic we know that, unless there has been a traumatic injury, the causes of knee pain can be many and varied.
Our job is to find out where that pain came from and find a permanent solution to your pain.
Why does knee pain occur?
Knee pain often comes in two forms, Traumatic or Chronic.
The knee is a hinge joint, which means it is designed to bend only. When a knee is subject to forces that cause it to twist, the ligaments and tendons that support and protect the knee can become inflamed and painful.
In a traumatic injury these structures can get torn and the joint capsule that protects the knee can become damaged, creating pain. Traumatic injuries of the knee are relatively easy to solve with correct assessment, and strengthening programs.
Pain that comes on in the knee for no apparent reason is more tricky.
Non traumatic knee pain
Non traumatic knee pain is usually down to incorrect biomechanics. Although the knee has a small amount of rotation available to it, it is primarily a hinge joint bending and flexing the knee. It relies on staying in a straight position, to allow the muscles to fire properly and the internal structures, such as the cartilage to stay healthy.
If your foot is weak, this will cause the forces to be greater on the inside of the knee, as the knee drops inwards. Over time this can irritate both the soft tissue structures and the cartilage, which can start to rub and form the beginnings of Osteoarthtitis (Learn more about osteoarthritis by clicking here)
If your pelvis isn't straight, if it tips forward, for example, it can create tension in the muscles at the front of the legs, sometimes twisting the kneecap slightly and causing damage and irritation to the cartilage on the back of the kneecap.
Treatment
So how do we treat knee pain.
Well it is relatively simple, the knee likes to be straight, so we will initially assess the knee and kneecap positions, we will check whether the pain is coming from the joint or the muscles.
We will also look at your pelvis position and your foot strength. We will even measure the circumference of your legs to check both legs are of a similar size.
We will then muscle test the leg muscles, to work out where the pain is coming from and see whether the firing patterns in the lower body are functioning correctly.
All these checks allow us to understand what is going on in your knee. Then we will know which muscles we need to strengthen and which we need to loosen.
With targeted strengthening and loosening, most knee problems go away within a few sessions.
Knee pain when running
What about knee pain in runners? Knee pain is quite a common complaint for runners and usually this comes from the way your foot hits the floor when you run.
Running creates forces through the knee that are far stronger than the forces you receive when you walk. So any imbalances or weaknesses will show up in the form of pain.
We can solve running knee pain by completing a running assessment. (Learn more about our Running Assessments by clicking here).
This allows us to see how you strike the floor when you run and understand where the forces are going. rom there we can alter how your run, or restrengthen you to get rid of your running knee pain.