Solutions That Are Resolving Knee Pain
Are you having knee pain walking up or down stairs? Are you having trouble bending your knee to put on your pants or socks? Is knee pain causing you to not be able to participate in your physical activities as much as you would like? These are common complaints we hear when patients consult us for knee pain. Most of our knee patients have been pleasantly surprised with the amazing results they have achieved with the simple solutions we have provided for their problem.
Check out this video. Watch their knees when they are asked to perform a single leg squat jump.
So what did you see? Did you see some knees “wobble”? Did you see some knees bend and collapse inward? These abnormal knee movements are signs of a problem that very commonly causes knee pain. If you have knee pain, this could be occurring right now when you walk, run, or climb stairs.
There are a few reasons why this can happen:
Poor Posture Alignment. If posture is abnormal, the knee joints may not be aligned properly which can lead to wear and tear, joint degeneration (arthritis) and eventually knee pain.
Poor Motor (Muscle) Control or Muscle Weakness. If a person has poor muscle coordination along with muscle weakness, the hip can shift outward, the knee shifts inward and the foot’s arch collapses. Did you see the knees “wobble” in the video? This is a perfect example of poor motor control and muscle weakness.
Loss of Joint Mobility. Loss of joint mobility or flexibility in the hip or ankle can force the knee to move in directions it may not tolerate which can cause wear and tear, joint degeneration and knee pain.
As you can see in the video, childhood is when many of these movement problems can begin. They can occur from injury, poor neuromuscular development and lack of regular physical activity. If these movement problems are not discovered and corrected, years of wear and tear will occur which very commonly develops into knee pain.
Bursitis, tendonitis, arthritis, patellofemoral syndrome, chondromalacia. These are all names doctors like to use to describe what the knee condition is. However, these diagnoses do not tell the patient (or the doctor) what is causing the condition. They also do not tell what is the best treatment to correct the condition.
In order to determine the cause of knee pain, alignment, motor control, strength, and joint mobility must be assessed. Quite often, knee pain occurs because of abnormal alignment, muscle weakness, or loss of joint mobility occurring in the hip or foot. If you have knee pain and your orthopedic doctor is not examining your hip and foot, he/she may be missing the actual cause of the problem.
We take a UNIQUE and DIFFERENT approach to knee pain than traditional orthopedic care. Our focus goes beyond just treating the pain by finding and correcting the underlying cause of the problem. Once we determine the underlying problem, our treatments usually consist of adjustments, muscle activation and corrective exercises to restore alignment, mobility, motor control and muscle strength.
We help people with knee pain every day. If you or someone you know is suffering needlessly from knee pain, contact our office.
