Dry Needling for Knee Pain, Jumper’s Knee, Patellar Tendonitis
Knee pain is a very common cause within a large majority of the athletic and active population. It can be caused by a variety of reasons and can prevent us from doing the things we love. Especially sports or higher-level physical activity. One of the most common causes of knee pain is patellar tendonitis. Individuals who play sports with repetitive jumping or landing including volleyball, basketball, cross-fit, long-distance running, sprinting or biking may be especially prone. Luckily for us, there are many options, such as Dry Needling that can help. This treatment can help rid this pain and get you back to full pain-free participation in both sports and daily life.
What is Patellar Tendonitis?
Patellar tendonitis, also referred to as jumper’s knee, is when the tendon under the knee cap becomes irritated and inflamed. This can happen due to a list of mechanisms including overuse, repetitive jumping/running or weakness of the tendon tissue. Other factors that may be progressing the issue could be strength issues as well as tightness or muscular imbalance around the lower body. Anyone can be affected by patellar tendonitis. However, it is seen commonly within athletes who play high-impact landing sports such as basketball, volleyball and running.
Dry Needling for Patellar Tendonitis and Other Knee Conditions
Dry needling is an amazing treatment method commonly used in the rehabilitation of knee conditions. Examples include patellar tendonitis, osteoarthritis, ligament sprains, chondromalacia as well as other muscular strains. It decreases local pain receptor density, decreases local bad inflammation and decreases representation of pain in the brain while also assisting in the increasing of direct blood flow to the tissue. With the process of clearing out the inflammation, we are able to eliminate pain. This allows us to start loading the affected tissue/area and rehabbing the tissues faster. This leads to an overall shorter rehabilitation time. This may look scary, but in reality it is not. The needles we use are only 1/8th the size of needles your doctor uses to draw blood. To get more answers about dry needling, click here.
Improvement Time
Dry needling has shown great results within one session and continued improvement over follow-up sessions. Within the first three sessions of dry needling will be able to decrease pain intensity, promote tendon healing, improve function and reduce risk of re-injury in the affected tissue. Prior patients reported immediate improvements with dry needling for patellar tendonitis and even stated “I have had horrible knee pain for more than 9 months. I have had X-rays, MRI and even went to a couple of different PT offices and it seemed like nothing worked. I felt like I needed to give up any physical activity altogether. After one session with dry needling on the pain spot the next day my knee felt so much better. I would recommend this treatment for anyone.”
Moral of the story, this treatment is highly recommended if you want to have improvements in pain level, increase function and get back to high level activity. Attached below is a link for more in-depth information regarding dry needling and research supporting its effectiveness in improving physical therapy treatment as well as increasing the healing process of tissues.
Dry Needling | Downtown Miami | Symmetry Physical Therapy (symmetryptmiami.com)
Dry Needling Research Articles
Other Treatments Used for Patellar Tendonitis
Along with dry needling there are other treatment methods that Symmetry Physical therapy provides in order to promote an optimal and speedy recovery. The Winback machine uses non-invasive current to transmit energy at high radio frequencies to the target tissue. This stimulates the body’s natural repair mechanism, increases local blood flow, and enhances the supply of micronutrition and oxygen to the tissue. Blood flow restriction (BFR) training which allows us to train your muscles at a higher perceived intensity without overloading them. Cupping and other instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization such as scraping assists in drawing additional blood flow and oxygenation to the local tissue.
WIN your body Back! – Symmetry Physical Therapy (symmetryptmiami.com)
Schedule Dry Needing to Help with Your Knee Pain
If you are having knee pain or any of the conditions listed above, we don’t recommend avoiding treatment or attempting to wait for it to get better. This will likely only make things worse. Do you live in the Miami or Brickell area and are looking for a Physical Therapist? Come see us at Symmetry Physical Therapy for an evaluation and dry-needling session. We can provide an in-depth assessment and treatment strategies so we can help you return to a pain-free lifestyle.
Feel free to give us a call at (305) 331 2277 to schedule an appointment.
Book a session with us in clinic or virtually!
Check out our Youtube channel for more tips and easy to follow exercises videos. Here are some exercises that can help with patellar tendonitis or other knee problems.