Reducing Knee Pain With Physical Therapy
The human knee is undeniably a vital asset to your mobility. It is a hinge joint in your leg that is comprised of your tibia (shin) and your femur (thigh). In a perfect world, your knees will be able to handle the everyday tasks and elements your body demands. Unfortunately, due to a broad range of factors, knees can suffer from an increase in wear and tear, especially if other areas of the body are not as strong as they should be.
Partaking in physical therapy is the pinnacle way for you to counter your knee pain, treat it, and get you back on your feet so you can continue living your best life.
Partaking in physical therapy is the pinnacle way for you to counter your knee pain, treat it, and get you back on your feet so you can continue living your life.
Causes Of Knee Pain
A diverse range of issues causes knee pain, but the most common that we see is repetitive trauma, strains, non-contact injuries (such as ACL tears), and injuries such as cartilage tears, direct blows to the knee, sudden strain provoking movements, and overextensions. There are times when pain can arise suddenly from osteoarthritis. This occurs with the cartilage that is protecting the inside surface of your tibia and femur bones gradually wear away and create swelling. All of the aforementioned can be addressed and corrected with physical therapy intervention. In general, the knee is a very consequential joint, meaning oftentimes when there is dysfunction in the hip, low back, ankles, or feet, the pain can be reflectively felt in the knee. During your physical therapy evaluation, your physical therapist will diagnose where your knee pain is originating, and implement a plan to correct the foundational dysfunction.
How Physical Therapy Can Help?
Based on your underlying condition, location of the pain, the level (acute, sub-acute, or chronic), and the cause, a physical therapist will determine the right approach to help you on recovering. In general, physical therapy can reduce swelling and stiffness, which becomes the catalyst for reduced pain.
They are also able to perform an array of exercises with you to allow you to gain more function in your knee and perhaps remediate it enough to the point where you may not need surgical corrections. There was actually evidence in the year 2000 that the combination of manual physical therapy with supervised exercise helps patients who had knee osteoarthritis avoid/delay the need for surgery.
Overall, when you decide to partake in physical therapy, with targeted active treatments, you can expect to walk, bend, sit, kneel, jump, run, and squat much easier, ultimately transforming your life for the better.
- Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) Injury
- Arthritis or Osteoarthritis
- Baker's Cyst (Popliteal Cyst)
- Breaststroke Swimmer's Knee
- Chondromalacia Patella
- Dislocated Kneecap
- Fat Pad Impingement (Hoffa's Syndrome)
- Hyperextended Knee
- Iliotibial Band Syndrome
- Locked Knee
- Knee Tendon Bursitis (Pes anserine bursitis)
- Lateral Collateral Ligament (LCL) Injury
- Loose Bodies of the Knee Joint
- Medial Collateral Ligament (MCL) Injury
- Meniscal Cyst
- Meniscal Tear
- Osgood-Schlatter Disease
- Osteochondritis Dissecans
- Patellar Tendinitis (Jumper's Knee)
- Patellar Tendon Tear
- Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome (Runner's Knee)
- Plica Syndrome
- Posterior Cruciate Ligament (PCL)
- Prepatellar (kneecap) Bursitis
- Rheumatoid Arthritis
- Unstable Kneecap (Patellar Instability or Subluxation)
Don’t Suffer Any Longer
As you can see, physical therapy for knee pain is quite significant and can restore your knee function, lower your pain, and improve your quality of life as a whole. At Symmetry Physical Therapy we know how much knee pain can hinder and debilitate someone’s life. We dedicate an entire section of our practice to knee pain and guide those currently suffering back to a much healthier physical state. Between our custom approaches, treatment programs, and the ability to recover a vast range of conditions, you can be confident that you will be able to get back to your everyday life pain-free in no time.
About
Symmetry Physical Therapy is a privately owned one-on-one, patient-centered physical therapy clinic in Downtown Miami/Brickell. Every treatment is with the same Doctor of Physical Therapy for the entire hour. Symmetry’s specialized, dedicated, and passionate team of physical therapists is fully committed to each patient’s success.
Award-Winning Service