The Importance of Healthy Knees When Using the Stairs
The complex network of bones, ligaments, tendons, and muscles in the knee joint are vulnerable. Knee pain can result from many problems, from sports injuries to arthritis to gout. And when knee arthritis or a torn knee ligament strikes, climbing stairs, walking, and even standing can be painful.
Save Time & Money With DIRECT ACCESS What Does It Mean? Direct Access refers to the ability of patients to be evaluated and treated by a physical therapist without being referred by a doctor or other healthcare practitioner. If an individual feels they have a problem that may benefit from the skilled services of a physical therapist, they can “refer themselves” for treatment. Why Is It Important? Healthcare is expensive and direct access can be a cost savings by eliminating other physician office visit fees by coming directly to physical therapy for evaluation and treatment. You can begin treatment quicker / get relief faster by coming directly to us vs. waiting to get in to see a doctor who then in turn would refer you to physical therapy, a process that can often take at least 7-10 days, time you could have spent getting much needed relief and on the road back to your daily activities. Insurance will still pay for treatment. Patient responsibility – i.e. copays, deductibles, etc. – associated with care is the same as if you had come to us with a prescription. Will My Doctor Know I Received Care? Absolutely. Cornerstone Physical Therapy always keeps your medical doctor informed of your care by forwarding a copy of our evaluation notes, planned course of treatment and progress notes We do this for everyone whether you come to us via direct access (self-referral) or come to us with a prescription from your doctor. In addition, Cornerstone Physical Therapy will IMMEDIATELY refer you to a physician if our evaluation determines there is a more significant problem. Unfortunately (or fortunately), over our decades-long experience we have had individuals come to us with pain that when we referred them back to their physician something more serious was discovered.
Strengthening the knee is one way to prevent knee trouble and deal with a knee condition you already have. One exercise that’s simple to do is stair climbing.
Stair climbing benefits Strengthening the muscles around the knee will decrease the stress on the joint itself. These muscles include the quadriceps at the front of the thigh and the hamstrings at the back of the thigh. Both of these large muscle groups get a workout when you climb stairs. Your own weight is enough to make stair climbing a challenge. Stair climbing also benefits the knees indirectly by helping to manage your weight. By walking up steps for just five minutes, you can burn about 45 calories. If you do that five times per week, that’s 225 calories. Doing it 50 weeks a year can burn 11,250 calories. A pound is about 3,500 calories, so with a little stair climbing most days of the year you can lose more than three pounds. If you have knee pain for any reason, don’t ignore it. Rehabilitation such as exercise can often ease the pain and make walking enjoyable again. If your knee condition requires more care, see a knee specialist at Marketplace Wellness. Learn what we can do to relieve your knee pain and improve your quality of life.
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