HOW CAN PHYSICAL THERAPY HELP?
Our licensed physical therapists at Panetta Physical Therapy will examine your knee for signs of misalignment or structural damage, in addition to examining your stance, posture, gait, and range of motion. After your physical exam is complete, your physical therapist will prescribe a physical therapy plan for you, aimed at relieving unnatural stresses and strains, and normalizing your joint function. Treatment plans for knee pain typically include: • Hands on Physical Therapy techniques to allow for appropriate offloading and healing. This may include what is called manual therapy techniques such as joint or soft tissue mobilization. This is where your PT uses specific techniques on your bone, muscles, ligaments and fascia in order to break adhesions and optimize your function. Our team of PT’s are certified orthopedic manual therapists which means they are specialists in these hands-on techniques. They understand surprising influences such as how restrictions in surrounding joints can add undue stress to the knee joint. They will address these important non painful elements that are often overlooked such as the low back, pelvis, or hips and even down at the ankles. • Graded strength, dynamic stability, and capacity training targeting the quads, glutes, hamstrings, foot/ankle complex, and core. Strength training of the quads and glutes has been shown to be highly effective with regard to reduction of pain, and it mitigates the risk of recurrence/ flare-ups in the future. • Restoring range of motion in the knee. A knee with poor range of motion that is constantly flexed can cause persistent painful symptoms. Restoring range of motion will help it bend easier and ease stress on the knee, thus relieving pain. • Graded exposure to previously painful activities, as gains in strength, tolerance, and capacity allow. • Education regarding activity modification and the role of the nervous system in pain. What can I do on my own to keep my knees healthy? While physical therapy is the most effective form of treatment if you are currently experiencing knee pain, there are some precautions you can take to lower your risk of developing unwanted knee pain and injuries altogether:
1. Maintain mobility of the surrounding joints. The knee is a hinge joint which is primarily supposed to bend and straighten. This is different from its surrounding joints such as the ankle and hip which should naturally have the ability rotate and move in many different directions. If the hip or ankles are tight or limited this often causes unnatural stress and twisting at the knee. Lack of hip extension (aka tight hip flexors) is often a BIG problem for knee pain sufferers. We can get tight in these areas especially if we sit for long periods of time. 2. Keep the muscles around your hips and knees strong, especially the gluteal and quadricepmuscles. Studies show that adults (especially those 55 or older) who have stronger gluteal and quadricep muscles tend to have less knee pain and a greater ability to perform daily activities. 3. Exercise regularly. While this is good for the whole body, the knees especially need exercise to keep their cartilage healthy. The cartilage does not have much blood supply and requires its nutrition from joint fluid. Most of the joint fluid absorbs into the cartilage only through movement and compression of the knee. Therefore, it is important to do weight bearing exercises, such as walking, running, or playing a sport. However, if you have arthritis, it is advised that you do activities with less of an impact, such as biking, elliptical machines, or aquatic exercises. Contact us today! Are you living with knee pain? If so, don’t hesitate to contact Panetta Physical Therapy today. We’ll help relieve your pain so you can get back to living your life comfortably, without limitations!
E X E R C I S E E S S E N T I A L S TOP 3 EXERCISES FOR KNEE PAIN
Click on the image to view this safe knee exercise.
Check out our YouTube channel to see other knee exercises!
INSTRUCTIONS : 1. Open your smart phone to the camera app 2. Center the QR code above in the frame (this will take you directly to our Youtube Page) 3. Enjoy the exercises!
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