Cause of knee pain

You can easily injure the knee by an increase in load through a change in lifestyle or recreational activity. You can also develop knee pain from age-related wear and tear, previous knee surgery or trauma such as a sporting impact injury or trip/slip.

Knee pain may also be due to a pre-existing knee problem or may be due to referred pain from the back, hip or poor foot posture. If you think you may have any of these problems then a thorough examination can help you get to the bottom of it.

Effective treatment starts with diagnosing of what is causing your knee pain. We will manually examine all the structures in your knee as well as test your functional ability with exercises such as balance, squatting, walking and running.

Treatment for knee pain

Treatment for your knee pain will usually start with reducing the daily load that you’re putting through your knee and avoiding aggravating movements or exercise. This may not mean full rest but a reduction in impact on your painful knee, such as reducing walking, climbing stairs or switching to treadmill running or reducing distance and pace of your runs.

Treatment’s such as low-level laser therapy, taping techniques, massage and mobilisation are very useful for knee pain but ultimately restoring range of movement and strength are the main goal.

A bespoke exercise programme will be put together during your first session to help you achieve these goals. The practitioner will demonstrate and watch you do the exercises so we know that you feel comfortable and confident. You will also be sent a digital or printed version of these exercises with a detailed description and pictures to help you with your self-management.

During each stage of your rehabilitation, we will constantly test and recheck your symptoms and pain levels so that your exercise programme and treatment reflects your progress. Once you feel confident that you are able to manage your injury and pain has reduced to a comfortable limit, we can start grading you back to full use and function.

Knee osteoarthritis

The weight-bearing joints like knees, hips and ankles tend affected by osteoarthritis and is more common as we get older.  It affects nearly 6% of all adults, but more women are affected than men. Osteoarthritis typically occurs in people over the age of 45. This happens due to the cartilage (meniscus) in the knee wearing away and eventually causing bone on bone contact between joint surfaces. The smooth surface of the cartilage becomes rough and this results in friction, the joint becomes deformed, painful and stiff and the muscles holding the joint together become weak.

If you have knee osteoarthritis it is likely that you will experience joint swelling, joint stiffness and pain in the knee. Other common characteristics of osteoarthritis knee are bony enlargement, creaking (crepitus), joint-line tenderness and possible sensitivity to cold and damp weather conditions.

Although patients with knee osteoarthritis can suffer with these symptoms it is not uncommon for patients with healthy knees to suffer from clicking or creaking in their joints. It’s also important to know that joint degeneration is part of the natural aging process and some age-related wear and tear in relation to lifestyle, height, weight and previous recreational activity is to be expected. if you have a sudden onset of knee stiffness, pain or creaking in your knees it may not be arthritic! Mechanical knee pain is common and has very similar symptoms.

Treatment of knee osteoarthritis

Although knee arthritis cannot be cured the right approach can improve the pain and strength of the hip. The focus for knee arthritis treatment is pain management, improved range of movement, strength and gradual return to full activity.

If you have knee arthritis understanding all about it is essential.  Helping you to understand the nature of the condition and potential healing times is extremely important.  With the right care and advice, you can leave your frustration behind and know the right exercises to do, which will help to decrease your joint stiffness and improve your function and strength of the hip.  Techniques such as mobilisation of the knee joint, massage, acupuncture, low-level laser therapy and exercise can all be useful in the management and rehabilitation of knee osteoarthritis.

Book yourself in today for a free initial assessment at Sundial and gain a better understanding of your knee pain. We can help diagnose your symptoms, put your mind at rest and help you to get back to the things you love to do.