Why Does My Knee Hurt?

Osteopaths love to treat knee pain! Why? Because a lot of the time, the pain is not just coming from your knee joint! Therefore, a thorough examination of your entire spine and joints is required to figure out where the pain is coming from and, most importantly, the root cause of your pain.

What Causes Knee Pain?

• Biomechanical Issues: this is probably the most common cause of knee pain. Knee pain can arise from how you use and load the knee joint when walking, running or simply going up and down the stairs. Issues with ankles, a twisted pelvis, reduced range of movement in your upper back, dropped arches in your foot – all can have an immense impact on how your knee functions as part of your entire skeleton system.
• Trauma: where someone goes over on their knee playing netball or skiing, for example. Direct tears to ligaments, muscles or damage to cartilage could occur.
• Infection: Such as cellulitis.
• Rheumatological conditions: such as rheumatoid arthritis, can damage knee joints.
• Osteoarthritis: a common condition affecting knee joints in the elderly or patients who have had several knee joint injuries in the past.
• Metabolic: Gout can affect the knee joints and not just your big toe.

Examination Required 

An osteopath will consider all of the above causes of knee pain during the initial consultation. An osteopath will examine the knee and the entire spine and peripheral joints to figure out the root cause of your knee pain, which often is not coming directly from the knee itself; it can be due to dysfunction from above or below the knee. This approach is essential for patients where their knee pain has not healed or responded to other treatments.

Do I Require Imaging? 

In cases where acute trauma (tear to a ligament, cartilage or muscles) is suspected,  we can refer a patient for a scan of the knee (MRI, Ultrasound, X-Ray). If surgery is required, our Osteopaths will refer you to an Orthopaedic specialist. You do not need to see your GP for this referral. We have an excellent network of Surgeons and Musculoskeletal specialists that we refer to.

How Can an Osteopath Help?

As with any injury, early diagnosis and treatment are important, and treatment options will vary for each individual. Osteopathy involves taking on a whole-body approach to healing, including examining the knee and the entire neck, back and pelvis, ankle and foot, which can significantly influence how the knee functions.

Osteopaths use a hands-on osteopathic treatment approach, combined with rehabilitation exercises and patient education about what caused the pain in the first instance and what you can do to prevent the pain from re-occurring.

Hands-on treatment focuses on gentle manipulation techniques focussing on the joints and soft tissues surrounding the knee, ankle and spine if required. Mobilisation techniques are used to restore the range of movement into the knee gently.

It’s also important to remember that knee pain can affect people of all ages; children, teenagers, the elderly – it’s is not caused by old age!

When we treat patients with knee pain, our main aim is to return patients to health and the activities they normally enjoy doing as quickly as possible!

How Long Will It Take For My Injury To Heal?

The process of healing begins almost immediately after a knee injury and proceeds in a relatively organised fashion. It follows 3 Phases of Healing that often overlap and can take anywhere from a few weeks to months to heal, depending on the severity of the injury. For more information about the healing process – Click Here.

So don’t suffer knee pain needlessly- we’re here to help!

If you are struggling with an injured knee – Our Osteopaths are here to help you! Please do not hesitate to contact Lorraine Herity at Better Health Osteopathy in Christchurch today. Call 027 755 5700 or book online.