Knee Physiotherapy

What causes knee pain?

Knee pain is frustrating and can affect day-to-day tasks like walking up and down stairs, running, squatting and even sitting. When bad enough, knee pain will stop you from exercising which causes further deconditioning of the surrounding muscles. And so, the cycle continues.

The knee joint is made up of important structures like cartilage, ligaments, tendons and muscles. When overloaded, these structures can cause you to experience pain with simple movements.

Anatomical knee model showing causes and location of knee pain
 

Common causes of knee pain include:

  • Overloading or injury to the patello-femoral joint (this is where the kneecap articulates with the thigh bone).

  • Overloading to the patella and quadriceps tendon (this is often caused by a sudden spike in knee loading activities like jumping and running).

  • Injury or damage to the meniscus (this is the thick layer of cartilage-like connective tissue providing stability and support for the knee joint).

  • Overloading or injury to the articular cartilage (this is the layers of cartilage in the knee joint. Often associated with signs of knee arthritis).

  • Injury to the major ligaments of the knee (this includes the ACL, MCL and PCL. Often injured with pivot/twisting mechanism, direct contact or trauma).

How can knee physiotherapy help?

Physiotherapists are skilled in assessing the knee joint to form a diagnosis. We problem solve with you to identify the causing factors of your pain and develop a prognosis and management plan to get you back to what you love doing.

It’s important to discuss which things are safe to continue, what to avoid and how much rest is required (where appropriate) to assist in a better recovery.

Treatment and management for knee pain may include:

  • Knee physio specific manual therapy techniques: massage, trigger point therapy, mobilisations

  • Swelling management

  • Dry needling

  • Mobility exercises and gentle stretching

  • A strengthening program (see video above for a gentle knee physio program to start with)

  • Exercise rehabilitation and Pilates

  • Load and activity modification

  • Taping & bracing

  • Running assessment & advice

Setting your expectations on recovery time comes with understanding the diagnosis and a clear injury management pathway.

Need help getting on top of knee pain? Book a comprehensive knee assessment with our highly qualified knee physio to get you back on track.