Knee pain can make everyday activities like walking, climbing stairs, or running errands feel almost impossible. But knee pain relief is absolutely within your reach. Physical therapy offers effective solutions tailored to your specific situation.
Knee pain can stem from several different causes, such as acute injury, overuse injuries, or chronic conditions like arthritis. These can also cause more than just pain; they can also lead to restricted mobility, making it harder for you to stay active (which further worsens symptoms).
Thankfully, with the right exercises and treatments, the team at Schultz Physical Therapy can help reduce pain, restore function, and prevent further damage.
Today, we want to explore some of the techniques we use to help our patients find knee pain relief. Curious to see if our approach will work for you? Keep reading to learn more!
Understanding the Source of Your Knee Pain
The first step in addressing your knee pain is determining what’s causing it. That’s why the Schultz Physical Therapy team always starts with a comprehensive assessment, during which we review your health history and perform a series of movement screens. Once we can pinpoint the underlying source of your knee pain, we can develop the right treatment techniques.
Here are some of the common reasons we see knee pain at our clinic:
Osteoarthritis
- Osteoarthritis when the cartilage in the knee joint wears down over time. This results in stiffness, swelling, and pain, especially during movement.
Tendonitis
- This condition occurs when the tendons around the knee become inflamed, usually due to overuse or repetitive activities like running or jumping.
Meniscus Tears
- The meniscus is the cartilage that cushions the knee joint. A sudden twist or direct impact can tear this cartilage, leading to pain, swelling, and difficulty moving the knee.
Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome
- This occurs when there’s a problem with the area around your kneecap, such as a misalignment or inflammation from overuse. It causes pain during activities like squatting or climbing stairs.
Bursitis
- Inflammation of the small fluid-filled sacs (bursae) in the knee can cause pain, especially when bending the joint.
How We’ll Help You Find Knee Pain Relief
Once we understand the reason for your pain, we’ll pull from several effective knee pain relief techniques to help address your discomfort and restore function. While we tailor every treatment program to meet the needs of the patient, here are some of the methods we typically suggest:
Manual Therapy
- We typically begin with these hands-on techniques to help restore mobility and boost circulation to the knee joint. For example, we might carefully guide your knee through its current range of motion or manipulate the soft tissue surrounding the knee.
Strengthening Exercises
- We’ll walk you through strength training exercises that target the muscles surrounding the knee, such as the quadriceps, hamstrings, and calf muscles. Strengthening these areas supports the knee joint, reduces the pressure placed on it, and helps prevent future injuries.
Balance and Gait Training
- Knee pain can impact balance, stability, and walking patterns, increasing your risk of falling. We’ll guide you through specialized training to improve your knee’s overall function and coordination.
Start Your Journey Toward Knee Pain Relief!
You don’t have to live with knee pain–and you shouldn’t ignore it, either! The team at Schultz Physical Therapy will work closely with you to find an approach to managing your knee pain that meets your needs.
Ready to get started? Schedule an appointment for your initial consultation today.
