Stop your knee pain before it starts.
Understand real source of knee pain and deal with it effectively.
I don’t know if you ever heard an expression: ”Your knee is like a middle child, if your hip or foot not working right your knee is going to suffer”. That is why I like to shine some light on true cause of most knee pains and how you can save yourself from years of suffering.
Over the past year I have seen sharp increase in number of patients who seek my help for their knee pains. Majority of these patients have had a standard medical approach consisting of surgery, anti-inflammatory medications, pain medications, cortisone shots or PT, which all failed.
Since I seem to get more then 85% of my knee patients well within 3 to 6 weeks period, without shots, medications and months of strengthening, I wonder what I maybe doing right and what I can share with you to understand and prevent knee problems.
Being athletes most of you experienced knee problem some times during your sport career, and I bet, you hear your training buddies complaining about their knee problems all the time: “My knee is cracking so loud walking up and down stairs I wake up my family… I just bought this magical knee brace to support my knee… I have to ice my knee after long run if I want to walk next day… I just had my right knee repaired…” sounds familiar?
Unfortunately, most of the people including athletes learn to live with pain, muscles and joints tightness and stiffness. We are not listening our bodies trying to warn us before injuries happen.
To determine if you’re at risk for knee injury, I have developed I few simple assessment tests to evaluate whether you have or will have knee pain or problems in near future.
Let’s start with movements you can do yourself and ask yourself following
questions:
(It’s helpful to wear your regular gym shoes, have a firm surface and may be a tall
mirror)
1. Can I stand on one leg without too much wobbling and/ or leaning to the side I’m standing on?
2. Can I squat with my buttocks lower than my knee with both feet and knees in line and straight back? Does it hurt? Do my knees grind and crunch?
3. Can I do a lunge with the front foot solidly on the ground, knee at 90 degrees and straight back; do I feel straight and balanced? Can I come back to standing position in one smooth move?
Here is my prognosis based on my years of experience, if you have difficulty in any of these 3 simple tests you’re either having knee problem now or you’re in danger developing it soon.
I can hear you screaming WHY?
If you really want to know, here is my easy explanation:
Lower body made up of several adjacent joints and muscles, such as your hip is a joint and it connects to your knee via thigh bone called femur; and your knee is a joint and connects to your foot via bone called tibia. Your body moves and functions in predictable movement patterns. Knee is the largest joint in the body and works like a hinge between upper leg (femur) and lower leg (tibia).
Knee doesn’t like too much twisting or excessive stress from upper or lower structures.
Sometimes knee problems develop gradually, but other times very suddenly and quickly. For example, as I mentioned before, knee and hip share the same bone, femur. When hip loses internal rotation and your foot is locked in place, knee has to compensate this function by turning inward, stressing cartilage, medial collateral ligament and medial meniscus.
Another situation occurs when sitting at a computer or driving for long period. When hip externally rotated (which is the most common sitting position) for too long, posterior hip joint and butt muscles get tight, which affects sciatic nerve and weakens hamstrings, causing stress inside of the knee.
Less common knee issues come from feet and ankle. However when your foot flexion is decreased (check if you can bring foot toward your leg less at 90° or more), knee translates forward excessively and puts more stress on patellar tendon.
To get to the point, when we look at your body, all parts are interconnected and affect each other. So, if you slip and fall on your hip, guess what may happen to your knee? It may become overloaded from compensation for injured hip and develop problems, sometimes very serious problem. Or, if your back is not flexible enough that may put strain on your knees getting in and out of the car.
To treat knee problem effectively, a doctor must understand precisely yours movement pattern generated and how they become affected by injuries, poor posture and stress. Working backwards from the site of pain to where the problem started originally, including old or new injuries, weak and tight muscle and under performing joints, the experienced doctor can save you years of pain and suffering and may even spare you knee surgery.
If you’re reading this and you have been injured and would like a free consultation, second opinion, or need care for your injury, call one of my offices and I will be happy to help you.
PHONE: 847.870.7980