Knee pain is very common, and as you may have experienced, it can be debilitating and have quite an affect on daily life and mobility. There are a number of reasons behind it, while some are obvious such as falls and twisting or jarring injuries, others are less so.

We are often not kind to our bodies and especially our knees. We regularly put them under great strain, either through sports, physical work, repetitive habits, injuries and falls or by simply carrying too much weight. There are several structures in the knee that can be injured such as the ligaments that can be torn, which include the Anterior and Posterior cruciates, the medial and lateral collateral ligaments. The meniscus is also a commonly torn structure, which is a cartilage that lines the surface of the joint. Damage can also occur to the tendons of the muscles that attach close to the knee, or that cross the knee, each of which affect movement of the joint. Some of these injuries require surgery, some just require rest and time to heal.

These injuries have an obvious structural damage, but sometimes you can have pain or restricted movement without an obvious injury or damage. These are usually the knee injuries I get to see and can help with. These can occur by twisting or jarring the knee, or falling and landing on the knee, for example. Common symptoms that may occur, are usually slight swelling and some pain or discomfort, which might be noticed on certain movements such as walking up or down stairs or when twisting. This problem usually occurs as there is some mild change in the alignment of the knee, and so the joint doesn’t move freely in its natural way and so it can become irritated and inflamed resulting in swelling, and the unnatural movement and mechanics of the joint are often uncomfortable or painful. Chiropractic care can help realign the joint, normalise the mechanics and alleviate these symptoms.

The most common presentation of knee pain that I see in clinic is actually none of these. Patients regularly mention they have pain that began for no particular reason, with no history of injury, fall or strain. Sometimes it presents with swelling, sometimes without. What I find is that it is due to an imbalance of the mechanics of the lower body, either the pelvis and hips, or the feet, which leads to aberrant forces through the knee joint. This imbalance can also occur between the kneecap and the knee which is referred to as Patella tracking problem. These both result in the knee joint moving incorrectly resulting in pain and inflammation in the joint. By improving the balance of the pelvis and hips, and/or the feet, and sometimes recommending stretching or strengthening, to address any imbalance in the muscles affecting the pelvis, hips, knees, ankles or feet, Chiropractic is very effective in normalising the mechanics, which can help reduce your symptoms.

If you have any symptoms, even if there is no obvious cause, and are unsure whether Chiropractic might be helpful, why not book in for a free consultation with me.

Find a time that suits you on our bookings page now, or call 9904-1333.