Knee pain once again is another common problem that clients require help with.
As it’s another weight bearing joint with many ligaments attached and muscles and connective tissue bleeding into, dysfunction and pain can be a real hindrance.
That old saying "going weak at the knees" really does come into the fore as quite often, old injury and lax ligaments cause destabilisation in the knee. A freak injury in the sea on holiday for instance has really caused significant problems for my partner with a damaged anterior cruciate ligament and a baker’s cyst being revealed on a recent MRI scan. Conditions such as bursitis and degrative arthritis are also high on the pain agenda when it comes to the knee joint.
From a sporting context, I see many clients who have knee pain, particularly runners where the tendonous junction at the knee is sore and or inflamed. Clients also present with iliotibial band syndrome where the connective tissue down the side of the thigh attaches to the outer knee suddenly pulls. This is often a result of a tight tensor fasciae latae muscle further up the leg towards the outer part of the hip. Ever been to a therapist and they have said to you that your ITB is tight, then decided to rag their elbow down it and cause pain? They are making this up as it takes tons of pressure to influence an ITB band. Chances are they will not have tested it to check this out either. Don’t let a therapist put you in pain because of their ego!
Runners and walkers will often get knee pain due to overuse. It’s vital to really start to strengthen the quadriceps muscles and tendons to add strength and support to then knee joint whilst at the same time easing on activity at the start of pain and not making it worse.
I have several approaches in clinic from sports massage, isometric relaxation techniques and working opposing muscle groups to bring on change. a very effective method is the application of kinesiology tape be it for support, to aid lymphatic drainage of swelling and trauma and to fix a mal tracking kneecap by inward taping to take knee pain away. A client once commented on how much of a difference that improved his squat performance in the gym. Simple things bring on big positive changes.
To find out more about how I can help you recover from acute or chronic knee pain, give my clinic a call. 01302456270