Pain in the knee? Here is a path to improvement!

Knee pain can cause a lot of issues in your life. Knee injuries and their rehabilitation require us to address the structure of the knee (what we move) as well as the function (how we move it) in order to really improve. For knee issues, oftentimes I will see compensation with lower body movement patterns that are contributing to overloading of the knee. Another way to say that is, when my patients squat or lunge, I often see them being more toe driven then heel driven on their foot, and that leads to more pressure and load going into our knee joint and surrounding muscles.

To successfully treat knee pain, I have to ensure our patients are efficiently squatting, hinging and lunging in their everyday life. Often patients need to feel their hip muscles or hamstrings behind their thigh engaging more with lower body movements, instead of relying on the quad muscle group on the front of the thigh. Shifting the balance of load from the knee to the hip can drastically change how someone moves for the better. I say the knee is at the mercy of the hip, and the knee will only go where the hip allows. We need hip control and strength for true knee stability.

We use soft tissue therapy techniques such as myofascial release to loosen soft tissue around the knee, laser therapy to decrease inflammation and help heal tissue, adjustments and mobilization to provide freedom of movement where needed, and exercise therapy both in office and at home to fully treat knee issues. Acupuncture is also an amazing therapy for knee pain, as well as dedicated massage therapy. We are proud to offer these services at my practice, Oregon Sports and Family Chiropractic.