Knee pain is very common and can be very disruptive to your everyday life unless you address potential problems at an early stage. This guide outlines common knee pain symptoms, how you might’ve hurt your knee, and exactly how a physiotherapist can help you to recover your mobility and strength.
You’ll know if your knee needs medical attention if you experience the following symptoms:
● Extreme pain
● Swelling
● Knee deformity such as lumping
● Joint instability
● An inability to flex the leg in its normal capacity.
Where do these symptoms come from? Knee pain can be caused by a variety of factors. For some, it’s simply a genetic misfortunate, whereas for others it could be a sport-related accident or the result of a fall.
Often, a minor injury, such as knee ligament damage, will cause the muscles around your knee to become seized and stiff. This then results in a more serious injury like a strain, fracture, or clean break due to a decreased range of motion and stability. This is why it’s so important to address problems at an early stage.
Similarly, when one limb is injured and treated, your body naturally shifts more emphasis on the other limb. This increases the likelihood of injury and strain over time, especially if the injury and treatment lasts a long time.
Regardless of where the pain came from, a well-experienced physiotherapist like Essex Physiotherapy Clinic will be able to identify the problem and begin to formulate a plan to address it.
The role of a physiotherapist can be split into two stages:
Firstly, they will reduce the pain that you experience so that you’re more confident to use your knee as normal. This is nominally done via massaging techniques that releases endorphins and any built up pressure away from the knee and into the body to minimise pain, discomfort and swelling.
Your physiotherapist will then look to restore your mobility and balance. Once the pain is reduced, you’ll be able to feel how stiff and seized up your knee has become over the time that it’s been in a compromised state. To improve this, your knee physiotherapist will rebuild the muscles around your knee joint by advising you to do a variety of exercises and stretches.
Top Tip: Consistency is key. Much like passing an exam or learning to play an instrument, your knee requires consistent attention. Usually, they won’t take long (up to 30 minutes) so maybe consider doing these stretches and light exercises whilst watching a daily TV show or listening to a podcast.
Next time you’re experiencing any of the above symptoms around your knee, it’s better to be safe than sorry. At Essex Physiotherapy Clinic, our expert practitioners put time aside to clearly communicate what’s gone wrong, and how they can work with you to improve your knee’s health. If you have any further questions about knee pain, or any of our other services, like back and neck pain, sports injuries, and physiotherapy training, then don’t hesitate to get in touch with us on 01245 325 037 today!
