Of all the body pains you experience, knee pain is one of the most frustrating.
When pain and stiffness start to build in your knee, you will find your movement becomes limited. This can affect any level of fitness – from going for a run to enjoying a round of golf and even comfortably getting up and down the stairs in your house.
If your knee pain has started to impact your daily routine – and painkillers aren’t helping it to subside – it’s gone beyond a niggle that will go away in its own time.
You don’t need to accept knee pain as part of the “wear and tear” of aging.
Private physiotherapy can find the source of your knee pain, and then create a plan to treat it – so you can get back to your favourite activities without a moment’s thought.
There are a few different types of knee pain to be aware of. The location of your pain is the first clue. Does it feel deep in the knee or to the surface, is it to the front, side or back, or does it just feel all over the knee.
The next piece of information is understanding the tasks that make it worse. Is that bending it, straightening it, going up and down stairs or even just walking on it.
Each bit of information allows your physiotherapist to identify the structure causing your pain. People are often told that their knee pain is due to “wear and tear” and can just be a part of getting older. Thankfully this is not the case.
At Hamilton Physiotherapy people come into us having been told this and they just need to live with it, only for us to find a slight weakness of the muscles around the knee needing strengthened and they are able to get back doing what they love.
That is why it is vital to identify the source of your knee pain, be it the joint or cartilage in the knee, the ligaments or muscles around it or from elsewhere like your hip or ankle.
Symptoms regularly include a sharp pain when fully straightening or bending your knee, a piercing pain down the front of your knee going up and down stairs, a dull ache as you’re sitting and stiffness as you get up and try to walk.
The longer a person waits to get it fixed the more clicking and cracking they start to notice eventually getting to the point where the leg feels so weak they fear it will collapse from under them.
Pain is not the only symptom of knee problems. People often come to us not because of pain but because of what the pain has stopped them from doing. They often struggle for months, but it’s the inability to walk on the golf course, kneel with their children, or step back from their enjoyable walks that finally spurs them into action.
If any of this sounds like you then you will have knee pain that physiotherapy can help.
We see a lot of clients struggling with knee pain at our Hamilton physiotherapy clinic – so our team knows exactly how to treat it.
When you choose private physiotherapy, you say goodbye to long waitlists for an appointment and lists of generic exercises that don’t improve your situation.
At Hamilton Physiotherapy, we focus on outcome over intervention. Your first appointment is always an in-depth consultation, so we can understand what aggravates your pain and determine its source. Then, we will create a personalised treatment plan with clear actions and milestones for when you will start to feel better.
The result? You start tackling your knee pain immediately so you can get your energy and mobility back.
The ultimate benefit of getting your knee pain eased is giving you the trust back in your body. Physiotherapy creates a plan specific for you that can focus on getting you back walking, climbing stairs, running, kneeling, playing golf, hiking, playing with your kids again. The possibility is endless.
The most important thing is to take action, because knee pain is something that is easily improved with physiotherapy. Not only does it offer a long term solution it is also able to prevent the need for surgery, reliance on pain killers or the need for painful injections.
If movement is sore, you might try to relieve your knee pain by sitting in one position for a while.
But what happens when you try to get up? Usually, your knee is sorer and stiffer than before, and it can even take a couple of attempts to stand comfortably.
Your knee needs to bear weight: when you reduce your movement, the pain can get worse. Your first step is to start building up your activity levels in a way that is comfortable.
A quick Google or YouTube search will bring up hundreds of exercises for knee pain – but how do you know they are the right ones for your pain?
In some cases, doing the wrong exercises will make you feel worse!
The best way to create a personalised exercise programme is to talk to an expert, who can create a progressive plan that builds your long-term strength, function, and mobility.
Above anything else: the most important thing you can do to tackle your knee pain is book a physiotherapy appointment!
Working with a professional is the best way to reclaim your energy, independence, and enjoyment of life.
We don’t promise a magical fix for your pain if we can’t provide one.
Physiotherapy is one of the most effective ways in getting you out of knee pain and returning you to your hobbies.
So why wait?
The quicker the better, waiting for it just to get better on its own very rarely keeps the knee in the best condition long term.
But even if you have been suffering for months or years, physiotherapy can help you turn back time and still help.
The longer you have knee pain the weaker the muscles get. This results in you getting the feeling that your leg will go from under you when walking.
Luckily, you usually still have the strength to keep you up right, but unless you get targeted help for your pain that feeling and risk will not go away.
Knee replacements are only needed in the most severe cases of knee arthritis. The majority of knee issues do not fall into this category.
Physiotherapy is essential in giving you relief from knee pain.
If you happen to need a knee replacement physiotherapy is even more important pre and post surgery as it sets you up for the best possible outcome.
No. Getting help for your knee pain will allow you to get back into the activity you want to do.
The best physiotherapy clinics don’t just treat pain, they focus on what you want to enjoy and work with you to get you back doing them.
People assume if they have knee pain now it will only get worse as the years go on and stop doing what they enjoy for fear of making it worse.
There is no evidence that if you have knee pain it gets worse as time goes on. The best thing you can do is get it taken care of and continue to stay active.
