Let’s talk about your knee pain for a bit: this is one of the most common problems that we see in our office In fact, in our most recent blog (What You Need To Know Before You Get That New Knee) we pointed out how frequent knee pain affects over 25% of adults, and many of these people wind up having surgery to try and fix the problem.
I can personally attest to the headaches that come from having knees that hurt; years of sports gave me some injuries that have even affected me for years afterward.
The knee joint is the largest joint in the body – we use it to stand, walk, run, jump, squat, and kneel; but when we have knee pain from an injury (or just years of abuse and degenerative changes as we age) it can severely limit these activities.
Even worse, that deep nagging aching pain can begin to affect your daily tasks such as sitting, sleeping, driving or just trying to get around. Understandably, this can be very frustrating for those that suffer.
So what do you do, if that’s you or someone you know?
Many times, conventional advice, or even your doctor will tell you to just “stay off it for a while” ice it, take some pain medications, and maybe even wear a knee brace.
What many people don’t know, is that while sometimes these solutions are warranted to reduce the pain and inflammation (CLICK HERE to read about The MAGICAL 5 Phases Of Healing) , they are not long-term solutions; in fact, if you continue to rely on braces or rest as a solution, not only is it not “fixing” the problem, your muscles and supporting ligaments in the knee are getting weaker, making you more susceptible to even further injury.
By not addressing your knee problem from the beginning it will begin to affect other areas of the body.
For example, if you are unable to fully straighten your knee due to pain or stiffness, you’ll walk with a limp and over time, this can cause pain in your hips and even your back. (See Those Hips Don’t Lie to learn more)
Meanwhile, you have kids or grandkids to keep up with, a house to take care of, a job to get back to, or a hobby you want to continue doing, such as taking long walks, hiking, cycling, running, or farming.
Maybe you just want to be able to sit down and get up without it hurting or having to use your arms to help push up from the chair because you have gotten weak.
Your life up to this point didn’t consist of “staying off of” your knee, and you want to get back to that!
Guess what? We want to help you not only survive your knee pain but help you thrive.
So what do you do if you have tried “resting the knee” ice, harmful pain medications or anti-inflammatories, knee braces, crutches and pain relieving creams you ordered off the late night TV infomercials?
What’s the next step? What are the 2 things you must do to help your knees?
First, would you believe me if I told you a good place to start is by strengthening your hips? (see Those Hips Don’t Lie) Several studies show that when treating patients with knee pain using either knee exercises only, or with hip exercises only, they had nearly the same level of improvement and pain reduction.
This is a great place to start because most of us are weak in the hips (myself included) and since you are not working the knee joints directly it doesn’t make the knee pain worse which is a big bonus.
Also studies point out that by working the hip properly it can actually improve the stability and alignment of the knee joint.
Numerous other studies show how weakness in the hip can cause problems not just in the knee, but in your hip, back, and ankles, so working your hips is something you should definitely be doing.
What about the loss of motion in the knee? Are you able to bend or straighten your knee all the way?
If not, stretching exercises will help over time, but if you are in pain doing the wrong stretches could make your condition worse. This is the second thing you must do to help your knees.
What if your doctor told you that the only thing that will fix your knee is surgery?
First, I would argue that in most cases, the body is pretty good at healing itself, if given half a chance, and we see people with numerous knee injuries recover without surgery all the time.
But here’s the thing: even if surgery is unavoidable in some cases, studies have shown time and again that increasing strength and mobility beforehand (“prehab,”) improves outcomes and speeds recovery following a surgery. You have nothing to lose.
As someone who has not only treated patients, but has suffered with knee pain I can tell you that your knee pain CAN and WILL get better, with the proper help.
Whether your knee pain is new or has been bothering you for years, give us a call 817-220-MOSS (6677).
We’ve helped athletes, weekend warriors, and couch potatoes all improve their knees and get back to moving better without pain, and we would love to help you too.
Naturally, for the best results, you want to strengthen both the hip and the knee as well as improve your mobility without increasing your pain or making your problem worse. This is where working with the experts at MOSS Rehabilitation Center comes in.
We love helping everyday people get back to doing the things they love to do.
At MOSS Rehabilitation Center we make it easy for you to get started. We even have a simple 3 step process.
1. Schedule a FREE NO Obligation, Discovery Visit with one of our experts. During this visit, you will talk with one of our friendly experts about your issues. This is a safe and confidential visit, you can trust that your safety and privacy is important to us. We are taking extra measures to ensure that you remain safe during this pandemic.
2. Receive a Customized (Individualized) Treatment Plan. Based on your free discovery visit, we will put together a custom, unique to you plan that will address all of your nagging pains and issues. The goal is to get you back to your healthy self as soon as possible while also addressing your issues for the long term.
3. Get Your Life Back and Do What You Love. The best result for us is a patient who tells us they can finally do what they love without the constant pain, stress, or issue they were facing. Together we can get you back to living life without worry.
So what do the most successful people do when they have knee pain? They address their problem.
I call it the 3 D’s Principle to handling any problem in life: 1. Don’t Ignore it, 2. Don’t Mask It, 3. Do Something About It.
NEXT ACTION: If you are really serious about your knee health start by calling 817-220-6677 today to schedule your FREE NO OBLIGATION Discovery Visit.
To your health,
Dr. Robert Moss PT, ScD, OCS. FAAOMPT
Joseph Marcum, PTA
The author, Dr. Robert Moss PT, ScD is the owner of MOSS Rehabilitation Center in Springtown, TX. He is happy to help you with your knee pain and problems either by phone 817-220-MOSS (6677) or email robert@springtownphysicalthearpy.com.
Contributing author, Joseph Marcum is a licensed Physical Therapist Assistant at MOSS Rehabilitation Center who specializes in getting you out of pain and back to doing the things you enjoy most.
