Did you know nearly one in three Americans over the age of 45 suffer from some sort of knee pain? In fact, many doctor visits and emergency room rushes are thanks to knee troubles. Common causes of knee pain include things like:

• Injury, such as from a fall, accident, or contact sport activity
• Arthritis
• Infection (rare but very serious)
  
• Misuse or overuse of the knee joints, such as performing the same actions over and over again is the one we see most.

In many cases, knee pain can be treated at home, with rest, anti-inflammatory supplements like glucosamine and MSM, and omega 3 fatty acids (fish oil), and ice applications, but there are some situations where immediate professional attention is required.

When Should You Seek Our Care?

You should call us ASAP when:

Knee pain is severely limiting your daily activities

At-home treatments don’t provide significant relief within two days

You can’t put any weight on your knee

If Your knee is remarkably swollen or you have redness, pain, and swelling in the knee, accompanied by a fever – which could point to an infection (in which case you need to be seen ASAP!) Let us decide if more aggressive care like antibiotics and an MRI is needed.

Getting to the Root of the Problem

In some cases, knee pain can be referred from other sources, such as the low back, pelvis, or hip joints, so a thorough examination is often required to find out what is really causing the pain. We will perform physical examinations that will lead to an accurate diagnosis of your situation. With the right diagnosis, we can prescribe an appropriate treatment plan for optimal relief – both short-term and long-term.

While anyone can experience knee pain for a variety of reasons, there are a few factors that could put you at greater risk. For starters, carrying excess weight can put undue stress on your knee joints, even during non-stress activities like walking, so try to keep your weight down to a healthy level.

Secondly, repetitive activities, such as riding your bicycle or running, can wear down the muscles that support your knee joints and lead to tissue damage if you don’t give your body enough time between sessions to heal properly. This is why most medical and fitness experts advise exercisers to avoid working the same muscle groups on consecutive days.

With that being said, it is important to strengthen the muscles supporting your knees, as tight and weak muscles aren’t able to absorb much stress. As a result, the stress of falls and accidents is transferred to your knee joint – often leading to knee injury.

The primary role of our chiropractic treatment and knee pain is to return you to ease, eliminate or reduce chronic pain and return you to the best function possible. To do that, we'll likely prescribe a full rehab program after doing some light manual therapy and pain reducing therapies. These might include:

• Flexibility exercises
• Strengthening exercises
• Endurance activities

Of course we will work with you to determine the best plan of action, based on your activity level before the knee pain started, along with the current functionality of your non-injured leg. While these rehabilitation programs can be very intensive, by working closely with us, you should be able to strengthen the muscles that support your knee enough to lessen pain and avoid further injury.

We can help you assess your knee pain and determine the best treatment plan for long-term relief. Please call us to schedule a consultation today.