The most common successfully treated knee injuries are:
- Arthritis
- Incomplete Ligament Injuries (ACL, PCL, MCL, LCL)
- Meniscus Tears
- Jumper's Knee
- Runner's Knee
Do your knees hurt? Have any of you ever been told, you might have a meniscus problem? Or “You’ve got no cartilage in your knee”? Well….
Within the knee there is a cartilage pancake called the meniscus. It serves to absorb shock and increase the stability of the knee. It’s very commonly injured and very commonly the source of your knee pain. Now here’s what most people don’t get. The meniscus moves! It actually slides within the knee independent of your thigh and shin bones as you bend your knee. And now here’s the problem; it can get caught! It can get caught on the differing terrains within the knee joint and start to pinch and wear. This can lead to degeneration, tearing and pain. If you can’t easily touch your heel to your butt you might have this!
Manual Therapy
Dr. Michael Leahy (chiropractor) created a treatment called Active Release Technique (A.R.T.) that has become the gold standard in non-surgical pain treatment. He found he was able to actually feel when the meniscus was getting caught in the knee and how to get it moving again. The results in our clinic have been absolutely stunning. More people should consider a manual therapy like this before they resort to surgery like a knee arthroscopy for your meniscus tear! Exercises Most overuse injuries occur in the knee because of a lack of flexibility of the hips/hamstrings, or a lack of flexibility of the ankles into dorsiflexion (front and back flexibility). Here are three great exercises to improve your flexibility there:
What I want you to be left with is; if you have knee pain (even if you’ve had it for a long time), there might be something that can be done! Look up your local active release technique provider (Active Release Technique) and see what might be possible!
Here are some commonly prescribed corrective exercises for knee conditions: