Physiotherapy for Your Knee
Knees work hard for us – we don’t realize just how hard until we experience a knee injury. When your knee is hurting, exercise might be the last thing on your mind, but physiotherapy treatments and exercises can help you to recover faster.
The knee is quite a complex joint. The shin and thigh bones meet, and the kneecap is located at the front. Four ligaments support the knee and two shock absorbing menisci help to absorb impacts. If all goes well, you never need to think about your knees, but when you do have a knee injury, it makes its presence felt in no uncertain terms.
Three Degrees of Pain
When we speak of pain we distinguish between acute pain, sub-acute pain, and chronic pain. The duration of the pain is the deciding factor with acute pain lasting for one to seven days while chronic pain lasts longer than eight to twelve weeks.
When should you go for help? If you have intense pain, you should see a doctor right away. If, on the other hand, things seem manageable, monitor yourself. If the pain intensifies or persists, get help.
I Have Knee Pain, What Should I Do?
Knee injuries often creep up on us and come from repetitive stress to the joint. Sometimes, you aren’t even sure how you got hurt. There are also times when we know the exact oment we strained our knee – but the question is what to do now?
Remember the acronym RICE. It stands for:
- Rest
- Ice
- Compression
- Elevation
When you do start using your knee again, do so gently. If your pain lasts for longer than two or three weeks, you should get a professional diagnosis and help to overcome the issue.
How Physiotherapists Treat Knee Pain
Your Melbourne physiotherapist will begin by examining you thoroughly, asking questions about your medical history along the way. Once he or she is satisfied that they know the cause of your problem, treatment begins.
Depending on the issue, physios will provide treatments to help relieve pain. These could include hot or cold treatments, electric stimulation, ultrasound treatments, and mobilizations. These are passive treatments. All you need to do is be there. But physiotherapy also has an all-important active element.
Physiotherapists tailor sets of exercises to assist healing and to prevent re-injury. It’s important to perform the exercises correctly, so the therapist will guide you through the program and evaluate your form. The few, simple exercises will make a big difference to your knee injury and won’t take long to do.
Physiotherapy after Knee surgeries
Although most knee injuries don’t require surgery, there are several that do. In all instances, physiotherapy plays an important role in your post-operative recovery and return to mobility. It’s not even an intervention you will have to ask for. Most hospitals will ensure that patients will get visits from a physiotherapist soon after surgery.
Knee Injuries and Sports
For those who have suffered months of knee injuries and re-injuries but who enjoy sport, there’s always the question of whether they will be able to return to their favourite physical activities. If you plan to make specific demands on your body after recovery, you should discuss this with your sports physiotherapist. In most cases, we are able to assist with a phased return to sports.
Do You Have Chronic Knee Pain?
If you’ve been living with knee pain, the good news is that you probably don’t have to. If your pain is the result of a condition like arthritis, there are still ways to improve your comfort and enhance your mobility. Ask your doctor about physiotherapy or contact our offices to find out how we can help you.
