At Proliance Physical & Hand Therapy, our physical therapy experts will use the optimum combination of therapy techniques to resolve the issues causing your knee pain. The following problems typically respond well to physical therapy:
Sprains & Strains
Sprains and strains affecting the knee are common, but “sprain” and “strain” identify different problems.
Sprains refer to injuries of the ligaments (connect bone to bone) and strains refer to injuries of the muscles or tendons (connect muscle to bone). Sprains and strains occur from quick over-stretching of the tissues causing micro-tearing and subsequent injury. Swelling begins as part of the inflammation process, causing pain and difficulty with movement.
What they have in common is that sprains and strains both occur from quick over-stretching of the muscles and ligaments around the knee. This causes micro-tearing, swelling, and inflammation that leads to pain and difficulty with movement.
Rest, ice, and elevation are the first stage of treatment for sprains and strains. If the injury is significant, chronic, or you have significant limitations to your movement see your therapist as quickly as possible. Sometimes the tearing completely separates the muscle or ligament from the bone. If that happens you will need surgery to repair it.
The good news is that most of the time physical therapy will be all you need to recover. Your Proliance Physical & Hand Therapy expert, in collaboration with your doctor, will start with a careful evaluation to make sure we know exactly what the problem is. Accurate diagnosis is essential to ensure your therapist puts together the best treatment plan possible to achieve quick healing and pain relief. At Proliance Physical & Hand Therapy our goal is to help you keep your knees healthy and strong into the future, so if your problems are the result of repetitive overuse, your therapist will also educate you on how to avoid this type of damage and provide exercises you can continue after your therapy sessions at Proliance Physical & Hand Therapy have been completed.
Difficulty Walking, Poor Balance, Risk of Falling
One third of adults over the age of sixty-five fall at least once each year. Falls are the leading cause of injury for older adults. Walking is complex and requires good balance, but as we grow older our balance declines. Arthritis in the ankles, knees or hips can affect our balance. Parkinson’s Disease, spinal cord injuries, nerve injuries, and back problems can play a role in diminished balance. Physical changes can also affect walking and increase the risk of falling. If you experience pain in your feet, knees, or hips, it can change how you walk putting extra pressure on areas like your hips or back.
The good news is that physical therapy can be very beneficial. Your Proliance Physical & Hand Therapy expert, in collaboration with your doctor, will start with a careful evaluation of your range of motion, strength, walking patterns, balance, and coordination. Their goal is to discover exactly why your walking or balance have changed so they can put together the best plan to improve your balance and strength. Your therapist’s goal is to help you keep your knees healthy and minimize your risk of falling so you can enjoy the activities you love without worry.
Knee Tendonitis
The suffix “itis” means inflammation. Tendonitis is inflammation of a tendon that connects a muscle to a bone around your knee. The most common type of knee tendonitis is when the tendon that connects your quadriceps muscle to your tibia bone (quadriceps tendon above the kneecap and patellar ligament below the kneecap) becomes inflamed. This thick tendon runs over the top of your kneecap and attaches to the tibia bone below. Abnormal joint movements, poor posture, or weakness of the muscles around your knee can cause extra strain on this tendon. When it gets inflamed you feel pain during repetitive movement, or actions like squatting or kneeling down. Tendonitis can also occur to tendons in the back, outside, or inside of your knee.
The good news is that physical therapy can be very successful to help heal knee tendonitis. Since most tendonitis is due to underlying abnormal mechanics of movement and weakness, your Proliance Physical & Hand Therapy expert, in collaboration with your doctor, will evaluate your movement to pinpoint the exact source of the trouble so they can develop the best treatment plan for your needs. Our goal is to get you back to the activities you love as quickly as possible, so your therapist will start with therapies to eliminate the pain and swelling then transition to exercises focused on strengthening the muscles around your knee to prevent recurrence.
Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) Tears
The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) controls how your tibia bone slides forward on the femur bone in your knee. Your ACL ligament can be injured while play sports or if you fall. It is most vulnerable when your foot is planted in the ground and your knee receives a blow from the side. ACL injuries are rated Grade 1 through 3, to identify the severity. Grade 1 and 2 refer to an ACL that is still intact but has experienced micro-tears due to being overstretched. These typically respond well to physical therapy and do not need surgery. Grade 3 refers to a complete tear and typically requires surgery.
One difficulty with sprains to your knee ligaments is that they don’t receive much blood flow. They receive most of their nutrition from the joint fluid in your knee. This means that they tend to heal more slowly than most of the other tissues in your body. Recovery takes time and it is important to take care of it properly to minimize the potential for injury in the future.
Your Proliance Physical & Hand Therapy expert is very familiar with helping patients to recover from ACL tears. Your therapist will work closely with your doctor and perform specific tests to assess how stable your ACL ligament is and the best treatment plan to eliminate your pain and get you back to doing the things you love as quickly as possible. If you do have a Grade 3 ACL rupture and need surgery to repair it, we have special rehabilitation techniques to reduce your pain after surgery, strengthen and stabilize your knee, and then gradually increase your range of motion until it is fully healed and you can get back into the game.
Posterior Cruciate Ligament (PCL) Tears
The posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) controls how your tibia bone slides backwards on the femur bone in your knee. Your PCL ligament can be injured while play sports or if you fall. It is most vulnerable when your foot is planted in the ground and your knee receives a blow from the front. PCL injuries are rated Grade 1 through 3, to identify the severity. Grade 1 and 2 refer to a PCL that is still intact but has experienced micro-tears due to being overstretched. These typically respond well to physical therapy and do not need surgery. Grade 3 refers to a complete tear and typically requires surgery.
One difficulty with sprains to your knee ligaments is that they don’t receive much blood flow. They receive most of their nutrition from the joint fluid in your knee. This means that they tend to heal more slowly than most of the other tissues in your body. Recovery takes time and it is important to take care of it properly to minimize the potential for injury in the future.
Your Proliance Physical & Hand Therapy expert is very familiar with helping patients to recover from PCL tears. Your therapist will work closely with your doctor and perform specific tests to assess how stable your PCL ligament is and the best treatment plan to eliminate your pain and get you back to doing the things you love as quickly as possible. If you do have a Grade 3 PCL rupture and need surgery to repair it, we have special rehabilitation techniques to reduce your pain after surgery, strengthen and stabilize your knee, and then gradually increase your range of motion until it is fully healed and you can get back into the game.
Medial Collateral Ligament (MCL) Tears
The medial collateral ligament (MCL) controls how your tibia bone slides side-to-side on the femur bone in your knee. Your MCL ligament can be injured while play sports or if you fall. It is most vulnerable when your foot is planted in the ground and your knee receives a blow from the outside of your knee. MCL injuries are rated Grade 1 through 3, to identify the severity. Grade 1 and 2 refer to a MCL that is still intact but has experienced micro-tears due to being overstretched. These typically respond well to physical therapy and do not need surgery. Grade 3 refers to a complete tear and typically requires surgery.
One difficulty with sprains to your knee ligaments is that they don’t receive much blood flow. They receive most of their nutrition from the joint fluid in your knee. This means that they tend to heal more slowly than most of the other tissues in your body. Recovery takes time and it is important to take care of it properly to minimize the potential for injury in the future.
Your Proliance Physical & Hand Therapy expert is very familiar with helping patients to recover from MCL tears. Your therapist will work closely with your doctor and perform specific tests to assess how stable your MCL ligament is and the best treatment plan to eliminate your pain and get you back to doing the things you love as quickly as possible. If you do have a Grade 3 MCL rupture and need surgery to repair it, we have special rehabilitation techniques to reduce your pain after surgery, strengthen and stabilize your knee, and then gradually increase your range of motion until it is fully healed and you can get back into the game.
Lateral Collateral Ligament (LCL) Tears
The lateral collateral ligament (LCL) controls how your tibia bone slides side-to-side on the femur bone in your knee. Your LCL ligament can be injured while play sports or if you fall. It is most vulnerable when your foot is planted in the ground and your knee receives a blow from the inside of your knee. LCL injuries are rated Grade 1 through 3, to identify the severity. Grade 1 and 2 refer to a LCL that is still intact but has experienced micro-tears due to being overstretched. These typically respond well to physical therapy and do not need surgery. Grade 3 refers to a complete tear and typically requires surgery.
One difficulty with sprains to your knee ligaments is that they don’t receive much blood flow. They receive most of their nutrition from the joint fluid in your knee. This means that they tend to heal more slowly than most of the other tissues in your body. Recovery takes time and it is important to take care of it properly to minimize the potential for injury in the future.
Your Proliance Physical & Hand Therapy expert is very familiar with helping patients to recover from LCL tears. Your therapist will work closely with your doctor and perform specific tests to assess how stable your LCL ligament is and the best treatment plan to eliminate your pain and get you back to doing the things you love as quickly as possible. If you do have a Grade 3 LCL rupture and need surgery to repair it, we have special rehabilitation techniques to reduce your pain after surgery, strengthen and stabilize your knee, and then gradually increase your range of motion until it is fully healed and you can get back into the game.
Meniscus Injury
Your meniscus is a ring of cartilage on the lower part of your knee that the end of the large femur bone rides on. The meniscus cushions and stabilizes your knee joint and guides the movement of your femur and tibia. The outer edges of your meniscus is connected to the thick ligaments that surround your knee. The medial meniscus (on the inside of your knee) bears most of your weight and typically experiences more damage than your lateral meniscus that is on the outside of your knee.
A healthy meniscus is smooth to ensure good gliding of the femur and tibia bones when you bend your knee. However, due to injuries, poor alignment, or weak muscles around the knee your meniscus can become bruised or torn. Mild and moderate meniscus injuries can be rehabilitated with physical therapy. If the damage is significant, you may need minimally invasive arthroscopic surgery to clean and shave torn pieces of the meniscus. The location of a meniscus injury impacts the speed of healing. The outside edges of the meniscus receive more blood flow than the inner portions. Recovery takes time and it is important to take care of it properly to minimize the potential for injury in the future.
Your Proliance Physical & Hand Therapy expert is very familiar with helping patients to recover from meniscus injuries. Your therapist will work closely with your doctor and perform specific tests to determine where there are limitations in movement of your knee joint, and whether the muscles in your knees need to be strengthed to better support your knee. Your treatment plan will focus on reducing your pain and swelling as quickly as possible. Then we will focus on improving your range of motion, your joint mobility, and strengthening the muscles to make sure your meniscus has the support it needs to minimize the chance of recurrence so you can get back to doing the things you love as quickly as possible.
Total Knee Replacement
If your knee has been damaged or has severe arthritis your best option might be partial or total knee replacement. With a partial knee replacement, the end of the tibia or femur bone is replaced. With total knee replacement the ends of the tibia and femur bones, and backside of the kneecap are replaced. Thanks to advances like the CORI Robotic Assisted Knee Surgery System and minimally invasive techniques, people are recovering more quickly than ever before. The most common statement we hear from patients is, “I wish I had done it sooner.”
If you are planning on a partial or total knee replacement your surgeon will likely recommend a pre-surgery therapy plan to strengthen the muscles around the knee area because physical therapy before surgery can significantly improve your recovery. Then after your surgery physical therapy typically starts while you are still in the hospital with basic movements and tasks like walking and getting up and down from a chair. Your Proliance Physical & Hand Therapy expert will work closely with your surgeon to develop a thorough rehabilitation program to restore normal walking, balance, and ensure you can return to your favorite activities without pain.
Iliotibial Band Syndrome
Overuse of the connective tissues located on the lateral or outer part of your thigh and knee can lead to iliotibial band (IT band) syndrome. Your pain may be caused by IT band syndrome if you are experiencing symptoms like:
- Pain on the outside of the knee
- Swelling near the outside of the knee
- Pain after walking, stepping up or down stairs
- Pain when you move from sitting to standing
Physical therapy can be very helpful with most minor to moderate cases of IT band syndrome. Your Proliance Physical & Hand Therapy expert, in collaboration with your doctor, will thoroughly evaluate the mechanics of your knee joint, your walking, and gait. By identifying the precise root causes of your discomfort, your therapist can develop the best treatment plan to quickly relieve your pain, improve your range of motion, and get you walking comfortably again.
Osgood-Schlatter Disease
A common cause of knee pain in growing kids often due to growth spurts and physical activity. The medical term is Osgood-Schlatter disease. Your child’s pain may be caused by Osgood-Schlatter disease if they are experiencing symptoms like:
- Pain that increases with exercise
- Tightness in the quadriceps
- Swelling and tenderness below the kneecap
Physical therapy can be very helpful if your child is experiencing Osgood-Schlatter disease. Your Proliance Physical & Hand Therapy expert, in collaboration with your doctor, will develop a treatment plan based on their diagnosis of the specific causes and symptoms your child is experiencing. Our goal is to quickly relieve their pain so they can resume all their activities without pain or discomfort.
Osteoarthritis
Osteoarthritis is the type of arthritis that happens when cartilage deteriorates and bone rubs on bone. Osteoarthritis of the knee can be very painful because your knee joint is engaged in almost every type of movement. Your pain may be caused by osteoarthritis if you are experiencing symptoms like:
- Pain or stiffness after having your knee bent or straight
- Pain when you move from a sitting to standing position
- Pain with walking, stepping up or down stairs
- Popping, cracking or grinding when moving your knee
- Your knee is tender to touch
- Swelling after activity
Physical therapy can be very helpful with most minor to moderate cases of hip osteoarthritis. The pain from osteoarthritis of the knee comes from inflammation in and around the joint. Your Proliance Physical & Hand Therapy expert, in collaboration with your doctor, will thoroughly evaluate your knee to identify the precise root causes of your discomfort and develop the best treatment plan to quickly relieve your pain, improve your range of motion, and get you walking comfortably again.
With advanced osteoarthritis a partial or total knee replacement may be necessary. Physical therapy is very important after knee replacement surgery to ensure full recovery of strength and movement.
