Here at Tensegrity Physical Therapy, we often have patients come in who are suffering from knee pain. Since knee pain can often be the result of numerous causes, we have a list of questions we ask to try to get down to the root of the problem. These questions can include: “How long has this been going on?” – “Where is it hurting?” – “What activities cause more pain?”. With this information, we are able to come up with a hypothesis as to what might be causing the pain.
After we gather the above information from the patient and the intake form, we have some tests we like to put patients through to see if our hypothesis is correct. The great thing about our performance facility is that we have the tools to find what the problem really is. For knee pain, we often use the gait analysis treadmill to look at walking and/or running mechanics. This is usually coupled with the Biodex to test strength in the legs and to look at the ratios of that strength between various muscle groups. Then, we can use the sEMG to see if they are firing the correct muscles with different activities. Between all of those, we can either prove our hypothesis or head in another direction that we might not have been able to explore without these tools.
Having a full understanding of the cause of pain via testing with our tools allows patients to recover faster, as it allows us to create a more individualized plan. This means if the right muscles aren’t activating or there is a muscular imbalance, we will get the patient on a plan to try to help improve the pain in a timely manner.
With the help of our trained physical therapists and strength coaches, we aim to help increase strength, balance, and coordination so that individuals can stay active and potentially knee injury-free for life.
Sometimes people are not quite ready to do the activities they want to do, secondary to not being strong enough. Proper form is key to help prevent knee pain; this includes learning how to pick things up correctly, how to squat, and how to train functional movements correctly. We approach it from the standpoint of looking up the chain. Knee pain might be where things are manifesting, but functional movements in combination with resistance bands and hip-specific exercises can allow people to utilize the bigger, stronger muscles that are designed to be the movers. If we can get them to shift to the proper muscular recruiting, that can lead to better function and decreased pain.
If you would like a one-on-one personalized treatment plan to help deal with your knee pain, book an appointment today by calling 541-338-7088 or visiting our contact page.