The knee is a fascinating joint. When we think of joints what usually comes to mind is a picture of a ball and socket joint. Like our shoulders or hips. Actually the knee is a hinge joint that swings in roughly a 90 degree arc similar to the hinge on a door. As you can see from the picture the two bones come together with some padding or cartilage in between and are surrounded by muscle structures and tendons.
The tendons and muscles are actually what give the knee its stability rather than the bony structure of the joint itself. The muscles hold the knee in place and ensure it moves correctly through its range of motion. When the muscles fail to do their job the tendons can be called on to do more than their fair share. If the load is too much for just the tendon, the tendon can fray (partial tear) or sever (full tear).
If a full tendon tear is the result of the injury there is no way around it, surgery may be necessary. But, for the vast majority of other knee injuries, pain and limitation, Physical Therapy is an excellent handling that can get you back to 100% in most cases.
How does Health Motion treat and rehabilitate knees? By locating the source of the issue and then addressing that. This may mean we have to repair the partially torn tendon; and yes, there are non-surgical treatments we use to do just that. If we find old scar tissue from years and years ago that needs to be cleaned out we have non-surgical procedures for this as well. Muscles can be strengthened, coordination and flexibility increased, and we can use many other treatments to handle your knee pain and get you back to the things you love doing.
If you would like to know exactly what we can do for your knee pain, come in for a free evaluation with a licensed physical therapist who will answer your questions, discuss options and help you find a solution to your knee pain.