Knee Pain

Decoding the Clues

Diagnosing knee pain involves discovering clues related to your age, daily activities and symptoms.
Has your knee pain been ongoing? Did you have a recent injury? In some cases, your knee pain might
not even be arising from a knee problem. It’s a puzzle that our chiropractors are experienced and
trained to solve.

Pain in the Front of the Knee

The front of the knee often resolves around the kneecap area, affecting activities like walking
downstairs or prolonged sitting.

Common conditions that can contribute to pain in this region are:

You may do this several times before your low back gives you pain. This of course depends on how strong your low back is to start with. If you already have a weakness there then repeated twisting will obviously irritate it sooner than later. The better core strength you have, as for any activity, the less you will twist in one spot and the less likely you are to irritate your back.

To throw efficiently, however, you also need to LENGTHEN your anterior shoulder muscles that link your upper arm to your breast bone – your “pects”. Then you will not need to twist your back when you aim for a long throw.

1. Runner’s knee:
   Occurs when the cartilage on the undersurface of the kneecap gets irritated.
2. Osgood Schlatters:
   Often affecting young adults and teenagers, this condition is a visible and
   painful lump at the front of the knee on the tibia (shin bone).
3. Jumper’s knee:
   As the name suggests, this condition often affects athletes or people who
   experience a lot of impact to the knee after excessive jumping and landing on one or both feet.
   This makes the patella unable to track evenly inside the groove over the femur (thigh bone).
4. Housemaid’s Knee:
   This condition is shown by obvious swelling and inflammation over the
   front of the knee. Most commonly, this would affect patients who spend prolonged hours
   kneeling on top of their knees such as carpet layers and gardeners.
5. Patella Dislocation:
   Although rare, sometimes the patella would completely escape out of its
   usual place. In these cases, it has to be put back in its original place.

Pain on the Inside of the Knee

Medial side pain is commonly associated with meniscus injuries, which act as shock absorbers
between the thigh (femur) and shin (tibia) bones. Your knee contains two menisci, both positioned
between the femur and tibia. These tough cartilages conform to the bone surfaces they rest upon. The
medial meniscus resided on the inner side of your knees, while the lateral meniscus sits on the outer
side.

Pain on the Outside of the Knee

Lateral side pain may stem from lateral meniscus tears or iliotibial band syndrome (ITBS), especially
common in cyclists. The dynamics of ITBS occurs due to irritation of the fibrous tissue band on the
outer thigh bone (femur). This band typically glides smoothly over the bone and muscle, facilitated by
a bursa (like a bag of fluid). However, inflammation can impede this motion, resulting in pain, swelling and sometimes a “snapping” sensation when bending the hip or knee. Endurance athletes, like runners and cyclists, are prone to developing ITBS. Another cause of outside knee pain may also be the pelvis. Surrounded by relevant muscles, they
stabilise and work together to create a foundation. If the gluteal muscles become weak and tight, thefoundation becomes dysfunctional and the muscles may cause radiating pain down to the knee. It can also be a direct referred knee pain from the lower back.

Pain in the Back of the Knee

Pain in the back of the knee may result from a few conditions, such as:

1. Baker’s Cyst:

A fluid collection that can be visible to the eye due to the excess fluid.

2. Arthritis:

Common in elderly and in cases where knees have a lot of wear and tear. This is
commonly presented with chronically limited knee mobility and irregular joint surfaces
causing discomfort.

3. Hamstring injury

AddressingKnee Instability

In cases when the knee becomes unstable, the ligaments surrounding and supporting the knee may no
longer have the required elasticity and spring. If the ligaments are torn or stretched, the feeling of the
knee “giving away” may be a sign of instability. Two cofactors that can make you more susceptible to
instability are arthritis or low back problems with sciatica.

Chiropractic Solutions

For a comprehensive diagnosis and tailored treatment plan, our experienced chiropractors at the
Charminster Chiropractic Clinic will try to find the root cause of the knee pain. This will allow them
to treat you effectively and provide quicker relief. Effective treatment involves muscle rehabilitation
focusing on optimal hip, foot and knee function by tailoring exercises to address your specific needs
and restore normal joint mechanics.
For more information and a personalised diagnosis of your knee pain, schedule a consultation with
our chiropractors today.