Knee Pain

There are multiple causes of knee pain and multiple reason for why the knees might hurt. Depending on the age and the activities you do, the knee pain can either be due to arthritis, a ligament or tendon injury, meniscus injury or even ankle or hip related pain.

With knee pain there could be multiple types of symptoms depending on the type of issue present.

• Pain in the morning when you wake up
• Stiffness when standing up from sitting
• Pain with twisting movements and changes in direction
• Swelling or redness at the knee joint
• Knee pain on the outside of the knee after a run
• Hip pain or discomfort with activities
• Knee pain and swelling after an incident eg: during sports or an activity

If you have any of the above symptoms that a good indicator that physiotherapy can help you return to your normal levels of activities pain free. However some red flags to look out for are things like knee pain in both knees that doesn't change with rest or activities, very severe swelling and redness following a pop sound, your knees locking or giving way causing you to fall. These are all indicators that you need to see your GP for advice.

First the therapist will have to determine the cause for the knee pain. If you have had any previous scans, MRIs, X-rays or CT scans it would be helpful to bring them along to your appointment since that could help guide the direction of your rehabilitation. The most important part of the appointment is discussing with your physiotherapist what your goals are and what you would like to get from physiotherapy.

Following that, depending on your tolerance, the physio will ask to see how you walk, squat, sit, jump or lunge. However, the physio may skip that step if its not indicated. After that there will be a series of tests to see what your ligament, muscles, and joints are tolerating. This helps us understand the weaknesses that we need to target.

After the assessment the physiotherapist will work together with you to come up with a treatment plan that is specific to your goals and needs. This plan will most likely include exercises that you would do between sessions.