If you are experiencing knee pain, the medical professionals at Apex Manual Therapy can identify the cause to effectively and efficiently treat your knee problems. Whether you’re suffering from knee joint pain, pain following a knee replacement, chronic knee pain or runner’s knee, we can help.
Our physical therapists have obtained the highest level of orthopedic physical therapy training. They are recognized as Fellows of the American Academy of Orthopedic Manual Physical Therapy (FAAOMPT), which is an educational achievement beyond the doctorate level. To date, there are about 1,800 fellows in America.
At Apex Manual Therapy each visit is spent entirely one-on-one with a fellow, to provide the very best knee pain treatment possible. Are you in the greater Austin or Pflugerville, Texas, area? Then schedule a free consultation with our advanced therapists. We guarantee you’ll see the difference in our approach and your results.
Common Knee Injuries
A recent study by Nguyen and colleagues reports 25% of adults live with knee pain. The pain causes people to seek knee therapy, knee replacements, knee replacement alternatives, and knee joint pain relief. Studies favor physical knee therapy as an effective alternative to surgical interventions. Below we will discuss our advanced approach to treating common knee problems with physical therapy.
Runner’s Knee
Runners are often affected by knee problems and suffering a knee injury from running is not uncommon. Many people also experience knee pain with running. If conditions are left untreated or not properly addressed, chronic knee pain may develop.
Runner’s knee is a generalized term to describe pain around the knee. It is also referred to as patellofemoral pain syndrome or IT band syndrome, but these diagnoses do not describe the root cause of the problem. This is because runner’s knee is a multifactorial mechanical dysfunction of the lower limb. Put simply, it’s caused by poor body mechanics. Therefore, to properly treat runner’s knee, a movement dysfunction diagnosis must be made and addressed if you are to experience lasting knee pain relief.
The patella (knee cap) articulates in the groves of the femur (thigh bone). Previously, we believed that the patella was at fault for knee pain in patellofemoral pain. Treatments were geared towards taping and VMO (inner quadricep muscle) strengthening. This treatment approach often lead to symptoms returning because the actual cause is not being addressed.
Think of the patella as being a train and the femur is the train track. If the train track is faulty, the train cannot function as designed. If all you do is tape the patella and strengthen your quadriceps, you are doing nothing to address the faulty track the train moves on.
The real issue is the femur gets into dysfunction from poor hip and foot mechanics. If the hip turns in or the foot overpronates, the patella is unable to articulate properly (see photo below).
Patellofemoral pain syndrome is more common in woman due to having wider hips. The wider the hips, the greater the quadricep angle (see photo below), thus putting more strain on the patellofemoral joint. Patients often report pain in the front of the knee, which can be aggravated with prolonged sitting, bending, squatting, running or climbing stairs.
Behind the patella lies cartilage that could degenerate if long-term lower body mechanics are not optimal. Cartilage does not have a large blood supply and therefore requires movement for lubrication. Prolonged exercises that involve moving without resistance or bodyweight, is wonderful for cartilage healing. These exercises include activities such as biking without resistance or swinging legs while sitting. The faulty movement dysfunction must be addressed and these activities alone with not address faulty movement. You must learn how to move with proper body mechanics to prevent cartilage degeneration while walking, bending, squatting, exercising, and living life.
At Apex Manual Therapy, our advanced specialists will perform a thorough evaluation to identify and diagnose the faulty movement causing your knee pain. An individualized runner’s knee treatment will be tailored to your personal needs and goals. Each visit will be spent entirely one-on-one with an FAAOMPT credentialed therapist to provide you with the highest level of care. This personal attention will ensure effective and efficient treatment for your orthopedic conditions.
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