ITB & outer thigh issues
Is your mobility being affected? Favouring one leg?
Knee pain can be caused by a number of conditions, many of which can be relieved without surgery. In other cases, intervention will be necessary. In either event, we can identify the cause of the problem and support the recovery process.
as there are serious causes which need to be ruled out.
Our treatments balance the tensions in the tissues around the knee, normalise joint movements and look at other parts of the body which may be involved in causing the problem.
Self care can be extremely important with knee conditions and so we also give advice.
Common causes:
- Wear & tear under the knee cap (‘chondromalacia patella’), which gets irritated as it slides up and down the end of the thigh bone (the femur). An unpleasant ‘graunching’ may be felt deep in the joint. Going up stairs or doing deep knee bends are painful.
- Abnormal changes in the direction of up & down slide of the knee cap. This is commonly due to an imbalance in the muscles controlling this movement.
- A tear or trapping of the meniscus (cartilage), typically after a bending and twisting movement through the knee. This often produces symptoms of locking, giving-way &/or swelling.
- Ligament damage, most often via a sideways stress on the knee, usually resulting in feeling of instability. Immediate severe pain and swelling can be expected at the time of injury. Twisting the body whilst the foot is firmly planted can also sprain one of the cruciate ligaments. If there’s a major tear there will be sudden and painful swelling in the knee at the time of injury. The knee often feels unstable and the person is reluctant to use it with any confidence.
- Foot problems. A bad back or hip can change how we use & stress the knee. So the original cause needs treating – not just the knee!
- Prolonged kneeling at work or on hard surfaces
- Over activity in kids may result in Osgood Schlatter’s disease, where the quadriceps muscles at the front of the thigh pull at the surface of the bone where they attache just below the knee. This often results in a painful, visible lump.
As mentioned at the top of this page, NEVER ignore persistent knee pain in a child, as there are specific & serious diseases to this age group which have to be excluded.
Knee pain can have a negative effect on both confidence and mobility, which is where we can help. Over the longer term, abnormal mechanics lead to earlier degenerative changes, which is another reason for getting things sorted sooner rather than later. And if you’re in the older age group and have been told you have arthritis there, don’t take that to mean that you just have to learn to live with it. Treatment can often improve make a big difference to the associated symptoms of stiffness & pain.