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Showing posts from tagged with: knees
OSTEOARTHRITIS OF THE KNEE – Day to Day Tips
Day to day Tips
- Pace your activities through the day – don’t tackle all the physical jobs at once.
- Wear low-heeled shoes with soft, thick soles (trainers are ideal). Thicker soles will act as shock absorbers.
- Use a walking stick to reduce the weight and stress on your painful knee.
- Use the handrail for support when climbing stairs.
- Don’t keep your knee still in a bent position for too long, it will stiffen up.
- Think about modifying your home, car or workplace to reduce unnecessary strain on your knee.
- Learn to relax your muscles and let the tension out of your body.
- Use heat/ice packs to help eases pain and stiffness.
- Knee braces for osteoarthritis are available.
- Speak to your doctor or therapist first for recommendations or referrals for any of the above.
Patellofemoral pain
Experiencing knee pain while walking, running, squatting, kneeling, going up or down stairs or slopes?
You may have a condition known as Patellofemoral pain syndrome.
Patellofemoral pain syndrome is one of the most common knee complaints of both the young active sportsperson and the elderly. Patellofemoral pain syndrome is the medical term for pain felt behind your kneecap, where your patella (kneecap) articulates with your thigh bone (femur). This joint is known as your patellofemoral joint Patellofemoral pain syndrome, is mainly due to excessive patellofemoral joint pressure from poor kneecap alignment, which in time, affects the joint surface behind the kneecap (retropatellar joint). Physiotherapy inventions help strengthen one’s quadriceps and hips, which subsequently aids in restoring the biomechanics of the patellofemoral joint. Physiotherapists are able to advise and design customised exercise programs to improve the strength of your knee and leg muscles and help you maintain good general fitness. If you are experiencing patellofemoral pain, or any pain in your knee and joints, it is important to have your condition assessed by a physiotherapist. Patellofemoral pain typically develops because of 1 of 3 different reasons 1. Excessive pronation of the foot (flattening of the arch). It doesn't matter if you have high arches or flat feet, it depends on how much your arch flattens from non-weight baring to weight baring. This can be addressed in the short term with the use of orthotics but a strengthening program of the muscles that support your arch is recommended. 2. Weak quadriceps (weak thigh muscles). The quads are the largest muscle group in the body that we use to extend our knee. Important for walking, running, squatting, and climbing stairs. We can test your maximum isometric contraction and compare it to your unaffected side to see if this is a contributing factor and address any deficit with an appropriate strengthening program. 3. Weak hip abductors (gluteal muscles). Gluteus medius and minimus help to keep our pelvis level while walking and running. If your opposite hip dips then the knee you are standing on will drift inwards causing poor alignment of the patellofemoral joint. This deficit can be picked up with good observation skills and strength testing.