Knee Pain Specialist

What causes knee pain?

Soft tissue injuries to your knee are common causes of knee pain. They arise from damage to the muscles, ligaments, tendons, and cartilage in your knee, often as a result of playing sports, falls, or auto accidents.

Fractures and dislocations can cause severe soft tissue damage as well, or you could develop an infection in your knee. Another possible cause of knee pain is bursitis – an inflammation of the soft sacs of liquid called bursae that help cushion your knees and several other joints.

One of the most likely causes of knee pain is arthritis. While numerous forms of arthritis exist, osteoarthritis is the type most likely to affect you. It's a condition that usually develops as you age due to the wearing down of the articular cartilage covering the bones in your knee.

The exact treatment required for your knee pain is dependent on your diagnosis and factors like your age and general health, but physical therapy is usually at the heart of your recovery.

How does physical therapy help with knee pain?

Regenerative Spine and Pain Institute uses a variety of physical therapy techniques to help reduce knee pain, including:

Strengthening exercises

It's vital to gently move the muscles around the knee to improve knee function and joint stability.

Stretching exercises

Stretching the hamstring and quadriceps muscles helps reduce joint stiffness and ease knee pain.

Low-impact cardio

Cardio exercise increases your heart rate and improves circulation, which in turn helps reduce swelling.

An expert physical therapist must guide all these methods to ensure you don't do your knee any further harm. Physical therapy can also include passive treatments like electrotherapy or transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS), and using knee braces and assistive devices.

What other treatments are there for knee pain?

In addition to physical therapy, you could benefit from using heat to ease pain and improve circulation in your knee, and ice to reduce swelling. Over-the-counter pain relief medications like acetaminophen are effective for mild to moderate knee pain, and capsaicin cream can also help.

The Regenerative Spine and Pain Institute team also uses viscosupplementation to treat knee pain. This involves having an injection of a natural lubricant called hyaluronic acid into your knee joint.

Regenerative medicine treatments using substances like platelet-rich plasma (PRP) can help damaged tissues in your knee heal. Cortisone injections, which contain a powerful anti-inflammatory drug, might be necessary if other treatments aren't relieving your knee pain.

Peripheral nerve stimulation and radiofrequency ablation are treatments that can help if you have persistent knee pain, and other therapies aren’t working.

If you're struggling with painful knees, call Regenerative Spine and Pain Institute today to schedule a consultation or book an appointment online.