Physical Therapy Helps Common Knee Problems

By Deborah Holmes, PT

The knee is the joint where the bones of the upper leg meet the bones of the lower leg, allowing hinge-like movement while providing stability and strength to support the weight of the body. Flexibility, strength, and stability are needed for standing and for motions like walking, running, jumping, and turning. Several kinds of supporting and moving parts, including bones, cartilage, muscles, ligaments, and tendons, help the knees do their job. Each of these structures is subject to disease and injury. This can lead to biomechanical changes that alter normal movement patterns.
A number of diseases can affect the knee. The most common is arthritis. Although arthritis technically means “joint inflammation,” the term is used loosely to describe many different diseases that can affect the joints.
Knee injuries can occur as the result of a direct blow or sudden movements that strain the knee beyond its normal range of motion. Sometimes knees are injured slowly over time. Knee problems can also be the result of a lifetime of normal wear and tear.
A physical therapist will perform a thorough examination and design a plan of care that may include a series of exercises and manual therapy techniques to help improve motion. The exercise sequence will be progressive and include the restoration of strength and range of motion. The program will be designed to include functional goals, that is, a gradual return to normal activities using exercises that simulate the knee stresses of your normal activities.
A knees tolerance for stressful activities often decreases with age and loss of conditioning. As a result, stresses that would not have caused pain or injury to the knee last year could today. A decrease in levels of activity over a period of time may also contribute to the vulnerability of knees. But there are steps one can take to help prevent injury in order to continue enjoying sports and exercise. Pursuing an exercise program designed by a physical therapist can be one of the best protections from injury.
The first step in designing your exercise program is to contact your physical therapist. He or she can identify your predisposing factors, those body traits that may make you more or less vulnerable to a knee injury. Physical therapy plays a key role in treating and rehabilitating the knee, but the patients active participation plays a big factor in achieving a successful outcome.