Understanding Knee Pain and Why Physical Therapy Can Help

Your knees are vital to daily movement, but knee pain or weakness can keep you from doing what you love to do. My name is Dr. Nick Trameri. I’m a physical therapist here at Full Potential Physical Therapy located in Holland, Michigan. Today, we’re going to be talking about knee pain and knee function.

A Simple Explanation of the Knee Joint

The knee is a relatively simple joint. It’s a hinge joint located between our hips and ankles that mainly performs flexion (bending) and extension (straightening). It’s integral as a weight-bearing joint to complete daily activities such as walking, running, squatting, or going up and down stairs, as well as for more dynamic or sport-related activities such as jumping, cutting, and twisting.

How the Human Body Moves

The human body is designed to move in many ways, and all those movements can be broken down into a combination of three different planes: 

• Sagittal plane, meaning forward and back motion
• Frontal plane, meaning side to side
• Transverse plane, meaning rotational movement 

Most people tend to handle the sagittal plane activities (or forward and back motion) well because that’s the way we most commonly move in our daily life.

What Happens When the Body Struggles with These Movements

An inability to properly handle stress or load in any of these planes over time can lead to issues that present as various common conditions, such as: 

• Meniscus tears
• Arthritis
• Knee pain
• IT band syndrome
• Improper tracking of the patella

How These Parts of the Body Relate to Pain

Now, the important question behind those sorts of conditions is the why. Oftentimes, the why of being in pain can be traced back to a deficit or a weak link in either mobility or stability. When dealing with pain in any body part, it is also important to look at not just the joint and pain, but the joints above and below. 

For example, the feet and hips affect the knees in many ways and can often be a driving force behind knee pain. The foot is like your body’s house of cards. Its stability sets the foundation for the rest of your body to move. Similarly, our hips (and a lack of stability or mobility in them) can negatively affect how the knee moves and lead to performance problems and pain.

How Physical Therapy Addresses Knee Pain

Physical therapy can help in many ways, mainly by getting to the root of the pain and identifying these sources of weakness and instability that lead to poor function and increase stress on the knee. Our goal would be to correct those to improve your function and decrease your pain. 

Another main goal of PT should always be to educate. Educating you on why you are in pain, educating you on the relevant anatomy and physiology, as well as educating you on how to prevent any sort of recurrence of the symptoms of pain.

Call Us to Handle Knee Pain and Reach Your Full Potential

If you’re dealing with a decrease in range of motion or weakness in your knee, inability to complete your normal daily activities, or pain with sports, then you may be a great candidate for physical therapy. Call us at (616) 537-2837 today to discuss getting onto our schedule.