Recently, I have noticed that there has been an increase in the number of knee injuries coming through the doors here at Wellness Embodied. So today I am going to take the opportunity to provide you with some information on the common knee injuries and how physiotherapy can help to manage these.

Patellofemoral joint syndrome

– commonly referred to as PFJ syndrome or PFJ pain

This is a very common knee complaint, which may present in both sedentary and active population groups throughout the lifespan. Patients experiencing PFJ pain will often complain of pain when ascending or descending stairs and squatting.  PFJ pain often occurs when there is a muscle imbalance or alignment discrepancy that results in mal-tracking of the patella within the trochlear groove of the femur.

Physiotherapy management for PFJ pain may include soft tissue techniques, joint mobilisation, taping, orthotics, and strengthening exercises of the entire kinetic chain.

Knee osteoarthritis

Tibiofemoral or knee osteoarthritis (OA) is a common knee complaint most often associated with ageing. It is a condition that results in structural changes within the knee leading to pain and reduced function. Knee OA is often viewed as a guaranteed aspect of ageing and most individuals believe that there is little way of managing the pain or improving function. Fortunately, there is a lot that can be done to help patients suffering from knee OA with physiotherapy management focusing on biomechanical changes, strengthening, pain relief, hydrotherapy and weight loss.

Acute knee injuries

These are usually the high impact, immediate, twisting or jerking injuries that usually come with a story to tell. They are the injuries to the ligaments and menisci of the knee.

There are many different ligaments of the knee, and an injury to each one of these requires a vastly different rehabilitation approach. Some of these ligament injuries will require periods of immobilisation, whilst other injuries will be encouraged to weight bear immediately. The prognosis and rehabilitation is injury specific and requires a detailed exercise regime and close monitoring.

Physiotherapy in the acute knee is focused on pain relief, reducing joint inflammation, protecting the joint from further injury and/or normalisation of movement where applicable. Further to this, exercise is used to maintain motor control in the muscle around the knee and the entire chain of the lower limb.

I hope you have found this general information useful, and if you have a niggling knee that has been giving you grief come and see us at Wellness Embodied! Call 07 42319777 or email admin@wellnessembodiedcairns.com