Knee Pain, Arlington Texas
Knee Pain: The Treatment Is Usually Strength, Not Rest
The short answer
The most common cause of pain at the front of the knee is patellofemoral pain syndrome, and the clinical literature is unusually clear about what works: up to two thirds of patients succeed with a proper rehabilitation protocol built on strengthening. That is why this clinic has a power rack and cable machine rather than only a treatment table. The knee is also frequently where it hurts while the hip or the foot is where it failed, which is what a whole-chain examination is for.
The Most Common Cause
Pain At The Front Of The Knee
Rest settles the pain. Strength is what stops it coming back.
Patellofemoral Syndrome. StatPearls, NCBI Bookshelf (National Institutes of Health): patellofemoral syndrome, also called patellofemoral pain syndrome or runner knee, is among the most common causes of anterior knee pain seen by clinicians. It accounts for about 25 percent of knee injuries seen in sports rehabilitation clinics, with incidence rates ranging from 9 to 40 percent among active individuals in the United States, England and Belgium.
Full text: Patellofemoral Syndrome, StatPearls.
It is the pain that shows up going down stairs, standing after a long sit, squatting, or during the second half of a run. It often clicks or grinds, and it usually does not swell dramatically. People put up with it for months because it is never quite bad enough to stop them.
What Actually Works
Two Thirds Succeed With Rehabilitation
Up to two thirds of patients can be successfully treated with a proper rehabilitation protocol. The word doing the work in that sentence is proper.
StatPearls, NCBI Bookshelf (National Institutes of Health): up to two-thirds of patients can be successfully treated with a proper rehabilitation protocol. Physical therapy is a mainstay of treatment and can alleviate patellofemoral pain by strengthening the quadriceps femoris complex, particularly the vastus medialis, as well as stretching the lateral patellar retinaculum.
Full text: Patellofemoral Syndrome, StatPearls.
Which is why there is a rack in the building
If the evidence says the treatment is a strengthening protocol, a clinic needs somewhere to load you. There is a power rack and a cable machine here, which is uncommon in a chiropractic practice in Arlington. It means the plan can be progressed and checked in front of someone rather than handed over as a sheet of exercises.
This is also where applied kinesiology earns its place. Dr. Monet is certified in it, and manual muscle testing lets her assess how your body responds under load, muscle by muscle and joint by joint. On a knee that matters more than usual, because the knee sits between the hip and the foot and takes the consequences of both.
The Mechanism
The Knee Is Often The Victim, Not The Culprit
The knee is a hinge caught between two things that rotate. If the hip stops controlling rotation, or the foot stops managing load on contact, the knee absorbs the difference. That is why a knee can hurt for months with nothing wrong at the joint itself, and why treating only the sore part tends to buy weeks rather than years.
- Hip strength and control, particularly through the glutes
- How the foot and ankle load on contact
- Which side takes more weight in a squat, a step or a stair
- Quadriceps strength, and the vastus medialis specifically
None of that shows up if the examination stops at the knee. That is the practical argument for taking longer over it.
Read This First
When A Knee Needs A Doctor, Not A Clinic Appointment
If You Notice Any of These Warning Signs, Please Seek Emergency Room Care Right Away.
- You cannot put weight on it at all, particularly after a fall, collision or twist
- The knee locks, or gives way underneath you
- It is hot, red and swollen, especially with a fever, which can indicate infection
- Rapid swelling within an hour of an injury
- An obvious deformity, or a suspected fracture
- Numbness, pins and needles, or a cold foot below the knee
- New joint pain with a history of cancer, or with a suppressed immune system
There is no imaging in this building. If your examination points at something that needs a scan, you get referred rather than treated anyway. Call 817-800-7136 and describe it.
Common Questions
Knee Pain, Asked And Answered
Should I rest it or use it?
Rest tends to settle the pain and strength is what keeps it settled. The clinical reference names physical therapy as the mainstay, working by strengthening the quadriceps, particularly the vastus medialis. Up to two thirds of patients succeed with a proper rehabilitation protocol.
Why would a chiropractor treat a knee?
Because the knee sits between the hip and the foot and takes the consequences of both. A whole-chain examination looks at hip control and foot loading rather than only the sore joint, and there is rehabilitation equipment here to load the knee properly afterwards.
What is runner knee?
It is another name for patellofemoral pain syndrome, the most common cause of pain at the front of the knee. It accounts for roughly a quarter of knee injuries seen in sports rehabilitation clinics.
Do I need a scan?
Often not, and there is no imaging in this building. If your examination points at something that needs a scan, you get referred for one rather than treated anyway.
My knee clicks. Is that bad?
On its own, usually not. Locking, giving way, being unable to bear weight, or a hot swollen joint with a fever are different, and those need medical assessment rather than an appointment here.
Do you take walk-ins?
No. Every visit is booked. Call 817-800-7136 and describe what is happening.
Sources
Where The Numbers On This Page Come From
- Patellofemoral Syndrome. StatPearls, NCBI Bookshelf, National Institutes of Health. Patellofemoral syndrome as among the most common causes of anterior knee pain, the roughly 25 percent of knee injuries in sports rehabilitation clinics, the 9 to 40 percent incidence among active individuals, the up-to-two-thirds success with a proper rehabilitation protocol, and the quadriceps and vastus medialis strengthening basis of treatment.
Get The Knee And The Chain Above It Examined
Call and describe what is happening, or book online and pick a time.
3825 W Green Oaks Blvd, Suite 710, Arlington, TX 76016. Appointments only.