6 Most Common Knee Injuries and How To Manage Them
Dealing with knee pain and want long-term relief?
Do you experience pain with squatting, prolonged sitting, or climbing stairs? Are you living with persistent pain, swelling, or mechanical symptoms, such as catching and locking? Do your knees make it difficult to perform daily tasks that once seemed simple?
If so, Panetta Physical Therapy can help you find relief. Below you’ll find a list of 6 of the most common knee injuries that cause discomfort, as well as treatment plans and a few tips on how to avoid knee injury. Knee pain can be debilitating, making it difficult to walk, run, and move. It may even hinder your ability to do some of the activities you love. Fortunately, our physical therapy treatments at Panetta Physical Therapy can get you moving once again by relieving your pain and enhancing your body’s natural healing process.
What are some common knee injuries? Your knee is the largest joint in your body, made up of a complex system of bones, tendons, and ligaments. Because of this, the knee can be easily injured due to overexertion or repetitive motions.
Most Common Knee Injuries
• Arthritis. The most common type of arthritis for knee pain is osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis occurs when the cartilage surrounding your joints deteriorates from “wear and tear.” This causes uncomfortable friction as the joint no longer has a sufficient cushion between the bone. Rheumatoid arthritis is another common cause of knee pain. This is a chronic autoimmune condition that causes the joints to become swollen and inflamed, with varying levels of severity.
• Fracture. A fracture occurs when one of the bones in the knee (including the kneecap, or patella) become damaged. Fractures are a common knee injury and are typically the result of some type of trauma, such as a harsh fall or collision.
• Torn ACL. An anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear occurs when one of the ligaments connecting your shinbone to your thighbone becomes torn. This is a common injury for athletes who participate in sports that are physically-demanding on the knees, such as basketball, track and field, or soccer.
• Torn meniscus. The job of the meniscus is to act as a shock absorber between the shinbone and thighbone. It is made up of thick cartilage, but it can be torn if your knee twists too suddenly while weight is still being put on it.
• Patellar tendinitis. Your tendons are thick connective tissues that attach muscles to bones. Tendinitis occurs when one or multiple tendons become inflamed. The patellar tendon, located in the knee, typically becomes inflamed through repetitive jumping motions common in sports such as skiing, cycling, or hurdling.
• Knee bursitis. Bursae are small fluid sacs that act as cushions outside of your joints. Knee bursitis occurs when the bursae in your knee becomes inflamed, limiting the ability for your tendons and ligaments to move smoothly over the joint.
How can physical therapy help my knee pain?
Our licensed physical therapists at Panetta Physical Therapy will examine your knee for signs of misalignment or structural damage, in addition to examining your stance, posture, gait, and range of motion. After your physical exam is complete, your physical therapist will prescribe a physical therapy plan for you, aimed at relieving unnatural stresses and strains, and normalizing your joint function.
Knee Pain Treatment
Treatment plans for knee pain typically include:
• Hands-on Physical Therapy techniques to allow for appropriate offloading and healing. This may include what is called manual therapy techniques such as joint or soft tissue mobilization. This is where your PT uses specific techniques on your bone, muscles, ligaments and fascia in order to break adhesions and optimize your function. Our team of PT’s are certified orthopedic manual therapists which means they are specialists in these hands-on techniques. They understand surprising influences such as how restrictions in surrounding joints can add undue stress to the knee joint. They will address these important non painful elements that are often overlooked such as the low back, pelvis, or hips and even down at the ankles.
• Graded strength, dynamic stability, and capacity training targeting the quads, glutes, hamstrings, foot/ankle complex, and core. Strength training of the quads and glutes as part of a knee pain treatment plan has been shown to be highly effective with regard to reduction of pain, and it mitigates the risk of recurrence/ flare-ups in the future.
• Restoring range of motion in the knee. A knee with poor range of motion that is constantly flexed can cause persistent painful symptoms. Restoring range of motion will help it bend easier and ease stress on the knee, thus relieving pain.
• Graded exposure to previously painful activities, as gains in strength, tolerance, and capacity allow.
• Education regarding activity modification and the role of the nervous system in pain.
What can I do to avoid knee injury and keep knees healthy?
1. Maintain mobility of the surrounding joints. The knee is a hinge joint which is primarily supposed to bend and straighten. This is different from its surrounding joints such as the ankle and hip which should naturally have the ability rotate and move in many different directions. If the hip or ankles are tight or limited this often causes unnatural stress and twisting at the knee. Lack of hip extension (aka tight hip flexors) is often a BIG problem for knee pain sufferers. We can get tight in these areas especially if we sit for long periods of time.
2. Keep the muscles around your hips and knees strong, especially the gluteal and quadricep muscles. Studies show that adults (especially those 55 or older) who have stronger gluteal and quadricep muscles tend to have less knee pain and a greater ability to perform daily activities while keeping their knees healthy.
3. Exercise regularly. While this is good for the whole body, the knees especially need exercise to keep their cartilage healthy. The cartilage does not have much blood supply and requires its nutrition from joint fluid. Most of the joint fluid absorbs into the cartilage only through movement and compression of the knee. Therefore, it is important to do weight bearing exercises, such as walking, running, or playing a sport. However, if you have arthritis, it is advised that you do activities with less of an impact, such as biking, elliptical machines, or aquatic exercises, to avoid knee injury.
Sometimes knee pain shows up without any prior injuries o it’s important to take note of our daily activites and how they affect our knee health. Here are some additional tips on how you can deal with knee pain.
Contact us today! Are you living with knee pain? If so, don’t hesitate to contact Panetta Physical Therapy today. We’ll help relieve your pain so you can get back to living your life comfortably, without limitations!
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Patient Testimonials
D Cav2023-10-16I cannot praise Panetta Physical Therapy enough! The staff is absolutely amazing. I've battled back pain for my entire life, and I honestly never believed I could find relief. However, thanks to Steve and the team, my life has taken a remarkable turn for the better. I am sincerely grateful for everything they've done for me and for the comprehensive care they provided. They didn't just address my specific problem; they took a holistic approach to my health. Today, I feel a million times better, and I owe it all to their expertise and dedication. If you're in need of physical therapy, don't hesitate to visit Panetta – you won't regret it!
Daniel Py2023-10-14This is a great place to go for physical therapy, very knowledgeable staff, and a nice large area to accommodate everyone who comes in. They do a good job having enough people for everyone who's doing therapy so you don't feel like you're being ignored. My only real complaint would be against whomever owns the business, in that there's fairly high turnover because they don't seem to pay their staff enough. This is sad to me, considering how skilled the therapists are, and how well they've treated me. I hope they see this and decide to improve things for all the great people who work there, before no one wants to anymore.
Robert Kohr2023-10-06I came to Panetta unable to rsise my left arm. After working with Jen, she managed to loosen it up, restore function, and allow me to do pushups once again. Thanks for your hard work and making me feel better!
Gloria Portela2023-09-28Philip Balcer is a great physical therapist. As my first time in therapy, he was excellent and I felt well taken care of. The entire staff was very friendly and I would absolutely go back again.
Cory Rabiea2023-08-29Highly recommended. Referred to Panetta PT through an acquaintance. Had a nagging hip/glute pain that would not let up for weeks and eventually decided to go to Panetta at their Glen Cove location. Steve was able to identify the underlying causes of my injury (hip tilt/unevenness causing tendonitis) and worked with me to correct my behavior and then rehab the injury. Three months later, and I am fully rehabbed and ready to resume my normal workout routine. Steve and Josh both were so instrumental in helping me develop new routines to get me on the mend, and I couldn't be more grateful for both of them.
Kaire Vung2023-08-04Jennifer at Panetta Physical Therapy is absolutely an amazing physical therapist. Jennifer (and her team) took great care of me - she was so attentive to my injury and concerns, took the time to explain the treatments and provided me with home exercise and tool to help me make progress. I would not have recovered from my ankle surgery so quickly without Jennifer - THANK YOU! Last but not least, the facility is great and all the staff are super friendly and kind.
Spyro Markoulis2023-07-26When I had my hip surgery I didn’t think I’d be anywhere near the level I was playing at. But thanks to the dedication to Phil, rich and all the crew, they really helped me get back to where I needed to be in order to continue my collegiate career. Still a long road to go but Philip and crew put their full effort into making you recover 100% with no setbacks and if it wasn’t for him I probably wouldn’t even be walking yet.
leila brooks2023-06-30I was very impressed with your facility and caring staff. Dr. Phil is a proficient therapist. His patience and expertise are beyond compare. I am now pain free and able to get on with my life The interns Ari ,Carlos. Eddie and Constantine are very helpful and instructive. The front desk, Kimberly and Linda are always personable and informative I definitely will recommend Pannetta Physical Therapy.
