Knee pain is very common among people of all ages, some have occasional mild pain while others have constant severe pain that usually happens while walking or climbing stairs.
As your pain becomes severe it may start giving out on you or feel unstable (my knee feels like it won’t hold me). You might also feel pain in your knee when sitting for some time and as you get-up from sitting. If you are having any of the pain I described above then you could be having any of the following conditions:
1. Chondromalacia Patella, which happens to young women mostly but can affect people of all ages, CP is likely an early sign of arthritis and it involves softening of the cartilage under the knee cap.
2. Patellar Instability, which is due to weakness of the muscles of the core and leg that causes the knee cap to glide out of the knee groove.
3. Runner’s knee, occurs with people who love to run or play sport, this condition is due to weakness of the hip and core muscles.
4. Osteoarthritis of the knee, occurs to people in their 50’s or 60’s this is due to the cartilage in your knee cap and between your knee bones being worn out.
Physiotherapy is very effective for CP, Patellar instability, Runner’s knee and early to mid stage of osteoarthritis and the only known treatment, but for late stage OA patients would have to consult orthopedic surgeon about the possibility of having a knee replacement.
According to the Washington post:
Researchers at seven major universities and orthopedic centres around the US assigned 351 people with knee OA and meniscus tears to get either surgery or Physiotherapy. The therapy was an average of nine sessions plus exercises to be done at home which is the key to success. After six months both groups had similar rate of functional improvement, and their pain scores were similar. 30% of patients assigned to physiotherapy wound up having surgery before 6months was up, because they felt therapy wasn’t helping them. Yet they ended up the same as those who got surgery right away, as well as the rest of the Physiotherapy group who stuck with it and avoided having surgery.
Related Tags: Physiotherapy at Home
— The Washington post March18, 2013.