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Can a chiropractor help with knee pain? Treatment for knee pain is probably not something you immediately think of in association with chiropractic care.
However, chiropractors can indeed help with knee pain, primarily by addressing underlying issues related to the joints, muscles, and nerves that affect knee mobility.
In this post, we explore the common causes of knee pain, and how chiropractors can help address these to reduce knee pain.
Common causes of knee pain include:
Ligament tears (i.e. anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears), meniscus tears, and fractures are common and painful, causes of knee pain.
Repetitive strain or overuse injuries are common in athletes and generally physically active people. Overuse injuries typically strain or injure the tendons and ligaments in and around the knee, resulting in painful tears, inflammation, irritation, and even stress fractures.
They can be fairly mild, or excruciatingly painful.
Both osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis are common contributors to knee pain..
This refers to inflammation of the tendons around the knee, like the patellar tendon.
This is an inflammation of the small fluid-filled sacs (bursae) that provide cushioning and protection for the knee joint.
Although some of the conditions mentioned above often require specific medical treatment like surgery, chiropractors can certainly help with some types of knee conditions. Notably, they can help with knee pain caused by:
This is a degenerative joint disease, caused by wear and tear on the joint. It most commonly affects older adults but can affect younger people as well. Osteoarthritis produces pain and causes joint stiffness and reduced mobility in the knee joint.
Rheumatoid arthritis is a painful autoimmune disease. It occurs when the body’s immune system attacks its own joint tissues, notably the lining of the membrane around the joints (the synovium).
It causes severe inflammation, swelling, pain, and eventually joint damage and deformities.
The meniscus is a pad of cartilage at the top of the shinbone that protects it from pressure exerted by the thighbone. It is located at the bottom of the knee. Tears or damage to this cartilage are common and typically result in knee pain, swelling, and restricted movement.
The patellar tendon connects the patella (kneecap) to the tibia (shinbone). When inflamed, it causes pain in the front of the knee.
Chiropractors use a range of therapies and techniques to help treat knee pain. This includes adjustments or manipulations, soft tissue therapy, posture correction, and exercise recommendations.
Manual adjustments can gently manipulate the knee joint to realign it. This improves mobility and helps reduce pressure on surrounding tissue to lessen pain.
Soft tissue therapy like massage therapy and stretching exercises, helps stretch tendons and muscles to relieve tension, improve flexibility, and lessen pain.
Chiropractors also usually recommend specific exercises designed to strengthen the muscles around the knee and help improve overall stability.
Postural correction includes techniques that address issues like spinal and pelvic misalignments that may be contributing to poor posture, and putting stress on knee joints and tendons.
When chiropractors treat knee pain, they aim to restore normal knee joint function to improve mobility and reduce knee pain. Ultimately this means:
By restoring proper alignment and motion to the knee joint, chiropractors aim to improve your mobility and reduce knee pain.
Manual chiropractic techniques and supportive therapies can help reduce swelling and discomfort in the knee joint.
Where some types of treatments simply manage pain, chiropractors aim to identify and address the underlying cause of the pain. This then allows the body to heal itself.
One of the underlying aims of any type of chiropractic treatment is to provide advice and support that helps improve and prevent joint dysfunction in the long term.
Your chiropractor may also offer other options for helping with chronic knee pain. This includes:
Traction applies a gentle pulling force to the knee joint to help relieve pressure and improve alignment.
Ultrasound therapy uses high-frequency sound waves to penetrate deep into inflamed tissues. This helps reduce inflammation in the knee and encourages healing.
Electrotherapy is the application of electrical pulses to the affected knee area. This type of treatment can help to reduce pain and stimulate tissue repair.
Cold laser therapy helps to reduce pain and inflammation and encourages damaged tissues in the knee to repair themselves.
Infrared sauna therapy applies heat therapy using infrared light. This helps to increase blood flow to the area, reduce stiffness, and relieve pain.
Exercises are a fairly standard adjunct to most types of physical rehabilitation programmes, including for knee pain. The exercises help to strengthen muscles and ligaments and improve knee function.
Although not commonly associated with chiropractic care, chiropractic help with knee pain can in fact be very effective. Chiropractors provide personalised holistic support and treatment options aimed at helping manage knee pain whilst also addressing the underlying causes to improve joint mobility.
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