Knee Pain
Knee pain and dysfunction are particularly common among two groups of people, athletes/physically active individuals and the elderly.
Either way, knee pain can significantly impact your daily activities. Beyond that, if you are suffering with knee pain, chances are, it is causing problems elsewhere such as your feet or hips, as your body attempts to compensate for the pain. Athletes and those who engage in sports on a regular basis often experience knee pain due to trauma and overuse, whereas the elderly population experience knee pain due to arthritis.
Types of knee pain:
Acute injuries such as meniscus or ACL tears, joint arthritis, Osgood Schlatters disease, ITB syndrome (runners knee), patella tracking, and referred pain from the lower back and hip region.
Causes of knee pain:
- Poor spinal alignment
- Changes in weight bearing
- Trauma such as sporting injuries
- Prolonged sitting
- Age
- Lack of muscle strength
- Poor Flexibility
- Excessive weight
- Repetitive movement/use
- Underlying disease or pathology (rare)
What is the most common cause of knee pain?
Once we have ruled out any underlying disease or problem, the most common causes of knee pain are mechanical in nature. Other than trauma from injuries or over-use one of the most common causes of knee pain is changes in the lower back, pelvis and hip area.
If these areas are not well balanced it changes how the individual is weight bearing. Unnecessary weight bearing onto the knee joints is a common cause of knee pain. This is often the result of poor posture and spinal alignment.
