Hip and Knee Pain
Get Your Hips and Knees Moving Again With Physical Therapy
Treat Your Pain the Right Way!
Do sharp pains in your hip make it difficult to get up in the mornings, move about during the day, and lie back down at night? Are your knees feeling painful, or even feel as if they may buckle underneath you without warning?
Hip joint pain and knee pain can seriously interfere with your life, especially if you are dealing with both. Whichever condition you may be suffering from, we can help get to the root of your problem safely and comfortably, likely without the need for drugs or surgery. To schedule a no-obligation free orthopedic screening with one of our physical therapists, contact us today!
What’s causing my hip or knee pain?
Your hip is a ball-and-socket joint that works to support the weight of your body, relying on multiple muscles, bones, and ligaments to keep it mobile and stable so it can function properly.
Your knee is a hinge joint, generally confined to forward-and-backward motions. Individually, your knees support more weight than your hips- it can be as much as 6 times your body weight when doing a squat or getting up from a chair. The combination of proper range of motion and adequate strength in your lower body allows you the ability to stand, walk, run, and dance without falling over.
Pain in the hips and/or knees may originate in the joints themselves, but may also be a result of an underlying condition in another part of the body. For example, your hips and knees are part of the same kinetic chain, meaning they make up a combination of weight-bearing joints that must function harmoniously in order for your body and move safely and efficiently. Therefore, a problem with your knee joint may transmit abnormal forces to your hips, and vice versa. If one part of the kinetic chain is out of balance, stress and deterioration may result in another.
Hip and knee pain can be experienced together or separately, but it is important to note that as the old saying goes, “your knee bone is connected to your hip bone,” therefore what happens with one, affects the other.
What else should I keep in mind?
Many times, the hips and knees suffer the same diseases, disorders, and injuries. For example, overuse injuries such as tendinitis and chronic muscle strain are common in both the hips and knees because both joints are constantly in use. They are also both subject to acute injuries, such as sprains and strains.
Hip and knee pain can also be affected by referred pain from a pinched sciatic nerve, as the nerve sends branches to both areas. Imbalances in your standing posture or gait may cause abnormal stresses and premature wear-and-tear in your hips and knees, resulting in painful symptoms of arthritis.
Some painful conditions may be specific to one joint or the other. Cartilage injuries known as labral tears are specific to the hip, while inflammation of the bursa sacs, known as bursitis, can be a specific condition affecting specific bursa in the hip or knee joint.
Pain in the hips can also affect the knees. For example, tight hip flexor muscles and weak gluteus medius muscles can cause the hip to rotate inward without you realizing it. This can cause painful problems such as iliotibial band compression or patellofemoral stress syndrome.
How will physical therapy relieve my hip or knee pain?
Our physical therapists will examine your hip and/or knee for signs of misalignment or structural damage, in addition to examining your stance, posture, gait, strength, movement strategies, and range of motion.
After your physical exam is complete, our staff will prescribe a physical therapy plan for you, aimed at relieving abnormal stresses and strains. They will also focus on improving your overall function so you can get back to living life comfortably.
You will be given targeted exercises designed for relieving pain and strengthening the weak hip and/or knee muscles. The exercises may vary depending on your condition; for example, research has demonstrated that those suffering from patella pain (kneecap pain) tend to respond better to exercises that focus on strengthening both the hips and knees, rather than focusing on the knees alone.
You may also be given exercises designed to strengthen your lower back muscles, abdominal muscles, or pelvic muscles. Colletively, these groups of muscles are known as your “core.” Core exercises are aimed at improving your posture and equalizing the weight load on both sides of your body. Additional specialized treatments may also be added as our therapists deem fit, such as mobilizations to improve joint movement or other soft tissue treatments like massage therapy that relieve pain and promote the healing of damaged hip and/or knee tissues.
Your treatment sessions can help to greatly reduce your hip and knee pain. In many cases, treatment can relieve your pain altogether, sparing you the need for potentially harmful medication or surgical intervention.
Get moving again today!
Click here if you are ready to schedule your physical therapy evaluation or contact us today to discuss your specific questions with one of our patient care coordinators. It is time to take a stand against your hip and knee pain – get started on the path toward long-lasting pain relief today! Your hips and knees will be glad you did!
